Intro
So what is Proxmox? Before we take a look at the installation and web UI, we’ll talk about what Proxmox is.
Proxmox alone doesn’t tell you what you are running. Proxmox has, at the day of release of this blog, 3 different types of OS’s. Yes Proxmox is a OS based upon Debian.
- Proxmox VE (Virtual Environment)
- Proxmox Backup Server
- Proxmox Mail Gateway
Proxmox Backup Server is an OS specialized in Backing up your VM’s, thought any NAS will do for backing up your VM’s, it should be easier to use a software (in this case a hole OS) that is build for the job. But that is out of the scope of this blog.
Proxmox Mail Gateway is an open-source email security solution protecting your mail server against all email threats from the moment they emerge. And will also not be discussed further on.
What we talk about in this blog is Proxmox Virtual Environment. As on the Proxmox website is state:
“Proxmox VE is a complete open-source platform for enterprise virtualization. With the built-in web interface you can easily manage VMs and containers, software-defined storage and networking, high-availability clustering, and multiple out-of-the-box tools on a single solution.”
proxmox.com
Proxmox VE is one of the many hypervisors available for use and is completely free for use (thought you can subscribe for additional support options, enterprise repository).
Minimum Requirements
- 1 or more servers (can be an old PC)
- CPU that supports Virtualization
- 64 bit
- 1GB of RAM (for Proxmox only)
- Network interface
- Fast Storage (Prefereably SSD)
- USB min 2GB (for installation only)
Note that if you wish to run VM’s you’ll need more that 1GB of RAM.
Installing VE
Download
Before we can install we need to download the ISO. Head to Proxmox.com and download the latest Proxmox VE available (7.1 at the date of release).
Depending on your internet speed you’ll either have it in a sec of need to take a break.
While downloading we can search for an ISO burner, many are available but i used ‘balena etcher’.
Burning Image
#Insert etching USB
Installing VE
Insert your newly created bootable USB with the proxmox installer on it and start your server/PC. Once started you should see the welcome screen. Note that you’ll need at least a screen and keyboard attached to your server/PC or use any kind of remote management from your server hardware.
In my case, i used the PIKVM (link) with and HDMI video capture USB and my desktop pc as screen and keyboard/mouse combo. Any KVM, IPMA/IDrac or direct connection to the PC/Server will do the job.
Hit ‘ENTER’ to continue and start the installation process.
In the next screen you’ll be asked to accept the EULA, hit ‘ENTER’ or click ‘I agree’ with your mouse.
Once past the EULA screen the settings will come up. First select your Country, region and keyboard layout.
Next we fill in the admin password twice, don’t lose it as we’ll need this password to login to the console and web interface of our Proxmox server. Note that as in any Linux system we use ‘root’ as the main admin account.
If you want email notifications or wish to subscribe then don’t forget to change the email to yours, else replacing the invalid with com will do fine.
On to the next page, the network configuration. If you have multiple NIC’s in your system (as common in server hardware) please check that the correct one has been selected. Proxmox requires you to set a static IP for it to operate. If you don’t know whats on your network then leave things as is, in most home configurations this will already be correct, unless you wish to change the servers IP address like in the example below.
A quick summary and on to the installation.
Installation doesn’t take long.
When installation has been completed your server will reboot automatically (if you didn’t disable this in the summary). remove your installation medium at this point and your Proxmox server will now boot.
There are 2 ways to manage your new proxmox system.
- Using the console (see below)
- Using the Web interface
In the console you’ll see that it has a link in it. Surf to this link from any PC in the same network to access the Web Interface of your server.
Conclusion
Installing Proxmox might seem hard when you do it for the first time, but the process is actually well described while installing.
Join us in the second episode of this Proxmox series to get a short intro into the Web environment and our other episodes for more Proxmox fun.
