docs: Add docs for configuration and faq.

config/proxlb_example.yaml

@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ proxmox_api:
   # API Token method
   # token_id: proxlb
   # token_secret: 430e308f-1337-1337-beef-1337beefcafe
-  ssl_verification: False
+  ssl_verification: True
   timeout: 10
 
 proxmox_cluster:
@@ -28,4 +28,4 @@ balancing:
 service:
   daemon: False
   schedule: 12
-  log_level: DEBUG
+  log_level: INFO

docs/03_configuration.md

@@ -0,0 +1,175 @@
+# Table of Contents
+
+1. [Authentication / User Accounts / Permissions](#authentication--user-accounts--permissions)
+    1. [Authentication](#authentication)
+    2. [Creating a Dedicated User](#creating-a-dedicated-user)
+    3. [Creating an API Token for a User](#creating-an-api-token-for-a-user)
+    4. [Required Permissions for a User](#required-permissions-for-a-user)
+2. [Configuration](#configuration)
+    1. [Affinity & Anti-Affinity Rules](#affinity--anti-affinity-rules)
+        1. [Affinity Rules](#affinity-rules)
+        2. [Anti-Affinity Rules](#anti-affinity-rules)
+        3. [Affinity / Anti-Affinity Enforcing](#affinity--anti-affinity-enforcing)
+    2. [API Loadbalancing](#api-loadbalancing)
+    3. [Ignore Host-Nodes or Guests](#ignore-host-nodes-or-guests)
+    4. [IPv6 Support](#ipv6-support)
+    5. [Logging / Log-Level](#logging--log-level)
+    6. [Parallel Migrations](#parallel-migrations)
+    7. [Run as a Systemd-Service](#run-as-a-systemd-service)
+    8. [SSL Self-Signed Certificates](#ssl-self-signed-certificates)
+
+## Authentication / User Accounts / Permissions
+### Authentication
+ProxLB supports the traditional username and password authentication method, which is familiar to many users. This method requires users to provide their credentials (username and password) to gain access to the Proxmox system. While this method is straightforward and easy to implement, it has several security limitations. Username and password combinations can be vulnerable to brute force attacks, where an attacker systematically attempts various combinations until the correct one is found. If a user's credentials are compromised through phishing, malware, or other means, the attacker can gain unauthorized access to the system. Additionally, traditional authentication does not provide granular control over permissions and access levels, potentially exposing sensitive operations to unauthorized users.
+
+To enhance security, ProxLB supports API token authentication. API tokens are unique identifiers that are used to authenticate API requests. They offer several advantages over traditional username and password authentication. API tokens are more secure as they are typically long, random strings that are difficult to guess. They can be revoked and regenerated as needed, reducing the risk of unauthorized access. API tokens can be associated with specific user accounts that have only the required permissions, ensuring that users only have access to the resources and operations they need. Furthermore, API tokens can be used for automated scripts and applications, facilitating seamless integration with other systems and services.
+
+When Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) or Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) is enabled in the Proxmox cluster, the system enforces the use of API tokens for authentication. This is because traditional username and password authentication is not considered secure enough in conjunction with MFA/2FA. To ensure the highest level of security when using API tokens, follow these best practices: Use dedicated user accounts for API tokens, each with only the necessary permissions. This limits the potential impact of a compromised token. Ensure that API tokens are long, random, and unique. Avoid using easily guessable patterns or sequences. Periodically regenerate and replace API tokens to minimize the risk of long-term exposure. Store API tokens securely, using environment variables or secure vaults. Avoid hardcoding tokens in source code or configuration files. Regularly monitor and audit the usage of API tokens to detect any suspicious activity or unauthorized access.
+
+### Creating a Dedicated User
+It is advisable to avoid using the default root@pam user for balancing tasks in ProxLB. Instead, creating a dedicated user account is recommended and can be done easily. You can create a new user through the GUI, API, or CLI. While the detailed roles required for balancing are outlined in the next chapter, you can also use the following CLI commands to create a user with the necessary roles to manage Virtual Machines (VMs) and Containers (CTs):
+
+```
+pveum role add proxlb --privs Datastore.Audit,Sys.Audit,VM.Audit,VM.Migrate
+pveum user add proxlb@pve --password <password>
+pveum acl modify / --roles proxlb --users proxlb@pve
+```
+
+*Note: The user management can also be done on the WebUI without invoking the CLI.*
+
+### Creating an API Token for a User
+
+```
+# Create an API token for user proxlb@pve with token ID proxlb
+pveum user token add proxlb@pve proxlb
+```
+
+Afterwards, you get the token secret returned. You can now add those entries to your ProxLB config.
+
+| Proxmox API  | ProxLB Config  | Example  |
+|---|---|---|
+| Token ID  | [token_id](https://github.com/gyptazy/ProxLB/blob/main/config/proxlb_example.yaml#L6) | proxlb  |
+| Secret  | [token_secret](https://github.com/gyptazy/ProxLB/blob/main/config/proxlb_example.yaml#L7)  |  430e308f-1337-1337-beef-1337beefcafe |
+
+*Note: The API token configuration can also be done on the WebUI without invoking the CLI.*
+
+### Required Permissions for a User
+To ensure that ProxLB operates effectively and securely, it is essential to assign the appropriate permissions to the user accounts responsible for managing the load balancing tasks. The following permissions are the minimum required for a user to perform essential ProxLB operations:
+
+* `Datastore.Audit`: Grants the ability to audit and view datastore information.
+* `Sys.Audit`: Allows the user to audit and view system information.
+* `VM.Audit`: Enables the user to audit and view virtual machine details.
+* `VM.Migrate`: Provides the permission to migrate virtual machines.
+
+Assigning these permissions ensures that the user can access necessary information and perform critical operations related to load balancing without granting excessive privileges. This practice helps maintain a secure and efficient ProxLB environment.
+
+## Configuration
+
+### Affinity & Anti-Affinity Rules
+ProxLB provides an advanced mechanism to define affinity and anti-affinity rules, enabling precise control over virtual machine (VM) placement. These rules help manage resource distribution, improve high availability configurations, and optimize performance within a Proxmox Virtual Environment (PVE) cluster. By leveraging Proxmox’s integrated access management, ProxLB ensures that users can only define and manage rules for guests they have permission to access.
