Installing Proxmox is a simple process. We will learn more in later articles, especially the next one about updating it, adding users and the like.
There can be some configuration to do if you are running a Proxmox server without a subscription since it defaults to having a subscription.
Download
The first thing to do is to download Proxmox 8.4-1. Go to the Proxmox website at 'https://www.proxmox.com' and click on 'Downloads' at the top of the screen. At the new screen, click on 'Proxmox Virtual Environment' at the top-left of the screen. In the list should be 'Proxmox VE 8.4 ISO Installer'.
NOTE: I assume that since the end-of-life for Proxmox 8 is August 2026, they will remove the link then. At this time, you will need to use the current version. Again, I would assume the newer versions are similar enough to allow you to use this series of articles to manage the installation and configuration of Proxmox.
After downloading the ISO file, you will need to use a 'burning' tool, such as Balena Etcher, to place the image on a flash drive. The extracted image is just over 1.5 GB, so you do not need a large flash drive.
Once it completes flashing the image to the flash drive, you need to boot from the flash drive and start the installation process.
Installation
There are three basic ways to perform the update. These different ways are:
There are other methods, such as the Debug method, to determine why an installation is failing, usually due to hardware issues. The Debug method will break out of the install and show you the log files to see the exact error to determine what is causing the problem. If the problem is not clear in the log file, you can get the error message, code, etc and ask in the community for a solution, unless you have a subscription and you can ask technical support for the issue.
The GUI Installation is the same as the Text-based Installation. The difference is that the text-based option comprises ASCII character menus. If you have hardware that does not support the GUI, or your hardware is too new for there to be drivers to allow the GUI interface to run.
NOTE: The text-based install asks the same questions, in the same order as the GUI-based option. I will only cover the GUI-based and not the text-based setup for this reason.
With the GUI-based install, you can use the mouse, whereas in the text-based install you will use only the keyboard. Getting around is done with the arrow keys and TAB key.
GUI-based Install Menu
Boot your system with the flash drive that you created earlier from the ISO files.
Once booted, you’ll see a menu similar to Figure 1.
FIGURE 1
Here, you have the choice of:
FIGURE 2
Here, we have seven options:
You will need to install a dependency:
After it generates a new ISO, the answer file is 'answer.toml'. You can just include the answer file in the ISO when you make it with:
We use the ‘Rescue Boot' when your Proxmox server will not boot because of the Bootloader failing. Most times, to fix the Bootloader and reboot you can:
If you suspect your RAM chips may have an error, you can run 'Test Memory (memtest86+)' to check your memory to verify if it is okay. You do this option after a boot when the OS is not in memory.
The 'UEFI Firmware Settings' will reboot the system and go into the UEFI menu. This will allow you to make any necessary changes, such as enabling virtualization.
If you switched to 'Advanced Options', you can switch back by pressing the Escape key.
Graphical Installation Steps
Once you select 'Install Proxmox VE (Graphical)', the screen should go black with text appearing. This is the setup starting with some initial hardware setup, such as the network. Once it detects the hardware that it needs, it will load a GUI menu.
This is the next step in the installation process, which is shown in Figure 3.
FIGURE 3
At the bottom right of the screen, click on 'I agree' to continue with the installation.
The next screen will let you choose which drive to install the Debian OS with Proxmox. In Figure 4, you can see at the bottom that it chose '/dev/sda' as the default choice. If the choice it makes is not correct, you'll need to change it so data is not overwritten if it chooses the wrong drive.
FIGURE 4
If you choose 'Options', you'll see a new window appear, as shown in Figure 5. Here you can specify a different format other than 'EXT4' to be used. You can also set the size of the swap file (swapsize), maximum size for the root (maxroot), the minimum free (minfree) and the maximum size of the partition used for storing the Virtual Machines (maxvz).
FIGURE 5
Once you have made all your choices, click on 'Next' in the bottom right corner.
The next screen, Figure 6, lets you specify your country, time zone and keyboard layout. These should be auto-detected, but change some options if needed. Click on 'Next' when you have made your choices.
FIGURE 6
Next, it asks to set the ROOT password, verify it and put in a valid e-mail to send important e-mail alerts. Figure 7 shows the options. When you are satisfied with your choices, click 'Next'.
FIGURE 7
On the next screen, Figure 8, you can set the network device for the local network. This may be the only network card you have, but if you have multiple devices, this is the one that is used when connecting for management services through a web browser. Set the Hostname (FQDN), IP Address (CIDR), Gateway and DNS Server (only the first one). We can add DNS Servers later to allow for redundancy if one should fail. Be aware that the set up makes the IP Address static on the server, so you may need to choose an available one that is not included in the DHCP pool. Click on 'Next' when done.
