Lxc on homelab

GPU Passthrough for Proxmox LXCs

Fri, 01 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

GPU Passthrough for Proxmox LXCs#

What Was Established#

Intel GPU passthrough to Proxmox LXCs requires both host-side module loading and specific LXC device mounts.
vainfo frequently fails with X11/X server errors in headless containers; this is expected and does not indicate a broken passthrough.
intel_gpu_top requires i915 module loaded on the host and accessible debugfs/sysfs paths inside the container.

Key Decisions#

Headless VA-API Testing: When vainfo reports error: can't connect to X server!, set environment variables to bypass X11:
```
export XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=/tmp/runtime-root
export LIBVA_DRIVER_NAME=iHD
vainfo
```
Module Verification: lsmod | grep i915 confirms the driver is loaded inside the container. Presence of i915, drm_buddy, ttm, and drm_display_helper indicates successful module injection.
Device Access: intel_gpu_top failing with No device filter specified... typically points to missing debugfs mounts or host-side i915 parameters, not necessarily a broken /dev/dri/ passthrough.

Current Configuration#

Proxmox LXC Config (/etc/pve/lxc/<container-id>.conf):

Jellyfin LXC GPU Passthrough & Hardware Acceleration

Fri, 01 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Jellyfin LXC GPU Passthrough & Hardware Acceleration#

What Was Established#

Successfully configured Intel UHD Graphics 630 GPU passthrough to a Jellyfin LXC container on Proxmox for hardware-accelerated transcoding via Intel QuickSync (QSV).

Key Decisions#

GPU Passthrough Method: LXC container-level GPU device mapping (not full VM passthrough)
Hardware Acceleration: Intel QuickSync (QSV) selected over VAAPI for Jellyfin’s native support
Monitoring Constraints: Accepted that LXC container restrictions prevent full GPU monitoring tools (dmesg, intel_gpu_top) from functioning; validated functionality through actual transcoding tests instead

Current Configuration#

Host GPU Details#

GPU: Intel Corporation CoffeeLake-S GT2 [UHD Graphics 630]
PCI Address: 00:02.0
Driver: i915 (loaded)
Related Modules: drm_buddy, ttm, drm_display_helper, cec, i2c_algo_bit, video

LXC Container GPU Devices#

/dev/dri/card0 — character special (major 226, minor 0)
/dev/dri/renderD128 — character special (major 226, minor 128)
Permissions: crw-rw---- root:video (226/0 and 226/128)

Jellyfin Configuration#

User Group Assignment: jellyfin user added to video group (usermod -a -G video jellyfin)
Dashboard → Playback Settings:
- Hardware Acceleration: Intel QuickSync (QSV)
- Enable hardware encoding: Yes
- Enable hardware decoding: Yes
- Enable tone mapping: Yes
- Allow encoding in HEVC: Yes
- Allow encoding in AV1: Yes (if supported)

Validation Commands#

# Verify GPU device accessibility
ls -la /dev/dri/

# Check if processes are using GPU during playback
lsof /dev/dri/renderD128

# Monitor Jellyfin logs for hardware acceleration
sudo journalctl -u jellyfin -f | grep -i "hardware\|qsv\|quicksync\|vaapi"

# Check active transcoding sessions in Jellyfin UI
# Dashboard → Active Devices → look for (HW) indicator

Historical Notes#

dmesg restriction: dmesg: read kernel buffer failed: Operation not permitted — expected in LXC containers without full device access
intel_gpu_top limitation: GPU monitoring tools that require kernel debugfs access will not work inside the LXC; validated via actual transcoding performance and log inspection instead
i915 driver loaded: Confirmed via lsmod | grep i915 showing 3,928,064 bytes loaded
No GPU debug info: /sys/kernel/debug/dri not available in container — accepted limitation

Open Questions#

Does AV1 hardware encoding actually work on Coffee Lake-S (Gen 9.5) — typically limited to H.264/H.265
Performance baseline: what CPU load reduction is observed with QSV vs software transcoding?
Can GPU passthrough be extended to other LXC containers (e.g., Plex, if migrated)

Plex Transcoding LXC — similar GPU passthrough patterns for Plex
Proxmox LXC Configuration — LXC container setup patterns
Servarr - Media Automation Stack — media server ecosystem

Gluetun VPN Service

Proxmox LXC Storage Mounts

Fri, 01 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Proxmox LXC Storage Mounts#

What Was Established#

SMB/CIFS shares can be integrated into Proxmox via CLI or the Web GUI.
GUI integration is recommended for Proxmox-native features (backups, ISOs, templates) and automatic retention management.
LXC containers can directly mount Proxmox storage paths using mp0/mp1 directives in the container config file.
Separate CIFS storages should be used for media vs. backups to maintain clean separation of concerns.