+
+ProxLB implements affinity and anti-affinity rules through a tag-based system within the Proxmox web interface. Each guest (virtual machine or container) can be assigned specific tags, which then dictate its placement behavior. This method maintains a streamlined and secure approach to managing VM relationships while preserving Proxmox’s inherent permission model.
+
+#### Affinity Rules
+<img align="left" src="https://cdn.gyptazy.com/images/proxlb-affinity-rules.jpg"/> Affinity rules are used to group certain VMs together, ensuring that they run on the same host whenever possible. This can be beneficial for workloads requiring low-latency communication, such as clustered databases or application servers that frequently exchange data.
+
+To define an affinity rule which keeps all guests assigned to this tag together on a node, users assign a tag with the prefix `plb_affinity_$TAG`:
+
+##### Example for Screenshot
+```
+plb_affinity_talos
+```
+
+As a result, ProxLB will attempt to place all VMs with the `plb_affinity_web` tag on the same host (see also the attached screenshot with the same node).
+
+#### Anti-Affinity Rules
+<img align="left" src="https://cdn.gyptazy.com/images/proxlb-anti-affinity-rules.jpg"/> Conversely, anti-affinity rules ensure that designated VMs do not run on the same physical host. This is particularly useful for high-availability setups, where redundancy is crucial. Ensuring that critical services are distributed across multiple hosts reduces the risk of a single point of failure.
+
+To define an anti-affinity rule that ensures to not move systems within this group to the same node, users assign a tag with the prefix:
+
+##### Example for Screenshot
+```
+plb_anti_affinity_ntp
+```
+
+As a result, ProxLB will try to place the VMs with the `plb_anti_affinity_ntp` tag on different hosts (see also the attached screenshot with the different nodes).
+
+**Note:** While this ensures that ProxLB tries distribute these VMs across different physical hosts within the Proxmox cluster this may not always work. If you have more guests attached to the group than nodes in the cluster, we still need to run them anywhere. If this case occurs, the next one with the most free resources will be selected.
+
+### Affinity / Anti-Affinity Enforcing
+When a cluster is already balanced and does not require further adjustments, enabling the enforce_affinity parameter ensures that affinity and anti-affinity rules are still respected. This parameter prioritizes the placement of guest objects according to these rules, even if it leads to slight resource imbalances or increased migration overhead. Regularly reviewing and updating these rules, along with monitoring cluster performance, helps maintain optimal performance and reliability. By carefully managing these aspects, you can create a cluster environment that meets your specific needs and maintains a good balance of resources.
+
+```
+balancing:
+  enforce_affinity: True
+```
+
+*Note: This may have impacts to the cluster. Depending on the created group matrix, the result may also be an unbalanced cluster.*
+
+### API Loadbalancing
+ProxLB supports API loadbalancing, where one or more host objects can be defined as a list. This ensures, that you can even operator ProxLB without furhter changes when one or more nodes are offline or in a maintence. When defining multiple hosts, the first reachable one will be picked.
+
+```
+proxmox_api:
+  hosts: ['virt01.example.com', '10.10.10.10', 'fe01::bad:code::cafe']
+```
+
+### Ignore Host-Nodes or Guests
+In managing a Proxmox environment, it's often necessary to exclude certain host nodes and guests from various operations. For host nodes, this exclusion can be achieved by specifying them in the ignore_nodes parameter within the proxmox_api chapter, effectively preventing any automated processes from interacting with these nodes. Guests, on the other hand, can be ignored by assigning them a specific tag that starts with or is equal to plb_ignore, ensuring they are omitted from any automated tasks or monitoring. By implementing these configurations, administrators can fine-tune their Proxmox management to focus only on relevant nodes and guests, optimizing operational efficiency and resource allocation.
+
+```
+proxmox_cluster:
+  ignore_nodes: ['node01', 'node02']
+```
+
+### IPv6 Support
+Yes, ProxLB fully supports IPv6.
+
+### Logging / Log-Level
+ProxLB supports systemd for seamless service management on Linux distributions. To enable this, create a proxLB.service file in /etc/systemd/system/ from `service/proxlb.service` within this repository.
+
+On systems without systemd, such as FreeBSD and macOS, ProxLB runs with similar configurations but logs to stdout and stderr. The logging level and verbosity can be set in the `service` section of the configuration file:
+
+```
+service:
+  log_level: DEBUG
+```
+
+ProxLB only support the following log levels:
+* INFO
+* WARNING
+* CRITICAL
+* DEBUG
+
+### Parallel Migrations
+By default, parallel migrations are deactivated. This means, that a guest object gets migrated and the migration job is being watched until the VM or CT got moved to a new node. However, this may take a lot of time and many environments are fast enough to handle the IO load for multiple guest objects. However, there are always corner cases and this depends on your setup. Parallel migrations can be enabled by setting `parallel` to `True` within the `balancing` chapter:
+
+```
+balancing:
+  parallel: False
+```
+
+### Run as a Systemd-Service
+The proxlb systemd unit orchestrates the ProxLB application. ProxLB can be used either as a one-shot solution or run periodically, depending on the configuration specified in the daemon chapter of its configuration file.
+
+```
+service:
+  daemon: False
+  schedule: 12
+```
+
+In this configuration:
+
+* `daemon`: False indicates that the ProxLB application is not running as a daemon and will execute as a one-shot solution.
+* `schedule`: 12 defines the schedule in hours, specifying how often rebalancing should be done if running as a daemon.
+
+### SSL Self-Signed Certificates
+If you are using SSL self-signed certificates or non-valid certificated in general and do not want to deal with additional trust levels, you may also disable the SSL validation. This may mostly be helpful for dev- & test labs.
+
+SSL certificate validation can be disabled in the `proxmox_api` section in the config file by setting:
+```
+proxmox_api:
+    ssl_verification: False
+```
+
+*Note: Disabling SSL certificate validation is not recommended.*

