Proxmox VE: Complete Installation and Initial Setup

Proxmox Virtual Environment (Proxmox VE) is the foundation of many serious homelabs. It's an open-source hypervisor that lets you run virtual machines (VMs) and Linux containers (LXCs) on bare-metal hardware. If you're building a homelab, Proxmox is likely your first stop.

This guide walks you through downloading, installing, and initially configuring Proxmox VE 8.x (the current stable release as of 2026).

What You'll Need

Hardware Requirements

Proxmox is surprisingly lightweight, but for a production homelab, aim for:

• CPU: 64-bit Intel or AMD processor with virtualization support (Intel VT-x or AMD-V)
• RAM: Minimum 2 GB for Proxmox itself, plus memory for your VMs/containers (16–32 GB recommended for beginners)
• Storage: 32 GB minimum for the OS; SSD highly recommended for performance
• Network: At least one Gigabit Ethernet interface
• Boot media: USB stick (8 GB+) for the installer

Before You Start

1. Download the ISO: Grab the latest Proxmox VE ISO from proxmox.com
2. Create bootable USB: Use Balena Etcher or dd to write the ISO
3. Plan your network: Decide on a static IP address for your Proxmox host (e.g., 192.168.1.10/24)
4. Backup first: If installing on existing hardware, back up any important data

Installation Walkthrough

Step 1: Boot from USB

Insert your bootable USB and power on the server. You may need to:

• Enter BIOS/UEFI (usually Del, F2, or F12 during boot)
• Enable virtualization extensions (Intel VT-x / AMD-V)
• Set USB as the first boot device
• Disable Secure Boot if Proxmox fails to boot

Proxmox will boot into the installer menu. Select Install Proxmox VE (Graphical) for the easiest experience.

Step 2: Accept the EULA

Click I Agree to accept the licence. There's no way around this one!

Step 3: Select Target Storage

Choose the hard drive where Proxmox will install. The installer will show available disks:

• Options: ZFS (RAID), ext4, or XFS
• For beginners: ext4 is simplest
• For advanced users: ZFS provides snapshots and data integrity but needs more RAM

If you select ZFS, you can configure RAID levels (RAID0, RAID1, RAID10, ZRAID1, ZRAID2). For a single-disk install, just pick the disk and move on.

Warning: This will erase everything on the selected disk. Double-check you've picked the right one.

Step 4: Configure Country and Timezone

Set your location:

• Country: Your country
• Timezone: Local timezone (e.g., Europe/London)
• Keyboard layout: Usually en-gb or en-us

Getting the timezone right matters for log timestamps and scheduled tasks.

Step 5: Set Password and Email

• Password: Choose a strong root password (you'll use this for SSH and the web UI)
• Email address: Used for system notifications (optional but recommended)

Store this password securely—you'll need it often.

Step 6: Network Configuration

This is critical. Configure:

• Hostname: Something meaningful like pve1.errorlab.uk or just proxmox.local
• IP address: Static IP (e.g., 192.168.1.10)
• Netmask: Usually 255.255.255.0 (or /24 in CIDR)
• Gateway: Your router's IP (e.g., 192.168.1.1)
• DNS server: Your DNS (e.g., 192.168.1.1 for AdGuard Home, or 1.1.1.1)

Tip: Use a static IP. DHCP reservations work, but static is more reliable for a hypervisor.

Step 7: Review and Install

The installer shows a summary. Check everything, then click Install.

This takes 5–15 minutes depending on your hardware. Once complete, you'll see:

Installation finished successfully.
Please remove the installation medium and reboot.

Remove the USB and press Enter to reboot.

