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Proxmox VE

Complete guide to Proxmox Virtual Environment: enterprise-grade open-source virtualization platform.

📋 Table of Contents

Introduction

Proxmox Virtual Environment (Proxmox VE) is an enterprise-grade open-source virtualization platform that combines:

  • Virtual machine virtualization (KVM/QEMU)
  • LXC containers for lightweight applications
  • Unified web management with intuitive interface
  • Distributed storage with multiple options
  • Clustering for high availability
  • Integrated backup with multiple destinations

Key Features

  • Open source: Based on Debian GNU/Linux
  • High performance: KVM for hardware virtualization
  • Scalability: Native clustering for multiple nodes
  • Flexibility: Support for multiple storage types
  • Security: Isolated LXC containers
  • Monitoring: Real-time metrics

Installation

System Requirements

  • CPU: 64-bit with virtualization support (Intel VT-x/AMD-V)
  • RAM: Minimum 4GB, recommended 8GB+
  • Storage: Minimum 32GB, recommended 100GB+
  • Network: Configured network interface

Installation from ISO

  1. Download ISO from proxmox.com
  2. Create bootable USB or use PXE
  3. Boot from installation media
  4. Follow the installation wizard
# Example of automated installation
# Create configuration file for unattended installation
cat > /tmp/proxmox-ve.conf << EOF
# Network configuration
interface=eth0
ip=192.168.1.100/24
gateway=192.168.1.1
dns=8.8.8.8

# Storage configuration
target=sda
filesystem=ext4

# User configuration
password=YourSecurePassword
email=admin@yourdomain.com
EOF

Installation on Debian

# Add Proxmox repository
echo "deb http://download.proxmox.com/debian/pve bullseye pve-no-subscription" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pve-install-repo.list

# Add GPG key
wget https://enterprise.proxmox.com/debian/proxmox-release-bullseye.gpg -O /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/proxmox-release-bullseye.gpg

# Update and install
apt update
apt install proxmox-ve postfix open-iscsi

Basic Configuration

Web Interface Access

# Access URL
https://SERVER-IP:8006

# Default credentials
Username: root
Password: (configured during installation)

Network Configuration

# Edit network configuration
nano /etc/network/interfaces

# Example configuration
auto lo
iface lo inet loopback

auto vmbr0
iface vmbr0 inet static
    address 192.168.1.100/24
    gateway 192.168.1.1
    bridge-ports eth0
    bridge-stp off
    bridge-fd 0

DNS Configuration

# Edit resolv.conf
nano /etc/resolv.conf

# Add DNS servers
nameserver 8.8.8.8
nameserver 8.8.4.4

Virtual Machine Management

Create VM from Web Interface

  1. Navigate to Datacenter → Node → Create VM
  2. Configure basic parameters:
  3. General: Name, ID, OS Type
  4. OS: ISO image, OS version
  5. System: SCSI controller, Qemu agent
  6. Hard Disk: Size, storage location
  7. CPU: Sockets, cores
  8. Memory: RAM allocation
  9. Network: Bridge, model

Create VM from Command Line

# Create VM with ID 100
qm create 100 --name "Ubuntu-Server" --memory 2048 --cores 2

# Add disk
qm set 100 --scsi0 local-lvm:32

# Add ISO
qm set 100 --ide2 local:iso/ubuntu-22.04-server-amd64.iso,media=cdrom

# Configure boot
qm set 100 --boot c --bootdisk scsi0

# Configure network
qm set 100 --net0 virtio,bridge=vmbr0

# Start VM
qm start 100

Advanced VM Management

# Clone VM
qm clone 100 101 --name "Ubuntu-Server-Clone"

# Migrate VM
qm migrate 100 target-node --online

# Snapshot
qm snapshot 100 snap1

# Backup
qm backup 100 local:backup

# Monitor
qm monitor 100

LXC Containers

Create Container

# Create Ubuntu container
pct create 200 local:vztmpl/ubuntu-22.04-standard_22.04-1_amd64.tar.gz \
  --hostname ubuntu-ct \
  --memory 512 \
  --cores 1 \
  --rootfs local-lvm:8 \
  --net0 name=eth0,bridge=vmbr0,ip=192.168.1.200/24,gw=192.168.1.1

# Start container
pct start 200

# Access container
pct enter 200

Container Management

# List containers
pct list

# Stop container
pct stop 200

# Restart container
pct restart 200

# Clone container
pct clone 200 201

# Backup
pct backup 200 local:backup

Storage

Storage Types

  • local: Local storage on the node
  • local-lvm: LVM for VMs and containers
  • NFS: Network file system
  • Ceph: Distributed storage
  • iSCSI: Network block storage
  • ZFS: Advanced file system

Configure NFS

# Add NFS storage
pvesm add nfs nfs-storage --server 192.168.1.10 --export /mnt/storage --content images,iso,vztmpl

Configure Ceph

# Install Ceph
apt install ceph

# Create Ceph cluster
ceph-deploy new node1 node2 node3

# Add OSDs
ceph-deploy osd create node1:/dev/sdb
ceph-deploy osd create node2:/dev/sdb
ceph-deploy osd create node3:/dev/sdb

# Add Ceph storage to Proxmox
pvesm add ceph ceph-storage --monhost 192.168.1.10,192.168.1.11,192.168.1.12 --username admin