docs/99-faq.md

@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+## Table of Contents
+
+1. [GUI Integration](#gui-integration)
+    - [How to install pve-proxmoxlb-service-ui package](https://github.com/gyptazy/ProxLB/issues/44)
+2. [Proxmox HA Integration](#proxmox-ha-integration)
+    - [Host groups: Honour HA groups](https://github.com/gyptazy/ProxLB/issues/65)
+
+### GUI Integration
+<img align="left" src="https://cdn.gyptazy.com/images/proxlb-GUI-integration.jpg"/> ProxLB can also be accessed through the Proxmox Web UI by installing the optional `pve-proxmoxlb-service-ui` package, which depends on the proxlb package. For full Web UI integration, this package must be installed on all nodes within the cluster. Once installed, a new menu item - `Rebalancing`, appears in the cluster level under the HA section. Once installed, it offers two key functionalities:
+* Rebalancing VM workloads
+* Migrate VM workloads away from a defined node (e.g. maintenance preparation)
+
+**Note:** This package is currently discontinued and will be readded at a later time. See also: [#44: How to install pve-proxmoxlb-service-ui package](https://github.com/gyptazy/ProxLB/issues/44).
+
+### Proxmox HA Integration
+Proxmox HA (High Availability) groups are designed to ensure that virtual machines (VMs) remain running within a Proxmox cluster. HA groups define specific rules for where VMs should be started or migrated in case of node failures, ensuring minimal downtime and automatic recovery.
+
+However, when used in conjunction with ProxLB, the built-in load balancer for Proxmox, conflicts can arise. ProxLB operates with its own logic for workload distribution, taking into account affinity and anti-affinity rules. While it effectively balances guest workloads, it may re-shift and redistribute VMs in a way that does not align with HA group constraints, potentially leading to unsuitable placements.
+
+Due to these conflicts, it is currently not recommended to use both HA groups and ProxLB simultaneously. The interaction between the two mechanisms can lead to unexpected behavior, where VMs might not adhere to HA group rules after being moved by ProxLB.
+
+A solution to improve compatibility between HA groups and ProxLB is under evaluation, aiming to ensure that both features can work together without disrupting VM placement strategies.
+
+See also: [#65: Host groups: Honour HA groups](https://github.com/gyptazy/ProxLB/issues/65).