Setting up Proxmox server

Setup:

I am using a old 200 dollar desktop to setup up this HomeLab.

Configuration:

Processor Type - Intel Core i5 6th

Processor Speed - 3.2 GHz

Processor Cores - 4

Processor Cache - 6M

RAM Size - 32 GB DDR3

Solid-State Drive -- Capacity1000 GB

****I've setup my proxmox server using below guide. ****

Prerequisites

- A bare metal server with hardware virtualization support (Intel VT-x/AMD-V).

- A bootable USB drive with the Proxmox VE ISO image.

- Access to the server’s management interface (e.g., IPMI, iDRAC, or a physical console).

- Basic knowledge of Linux commands.

1) Download Proxmox VE ISO Installer

Navigate to the URL https://www.proxmox.com/en/downloads/proxmox-virtual-environment/iso

and download the latest Proxmox VE ISO installer. As of the time of writing this post, version "Proxmox VE 8.0.2" is available for download..

Once the download is completed, burn the ISO file into USB flash drive and make it bootable. In Windows environment, use Rufus software https://rufus.ie/en/ to create bootable USB drive from ISO file.

2) Boot from the Proxmox VE Installer

Initiate the Proxmox VE Installer Connect the bootable USB drive to the server and access the server's BIOS or UEFI settings. Confirm that the USB drive is set as the primary boot device.

Once the server boots from the USB drive, the Proxmox VE boot menu will appear. Select the "Install Proxmox VE (Graphical)" option and press Enter.

Choose "Install Proxmox VE (Graphical)" Option

3) Accept End User License Agreement

In this step, you will be prompted to accept end user license agreement,

Read the agreement and click on “I agree”

4) Choose Installation Target Disk

The installer will prompt you to choose the target disk for Proxmox installation. By default, the installer will format the file system with ext4. If you wish to change the file system type, click on "Options," as shown below.

Select the target disk and file system and then click on Next to proceed further.

5) Set Location and Time Zone

Set your preferred Location (Country), Time zone and Keyboard layout.

Click on Next

6) Create Admin Password and Email Address

Create a password for the Proxmox VE web interface. This password will be used to log in to the Proxmox VE web management console. Also specify the valid email address where all notification will be sent.

Click Next

7) Network Configuration

Configure the network settings for Proxmox VE. Set the FQDN, static IP address, subnet mask, gateway, and DNS server. Ensure accurate network configuration based on your environment.

You can put your preferred hostname here. For my Lab I choose homelab, and my ip CIDR range was 10.0.0.1/24.

Click Next to proceed further with the installation.

8) Begin Proxmox VE Installation

Review your installation settings one last time.

If everything looks correct, click on “Install“. The installation process will begin, and Proxmox VE will be installed on your bare metal server.

Once the installation is complete, the server will reboot automatically. Remember to remove the USB drive and adjust the boot medium from BIOS settings for Proxmox VE to boot from the installed disk.

9) Access the Proxmox VE Web Interface

Access the Proxmox VE Web Interface Open a web browser and go to the IP address assigned in Step 7, followed by port 8006 (e.g., http://your_server_ip:8006).

While accessing the Web interface, you may encounter the following screen. Accept the risk and continue, as self-signed certificates are used for the web interface.

Next, log in with the username “root” and the password you set in Step 6.

Click on Login, this will take us to dashboard (Web UI). You will get a warning message like “No Valid Subscription”, Choose OK to ignore the warning,

Finally, we will get the following Proxmox VE Web UI.

Great, this confirms that Proxmox VE has been installed successfully on your server.

Lets update the proxmox before we start building VMs.

Click at the host name on the right and click on shell on the left. You should be able to see a linux terminal windows.

# apt update

# apt update -y

Once all the updates are installed then reboot the system once using following command,

# reboot

Conclusion

We have successfully installed Proxmox VE on bare metal. This powerful virtualization platform opens up a world of possibilities for managing virtual machines and containers.