Proxmox Virtual Environment is a Debian based open-source virtualization management platform for KVM hypervisor and LXC containers. It provides an easy-to-use web interface to manage everything. All its enterprise-grade features are available for free. Proxmox VE supports LVM, ZFS, iSCSI, CephFS, and all other storage types that Debian GNU/Linux supports.
System Requirements
- Processor : Intel or AMD 64bit CPU with virtualization support (Intel VT or AMD-V)
- Memory : 1GB Minimum and additional space for ZFS if used (ECC RAM recommended for ZFS)
- Storage Controller : Non-RAID if ZFS or Ceph is used
- OS Storage : HDD or SSD
- Network Card : At least one NIC
In the next section, we will prepare a USB Flash drive with PVE installation files, and in the section following that, we will use the Flash drive to install PVE on a hard drive.
Installation Steps
1. Insert the USB flash drive and select in your BIOS options to boot from it.
2. After it boots, select Install Proxmox VE at the Proxmox VE menu and Enter.
3. At the next window, select the correct target hard disk where you want to install Proxmox VE
4. (Optional) The default filesystem will be ext4 if not changed. You can change the default PVE file system under the Options.
5. Next window is for Location related configurations. Enter your Country, Time Zone, and Keyboard Layout.
6. Set the root password and an email address for notifications, in the next display. Make sure the email address is ‘valid’.
7. The installer will auto populate the network configurations in the next window. Correct if necessary.
- is the Network Interface the Proxmox VE management server will listen to.
- is the hostname for your server
- is the IP address on the NIC you selected
- is the gateway from your router
- is the DNS from your router
8. Review the settings and click Install in the next display.
9. Installation will complete and reboot to PVE login console. Note down the URL of the management interface.
10. Open the URL in a web browser and login with the root password you set up earlier.