First Login and Initial Configuration

Access the Web Interface

Once Proxmox boots, you'll see a console with an IP address. From another machine, open:

https://<your-proxmox-ip>:8006

For example: https://192.168.1.10:8006

You'll get a certificate warning (Proxmox uses a self-signed cert by default). Accept it and log in:

• Username: root
• Password: The one you set during installation
• Realm: Linux PAM standard authentication

Step 1: Remove the Enterprise Repository

Proxmox enables the enterprise repo by default, which requires a paid subscription. For homelab use, switch to the no-subscription repo:

# Disable enterprise repo
sed -i 's|deb https://enterprise.proxmox.com|deb # https://enterprise.proxmox.com|' /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pve-enterprise.list

# Enable no-subscription repo
echo "deb http://download.proxmox.com/debian/pve bookworm pve-no-subscription" >> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pve-no-subscription.list

Step 2: Update the System

Now update everything:

apt update
apt dist-upgrade -y

This may take a while. Grab a coffee.

Step 3: Configure Storage

By default, Proxmox has local (for ISOs and backups) and local-lvm (for VM disks). You can add more:

1. Go to Datacenter → Storage → Add
2. Choose type: NFS, SMB/CIFS, iSCSI, etc.
3. Enter details and click Add

For homelabs, NFS from a TrueNAS or Synology is common.

Step 4: Upload ISOs

You'll need installation media for your VMs:

1. Go to Datacenter → local → ISO Images
2. Click Upload or use wget from the shell:

cd /var/lib/vz/dump
wget https://releases.ubuntu.com/24.04/ubuntu-24.04-live-server-amd64.iso

Step 5: Create Your First VM

Let's create a simple Ubuntu VM:

1. Click Create VM (top-right)
2. General: Set VM ID and name (e.g., 100 and ubuntu-test)
3. OS: Select your uploaded ISO
4. System: Defaults are fine (enable QEMU Agent for better integration)
5. Disks: Allocate storage and size (20–32 GB for a basic Linux VM)
6. CPU: 2 cores is a good start
7. Memory: 2048 MB minimum for Ubuntu Server
8. Network: Bridge to vmbr0 (your physical network)
9. Confirm and click Finish

Now select the VM and click Start. Open the Console to complete the OS installation.

Essential Post-Install Tasks

Enable SSH Access

Proxmox is Debian-based, so SSH works out of the box. But you might want to:

# Edit SSH config
nano /etc/ssh/sshd_config

# Recommended changes:
PermitRootLogin prohibit-password
PubkeyAuthentication yes
PasswordAuthentication no  # After setting up keys

Then reload SSH: systemctl restart sshd

Set Up Backups

Don't skip this:

1. Go to Datacenter → Backup
2. Click Add
3. Configure:
   • Storage: Where to store backups (local or remote)
   • Schedule: Daily/weekly
   • Mode: Snapshot (preferred) or Suspend
   • Compression: ZSTD is fast and efficient

Configure Notifications

Get alerts when things go wrong:

1. Go to Datacenter → Options → Email from Address
2. Set your sender email (e.g., proxmox@errorlab.uk)
3. Configure SMTP relay if needed

You can also integrate with Telegram, Slack, or Pushover via scripts.

Common Issues and Fixes

"No valid repository found"

If apt update fails, you probably didn't disable the enterprise repo. Check:

cat /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pve-enterprise.list

It should be commented out (line starts with #).

VMs Won't Start: "KVM not available"

This means virtualization isn't enabled in BIOS. Reboot, enter BIOS, and enable:

• Intel VT-x / AMD-V
• Sometimes called "Virtualization Technology" or "SVM Mode"

Network Not Working in VMs

Check that your bridge (vmbr0) is configured correctly:

cat /etc/network/interfaces

You should see something like:

auto vmbr0
iface vmbr0 inet static
    address 192.168.1.10/24
    gateway 192.168.1.1
    bridge-ports enp1s0
    bridge-stp off
    bridge-fd 0

Next Steps

You now have a working Proxmox installation. Where to go from here?

• Learn LXC containers: Lightweight alternatives to full VMs
• Set up HA clustering: Multiple Proxmox nodes for redundancy
• Explore Proxmox Backup Server: Dedicated backup appliance
• Automate with Terraform: Infrastructure as code for Proxmox

In future posts, we'll cover networking deep-dives, storage options, and migrating physical machines to Proxmox.

Welcome to the world of virtualisation!