Networking

Bridge Configuration

# Simple bridge
auto vmbr0
iface vmbr0 inet static
    address 192.168.1.100/24
    gateway 192.168.1.1
    bridge-ports eth0
    bridge-stp off
    bridge-fd 0

VLAN

# Bridge with VLAN
auto vmbr0.100
iface vmbr0.100 inet static
    address 192.168.100.100/24
    vlan-raw-device vmbr0

Bonding

# Bond of two interfaces
auto bond0
iface bond0 inet manual
    bond-slaves eth0 eth1
    bond-mode 802.3ad
    bond-miimon 100

auto vmbr0
iface vmbr0 inet static
    address 192.168.1.100/24
    gateway 192.168.1.1
    bridge-ports bond0
    bridge-stp off
    bridge-fd 0

Backup and Recovery

Configure Backup

# Configure backup job
nano /etc/pve/nodes/node/backup.conf

# Example configuration
backup: local:backup
compress: lz4
mode: snapshot
retention: 7
schedule: daily 02:00
storage: local:backup

Manual Backup

# VM backup
qm backup 100 local:backup --compress lz4

# Container backup
pct backup 200 local:backup --compress lz4

# Restore backup
qm restore 100 /var/lib/vz/dump/vzdump-qemu-100-2023_01_01-02_00_00.vma.lz4
pct restore 200 /var/lib/vz/dump/vzdump-lxc-200-2023_01_01-02_00_00.tar.lz4

Clustering

Create Cluster

# On first node
pvecm create cluster1

# On additional nodes
pvecm add 192.168.1.100

Cluster Management

# View cluster status
pvecm status

# Migrate VM between nodes
qm migrate 100 node2 --online

# Configure HA (High Availability)
ha-manager add vm:100
ha-manager add ct:200

Security

Firewall Configuration

# Enable firewall
pve-firewall set --enable 1

# Node rules
pve-firewall set --policy-in ACCEPT
pve-firewall set --policy-out ACCEPT

# VM rules
qm set 100 --firewall 1
pve-firewall set --rulegroup vm:100 --policy-in ACCEPT

SSL Certificates

# Generate self-signed certificate
pvecm updatecerts --force

# Configure Let's Encrypt certificate
apt install certbot
certbot certonly --standalone -d proxmox.yourdomain.com

Monitoring

System Metrics

# View resource usage
pvesm status
qm list
pct list

# Network monitoring
iftop -i vmbr0

Logs

# System logs
tail -f /var/log/syslog

# Proxmox logs
tail -f /var/log/pve/tasks/

# VM logs
tail -f /var/log/pve/qemu-server/100.log

Use Cases

Development Environment

# Create development VM
qm create 300 --name "Dev-Ubuntu" --memory 4096 --cores 4
qm set 300 --scsi0 local-lvm:50
qm set 300 --net0 virtio,bridge=vmbr0
qm set 300 --ide2 local:iso/ubuntu-22.04-desktop-amd64.iso,media=cdrom

Web Server

# Create container for web
pct create 400 local:vztmpl/ubuntu-22.04-standard_22.04-1_amd64.tar.gz \
  --hostname webserver \
  --memory 1024 \
  --cores 2 \
  --rootfs local-lvm:20 \
  --net0 name=eth0,bridge=vmbr0,ip=192.168.1.10/24,gw=192.168.1.1

Database Server

# VM for database
qm create 500 --name "DB-Server" --memory 8192 --cores 4
qm set 500 --scsi0 local-lvm:100
qm set 500 --scsi1 local-lvm:200  # Additional disk for data
qm set 500 --net0 virtio,bridge=vmbr0

Best Practices

  • ✅ Use snapshots before important changes
  • ✅ Configure automatic backups regularly
  • ✅ Monitor system resources
  • ✅ Use LXC containers for lightweight applications
  • ✅ Configure HA for critical services
  • ✅ Keep system updated
  • ✅ Document important configurations
  • ✅ Use VLANs to separate networks

Useful Tools

ProxMenuX

ProxMenuX is an advanced management tool for Proxmox VE that provides an enhanced graphical interface and additional functionalities.

Main features: - Enhanced web interface with better UX/UI - Advanced VM and container management - Real-time monitoring with graphs - Simplified backup and restore - User and permission management - Integration with multiple storage types

Installation: 

# Clone repository
git clone https://github.com/ayufan/proxmox-ve-helper.git
cd proxmox-ve-helper

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Configure and run
npm run build
npm start

Proxmox VE Helper

Proxmox VE Helper is a collection of scripts and tools to automate common tasks in Proxmox VE.

Functionalities: - Automation scripts for backup - VM migration tools - Monitoring and alerting utilities - Network configuration scripts - Cluster maintenance tools

Installation: 

# Download scripts
wget https://github.com/ayufan/proxmox-ve-helper/archive/refs/heads/master.zip
unzip master.zip
cd proxmox-ve-helper-master

# Give execution permissions
chmod +x scripts/*.sh

# Run installation script
./scripts/install.sh

Usage examples: 

# Automatic backup of all VMs
./scripts/backup-all-vms.sh

# VM migration with verification
./scripts/migrate-vm.sh 100 target-node

# Resource monitoring
./scripts/monitor-resources.sh

  • Proxmox Backup Server: Dedicated backup solution
  • Cockpit: Web interface for server management
  • Grafana: Advanced monitoring dashboards
  • Prometheus: Monitoring and alerting system
  • Ansible: Configuration automation

References