A beginner's guide to setting up Proxmox

Updated Oct 16, 2024

Ayush Pande is a PC hardware and gaming writer. When he's not working on a new article, you can find him with his head stuck inside a PC or tinkering with a server operating system. Besides computing, his interests include spending hours in long RPGs, yelling at his friends in co-op games, and practicing guitar.

followed

Followed

Thread1

Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents:

Try something different:

Virtual machines and containers are perfect for those who enjoy experimenting with different operating systems and self-hosting services on local hardware. While you could run VirtualBox orVMware Workstation Pro/Fusion Pro on your daily driver, bare metal hypervisors are better for advanced virtualization workloads.

If you have a spare PC lying around, you can leverage Proxmox to turn it into a dedicated home lab. In this detailed guide, we'll explain everything you need to know about Proxmox.

5 incredible things you can do with Proxmox

Some of these projects are easy to pull off, while others require a lot of blood, sweat, and tears

Posts

By Ayush Pande

Sep 4, 2024

What's Proxmox?

In the simplest terms, Proxmox is a virtualization platform that allows you to set up virtual machines and containers on your PC. Unlike VirtualBox and other Type-2 hypervisors, Proxmox leverages the Kernel Virtual Machine (KVM) module of Linux, meaning you’ll need to install it directly on the host system, rather than download it on top of an existing OS. While experts may argue about the exact classification, you can think of Proxmox as a Type-1 hypervisor wrapped in a neat Debian distro, which provides better performance and a myriad of virtualization features than its Type-2 rivals.

What’s more, Proxmox also supports Linux Containers (LXC). For the uninitiated, containers can be thought of as simplified, toned-down versions of virtual machines. Instead of replicating an entire OS, containers only include the bare minimum code and an OS environment to run a specific application. This makes them a lot faster, smaller, and more flexible than their VM counterparts.

Creating a bootable USB drive

Now that you know the basics of Proxmox, it’s time to begin the installation procedure. The first step involves writing Proxmox’s ISO file onto an external USB drive with the help of a flashing utility, like Rufus.

Download the portable version of Rufus from theofficial link.
Head toProxmox’s website and download its latest ISO file.
Run Rufus as an admin and choose yourUSB drive as theDevice.
Click on theSelect button under boot selection, pick theProxmox ISO you downloaded earlier, and tapOpen.
PressStart and wait for Rufus to write the Proxmox files on your USB drive.

Changing the boot priority in the BIOS

Once Rufus is done creating the bootable USB drive, you can unplug it from your system and insert it into the spare PC. But before you can install Proxmox, you’ll need to modify the boot order in the BIOS to ensure your PC uses the newly flashed USB drive to launch into the Proxmox installer wizard.

Power on your PC and mash theDel key as it boots up to enter the BIOS menu.
Navigate to theAdvanced Settings section and select theBoot Priority/Boot Order option.
Ensure that theUSB drive is selected asBoot Option #1.
Exit the BIOS after saving the changes made to the boot settings.

Installing Proxmox

When the PC reboots, you’ll be greeted with the installation screen for Proxmox.

SelectInstall Proxmox VE (Graphical).
HitI agree when Proxmox displays the EULA terms.
Choose yourStorage drive and clickNext.
Be sure to hitNextafter each step from here on out.
Pick yourCountry,Time-zone, andKeyboard layout settings.
Enter a suitablepassword alongside youremail address.
Type theHostname (FQDN) for your Proxmox server and leave the other settings be.
If you have more than one networking device (like a WLAN card and a LAN interface) active during installation, make sure you pick the correct device under the Management Interface option.
Double-check everything on theSummary page and pressInstall.

Launching the Proxmox web UI

Once Proxmox has finished installing, your PC will reboot into the newly-installed OS. Now’s the time to switch to your other system and access the Proxmox web UI.

Launch yourfavorite web browser and type theIP address of your spare PC followed by a: (colon) and port number8006 into the Address Bar.
If you're having trouble finding the IP address of your Proxmox server, you can use a network scanner like Nmap or Fing.
Agree toproceed to the URL when your web browser cautions you about the connection not being private.
Enterroot as theUsername and type thePassword you set in the installation wizard before clicking on theLog in button.

Assuming you followed all the steps properly, the Proxmox Dashboard will appear on your web browser.

Creating virtual machines in Proxmox

Setting up virtual machines inside your Proxmox server may sound a little intimidating if you’re only familiar with Type-2 hypervisors. But you’ll be surprised at how easy it is to create your VMs in Proxmox.

Click onlocal (user_name) storage under theprimary node,select theISO Images option, and pressDownload from URL.
Paste theURL of the web page containing the ISO file of the OS you wish to use with the virtual machine, hitQuery, and pressDownload.
Once the ISO file has finished downloading, click on theCreate VM button.
HitNext inside theGeneral tab.
Under theOS settings, choose theISOfile you downloaded earlier.
Skip to theCPU tab and pick the number ofCores,Sockets, and other processor-related settings for the virtual machine.
Inside theMemory section, enter the amount ofRAM you wish to allocate to the VM instance.
Skip to theConfirm section and tap theFinish button.
You can boot the VM by clicking on itsName under your primary node and pressingStart.
To use the virtual machine, click onConsole.

Creating containers in Proxmox

Similar to virtual machines, setting up containers on your Proxmox server is a pretty straightforward process. All you have to do is:

Head back to theLocal (user_name) storage pool and enter theCT Templates tab.
Click onTemplates and pressDownload after selecting your preferred container template.
After Proxmox has finished downloading the template, click on theCreate CT button.
Set aPassword for the container in the General tab.
Choose theTemplate's ISO file you just downloaded inside theTemplate section.
Skip to theCPU tab and allocate the ideal number ofCores for the container.
Similarly, set the amount ofRAM the container will use in theMemory section.
Switch to the Confirmsection and click onFinish.
Like the VM instance, select thecontainer before launching it via theStart button and accessing it with theConsole.

Managing your home lab with Proxmox

When I first started using Proxmox a few weeks ago, I was blown away by how useful the platform really is. So far, I’ve been able to simultaneously access multiple VMs and containers on my aged Ryzen 5 1600 processor, a feat I considered impossible when using Type-2 hypervisors. That said, switching to an equally outdateddual-Xeon system helped, as the extra cores and memory provided even more headroom for all myself-hosted apps.

All that said, if you’re a complete beginner, then VirtualBox or VMWare Workstation Pro might be the better option. While they lack the superior performance and capabilities of a dedicated server, they’re quite simple to set up and work well for lighter workloads. For containers, you can try checking outCasaOS, which provides an easy UI for Docker-powered workloads.