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Proxmox VE 8.4 Installation Guide - Step by Step

Logo of Promox

I've been using VMware ESXi for a long time. For me, it was simply the best choice for bare metal virtualization. And I was very happy with it: the interface was light, there were powerful features, even the licenses were flexible enough to be used in test environments. There were no subscription licenses. In short, everything you'd expect from such software. But that… That was before Broadcom tool over.

I won't rehash the story, but basically, it stinks to high heaven, and it's only getting worse. So I decided to move on to another solution, and that's what I'm going to detail in a series of tutorials dedicated to Proxmox.

I chose Proxmox for several reasons: it's free (you can subscribe to a paid package to get support and more stable versions, but also to support the project), opensource, very powerful, flexible and last but not least, it's not managed by Broadcom. Of course, as with any migration or change of solution, you'll need to study the changes and features you'll gain/lose from one solution to another beforehand. Although Proxmox meets all my needs, I'm well aware that it's not as complete as VMware.

The first of these tutorials - since I'm going to start at the beginning - will be devoted to installing Proxmox.

Download the iso

The first step is to connect to the official Proxmox web page: https://www.proxmox.com/en/downloads and download the Proxmox VE ISO Installer.

Proxmox official download page showing latest Proxmox VE 8.3 ISO installer with download and torrent options

Next, you can either burn a CD (do we still do that?), use a USB tool like Rufus, create a bootable drive with dd on Unix-like systems, or mount the ISO via iDRAC Enterprise Manager if installing on a Dell server (which is my case!). Many examples of media preparation on the official wiki: https://pve.proxmox.com/.

Architecture overview

The network

Let's say we're in a situation where we have two physical network interfaces. Once installed, Proxmox will give them respective names using the systemd naming convention (see: https://pve.proxmox.com/wiki/Network_Configuration).

  • Here, we can see that Proxmox has given the names eno1 and eno2 for my interfaces:
Rear view of a server chassis highlighting network interfaces, including Gb1, Gb2, eno1, and eno2 Ethernet ports
  • As I have two network interfaces, I'm going to separate the management interface from the virtual machine network. Of course, we can use a single interface for both management interface and virtual machine networking.
Diagram illustrating Proxmox server network architecture, including physical and virtual network interfaces, management interface, and virtual machines (VMs)
  • Another view to show that each virtual machine is virtually connected to the vmbr1 virtual bridge, while the administration interface is attached to the vmbr0 virtual bridge:
Diagram illustrating Proxmox server network setup, including physical and virtual network interfaces, management interface, and VM connectivity.

Storage

Concerning storage, wishing to use ZFS I configured my PERC controller (Dell hardware RAID) in HBA mode. From the Proxmox installer I would then create a ZFS RAID1 (mirror) on which I would install the system (Proxmox hypervisor). I would then configure my four other disks with the file system as RAID10 ZFS, reserved for virtual machines. It's important to understand that the best way to use the ZFS file system is with an HBA adapter, not a hardware RAID. This is because the system must work directly with the disk (see here: https://pve.proxmox.com/wiki/ZFS_on_Linux). So if you have a PERC card (as I do), and you want to use ZFS, you should consider converting from RAID mode to HBA mode as explained here: https://www.dell.com/.

  • Switching from RAID to HBA mode from a Dell PERC card:
Dell PERC H730 RAID controller configuration screen with the option to switch to HBA mode highlighted.
  • Storage organization in Proxmox architecture:
Diagram illustrating Proxmox server storage architecture, including ZFS RAID1 for the system and ZFS RAID10 for virtual machine storage.

Installing Proxmox

Let's move on to installation. As we shall see, this is a fairly straightforward process.

  • Once started on our media, the Proxmox welcome menu should appear. Select Install Proxmox VE (Graphical):
Proxmox VE 8 installation screen with options for graphical and terminal-based installations
  • Accept the EULA by clicking on I agree:
Proxmox VE installer displaying the End User License Agreement (EULA) with accept and abort options
  • In the target disk step, click on Options to create a ZFS RAID1:
Proxmox VE installer screen showing disk selection with the 'Options' button highlighted for advanced configuration.
  • In the hard disk options window, select zfs (RAID1) and the two disks on which you are going to install the Proxmox hypervisor. Select do not use for the others disks:
Proxmox VE installer screen showing the selection of ZFS RAID1 for disk setup with two hard disks chosen and other slots set to 'do not use'.
  • Select time zone and keyboard layout:
Proxmox VE installer screen for selecting country, time zone, and keyboard layout with Next and Abort buttons
  • Set a strong password for the root user and enter an e-mail address:
Proxmox VE installer screen for setting the root password and administrator email address with Next and Abort buttons
  • Select the physical network card and IP configuration you wish to give to the management interface:
Proxmox VE installer screen for management network configuration, including hostname, IP address, gateway, and DNS server settings
  • Check the information displayed and click on Install to start Promox VE installation. Once installation is complete, the system automatically reboots:
Proxmox VE installer summary screen displaying configuration details before installation begins, with Install and Abort buttons
  • Once restarted, Proxmox will prompt you to connect to the web interface on the address you defined earlier and on port 8006:
Proxmox VE terminal screen displaying the web interface URL for server configuration after installation

Connecting to the Web interface

  • Open a web browser and access the Proxmox administration interface using the address you specified above:
Proxmox VE web interface login screen in a browser, showing the URL and login prompt for root user authentication

Post Installation

Add No-Subscription repository

If, like me, you don't have a subscription, you may want to disable enterprise repositories (which needs valid licencing) and enable no-subscription repositories.

Note: For companies, it's still a good idea to have a valid subscription.

  • Click on the two enterprise repository lines and click to the Disable button:
Screenshot of Proxmox VE 8.3 interface showing how to disable enterprise repositories in the APT Repositories menu.
  • Click the Add button:
Screenshot of Proxmox VE 8.3 interface showing how to add a repository in the APT Repositories menu.
  • Select No-Subscription and click Add:
Screenshot of Proxmox VE 8.3 interface showing the selection of the No-Subscription repository before adding it.
  • Go to the Shell menu and run an upgrade:
Screenshot of Proxmox VE 8.3 shell interface showing the execution of 'apt update && apt dist-upgrade' to update the system.

Add ZFS storage

  • Go to ZFS menu and click on Create: ZFS:
Screenshot of Proxmox VE 8.3 interface showing the option to create a new ZFS storage pool.
  • Select disks you want to include, give the storage a name, set the RAID level, and click Create:
Screenshot of Proxmox VE 8.3 interface showing the configuration of a ZFS RAID10 storage pool with selected disks, RAID level, and compression settings.

Add VMs bridge

  • Go to Network menu and click on Create:
Screenshot of Proxmox VE 8.3 interface showing the creation of a new Linux Bridge in the network settings.
  • Specify the physical network interface you want to associate with the bridge then click on Create:
Screenshot of Proxmox VE 8.3 interface showing the configuration of a Linux Bridge with bridge port eno1 before creation.