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Infrastructure Automation - Tape Library Example

Overview

This example demonstrates Claude Code automating a complex infrastructure project involving physical hardware, virtualization, and enterprise storage systems.

The Physical Setup

We had a physical Supermicro server running Proxmox VE (a hypervisor), with:

What Claude Did

The entire project was automated through Claude Code:

  1. Created a VM on the Proxmox hypervisor for Proxmox Backup Server (PBS)
  2. Configured IOMMU and PCIe passthrough to give the VM direct access to the SAS controller
  3. Passed through the HBA (SAS controller) so the VM could see the tape library directly
  4. Set up ZFS storage with RAIDZ2 for redundant bulk storage
  5. Configured the tape library within PBS for automated backup to tape
  6. Troubleshot SCSI device mapping to correctly identify tape drives and changers

This is a real production deployment where Claude handled everything from VM creation to tape library integration - all through conversation and command execution.

Download CLAUDE.md

This CLAUDE.md file guided Claude through the entire setup from planning to production.

Download infrastructure.md

Sample Prompts

Real prompts used during this project:

Initial Setup

Help me set up IOMMU on this Proxmox host so I can pass through the LSI HBA to a VM. The server has Intel VT-d support.

VM Creation

Create a Proxmox VM for PBS with 16 cores, 64GB RAM, and pass through the HBA at PCI address 81:00.0

Storage Configuration

Create a ZFS RAIDZ2 pool with these 6 drives (list WWNs). I want compression enabled and the pool named pbs-sas-pool.

Tape Library Setup

The tape library is connected via the passed-through HBA. Help me configure PBS to recognize the Dell TL2000 and its two LTO-6 drives.

Troubleshooting

PBS can't see the tape drives. Here's the output of lsscsi -g (paste output). Help me map the correct devices.

What This Example Shows

Complex Hardware Automation

Claude handled:

  • IOMMU/VT-d configuration for PCIe passthrough
  • PCI device identification and passthrough setup
  • SCSI device mapping and troubleshooting
  • Tape library changer and drive configuration

Storage Management

Configured enterprise storage:

  • ZFS RAIDZ2 pools (tolerates 2 drive failures)
  • Multi-tier storage (NVMe, SAS disks, tape)
  • Deduplication and compression settings
  • Retention policies across storage tiers

Troubleshooting Capabilities

Real issues Claude solved:

  • Mapping /dev/st* tape devices to PBS drive names
  • Identifying correct SCSI generic devices (/dev/sg*)
  • Debugging IOMMU group conflicts
  • Verifying ZFS pool health after configuration

Tools & Documentation

Proxmox VE

Open-source virtualization platform used as the hypervisor.

Proxmox VE →

Proxmox Backup Server

Enterprise backup solution with tape library support.

PBS Docs →

ZFS on Linux

Advanced filesystem used for storage pools.

ZFS Docs →

PCIe Passthrough Guide

Proxmox documentation on PCI device passthrough.

Passthrough Guide →

Key Takeaways

  • 🔧 Physical + Virtual - Claude bridged physical hardware and VMs seamlessly
  • 📦 Complex Storage - Configured enterprise-grade RAID and tape systems
  • 🔍 Deep Troubleshooting - Debugged SCSI device mapping and IOMMU issues
  • 📋 Production Ready - This is a real production backup system
  • ⚡ End-to-End - From bare metal to working tape backups, all via Claude