Key Decisions#

Storage Content Types: For media-only CIFS shares, select Container templates, ISO images, or Disk image. Explicitly avoid Containers and VZDump backup file to prevent Proxmox from treating the media share as a system storage.
Subdirectory Configuration: Leave the Proxmox storage subdirectory field blank to mount the root of the SMB share, enabling flexible navigation to specific subfolders (e.g., Documents/Movies).
Jellyfin Path Targeting: Point Jellyfin directly to the specific media subfolder (e.g., /media/synology/Documents/Movies) rather than the mount root.

Current Configuration#

LXC Config Path: /etc/pve/lxc/<CT-ID>.conf (e.g., /etc/pve/lxc/100.conf).
Mount Syntax: mp0: /mnt/pve/<Storage-ID>,mp=/media/<mount-name>

Permission Mapping (for unprivileged containers):

lxc.idmap: u 0 100000 65536
lxc.idmap: g 0 100000 65536
lxc.idmap: u 1000 1000 1
lxc.idmap: g 1000 1000 1
lxc.idmap: u 1001 101001 64535
lxc.idmap: g 1001 101001 64535

Jellyfin Setup: Dashboard → Libraries → Add Media Library → Folders: /media/synology/Documents/Movies.

Historical Notes#

Conversation date: 2025-11-07.
Focuses on resolving LXC mount visibility and permission issues for Jellyfin on a Synology NAS.
No major infrastructure changes flagged; patterns remain valid for Proxmox 8.x.

Open Questions#

None.

Sources#

ingested/chats/092-Mount NAS Storage to LXC Containers.md
ingested/chats/091-Mount Synology SMB to Proxmox Guide.md
ingested/chats/090-Mount SMB Share on Proxmox Guide.md
DeepSeek conversation: Mount NAS Storage to LXC Containers (2025-11-07)

Sources#

ingested/chats/092-Mount NAS Storage to LXC Containers.md
ingested/chats/091-Mount Synology SMB to Proxmox Guide.md
ingested/chats/090-Mount SMB Share on Proxmox Guide.md
Historical DeepSeek conversation: “Mount SMB Share on Proxmox Guide” (2025-11-07)

Proxmox Storage Management, Proxmox Systemd Mounts

Web Server Architecture on Proxmox

Wed, 26 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Web Server Architecture on Proxmox#

What Was Established#

High-level architectural strategies for deploying web development environments on Proxmox, focusing on balancing isolation with resource efficiency.

Key Decisions#

LXC for Services: Use LXC containers for lightweight, single-purpose services (e.g., Nginx, Databases) to minimize overhead.
VM for Complex Workloads: Use full VMs when running Docker, Kubernetes, or when custom kernel modules are required.
Reverse Proxy Pattern: Always use a reverse proxy (Nginx Proxy Manager, Traefik, or C/Caddy) to handle SSL termination and route traffic to multiple internal services.
Database Isolation: Separate databases into their own containers/VMs to improve security and facilitate independent backups.

Current Configuration#

Networking Patterns#

Bridge Mode: Default vmbr0 for services requiring LAN access.
Internal Network: Use secondary bridges (e.g., vmbr1) for isolated communication between web servers and databases.

Storage Patterns#

Local-LVM: Preferred for high-performance VM/container disks.
Directory Storage: Suitable for container volumes and simpler storage needs.

Historical Notes#

This architecture plan was established in March 2025. The preference for LXCs over VMs for simple web services was a primary driver.

Lxc on homelab

GPU Passthrough for Proxmox LXCs

GPU Passthrough for Proxmox LXCs#

What Was Established#

Key Decisions#

Current Configuration#

Jellyfin LXC GPU Passthrough & Hardware Acceleration

Jellyfin LXC GPU Passthrough & Hardware Acceleration#

What Was Established#

Key Decisions#

Current Configuration#

Host GPU Details#

LXC Container GPU Devices#

Jellyfin Configuration#

Validation Commands#

Historical Notes#

Open Questions#

Related Pages#

Proxmox LXC Storage Mounts

Proxmox LXC Storage Mounts#

What Was Established#

Key Decisions#

Current Configuration#

Historical Notes#

Open Questions#

Related Pages#

Sources#

Sources#

Related Pages#

Web Server Architecture on Proxmox

Web Server Architecture on Proxmox#

What Was Established#

Key Decisions#

Current Configuration#

Networking Patterns#

Storage Patterns#

Historical Notes#