FIGURE 8
The last screen is a 'Summary' screen that allows you to see all the options you chose so you can look over them one last time to verify your choices. Figure 9 shows the summary of my choices, which yours could most likely vary from. There is a checkbox to check if you want the system to reboot once the install completes. Click on 'Install' once you are satisfied with your choices. The installation should now start.
FIGURE 9
Before rebooting, if you chose the installation to do so when done or not, the last screen is shown. If you choose the system to automatically reboot, then the screen is shown until the counter reaches zero before the system reboots, and it starts at 5 seconds. If you did not choose to automatically reboot, then the screen will remain until you select 'Reboot'.
Here, it shows the IP Address and a Port number to use to connect from another system through a Web Browser. In my case, it is 'https://192.168.1.7:8006'. The Port number should always be '8006', as shown in Figure 10.
FIGURE 10
After the installation completes, if you chose a restart, the system should restart and wait at a command prompt asking for a username.
Conclusion
This should get you started and have the Operating System installed. There is quite a bit more to cover to get through the use of Proxmox.
I will say that if you are used to managing a server from a command line, this system is not typical. By using the web address at the end after the install, you can see how this server will be different. You can still use the command line, but it is better and easier to use the web interface. Most of what you need to do is done through the interface, and some things do not work through the command line as expected.
There can be some configuration to do if you are running a Proxmox server without a subscription since it defaults to having a subscription.
Download
The first thing to do is to download Proxmox 8.4-1. Go to the Proxmox website at 'https://www.proxmox.com' and click on 'Downloads' at the top of the screen. At the new screen, click on 'Proxmox Virtual Environment' at the top-left of the screen. In the list should be 'Proxmox VE 8.4 ISO Installer'.
NOTE: I assume that since the end-of-life for Proxmox 8 is August 2026, they will remove the link then. At this time, you will need to use the current version. Again, I would assume the newer versions are similar enough to allow you to use this series of articles to manage the installation and configuration of Proxmox.
After downloading the ISO file, you will need to use a 'burning' tool, such as Balena Etcher, to place the image on a flash drive. The extracted image is just over 1.5 GB, so you do not need a large flash drive.
Once it completes flashing the image to the flash drive, you need to boot from the flash drive and start the installation process.
Installation
There are three basic ways to perform the update. These different ways are:
- Graphical-User Interface (GUI) installation
- Text-based installation
- Update existing Debian 12 to Proxmox
There are other methods, such as the Debug method, to determine why an installation is failing, usually due to hardware issues. The Debug method will break out of the install and show you the log files to see the exact error to determine what is causing the problem. If the problem is not clear in the log file, you can get the error message, code, etc and ask in the community for a solution, unless you have a subscription and you can ask technical support for the issue.
The GUI Installation is the same as the Text-based Installation. The difference is that the text-based option comprises ASCII character menus. If you have hardware that does not support the GUI, or your hardware is too new for there to be drivers to allow the GUI interface to run.
NOTE: The text-based install asks the same questions, in the same order as the GUI-based option. I will only cover the GUI-based and not the text-based setup for this reason.
With the GUI-based install, you can use the mouse, whereas in the text-based install you will use only the keyboard. Getting around is done with the arrow keys and TAB key.
GUI-based Install Menu
Boot your system with the flash drive that you created earlier from the ISO files.
Once booted, you’ll see a menu similar to Figure 1.
FIGURE 1
Here, you have the choice of:
- Install Proxmox VE (Graphical)
- Install Proxmox VE (Terminal UI)
- Advanced Options
FIGURE 2
Here, we have seven options:
- Install Proxmox VE (Graphical, Debug Mode)
- Install Proxmox VE (Terminal UI, Debug Mode)
- Install Proxmox VE (Serial Console Debug Mode)
- Install Proxmox VE (Automated)
- Rescue Boot
- Test Memory (memtest86+)
- UEFI Firmware Settings
Code:
apt install proxmox-auto-install-assistantYou will need to install a dependency:
Code:
apt install xorrisoAfter it generates a new ISO, the answer file is 'answer.toml'. You can just include the answer file in the ISO when you make it with:
Code:
proxmox-auto-install-assistant prepare-iso /path/to/source.iso --fetch-from iso --answer-file /path/to/answer.tomlWe use the ‘Rescue Boot' when your Proxmox server will not boot because of the Bootloader failing. Most times, to fix the Bootloader and reboot you can:
Code:
update-initramfs -u
update-grub
reboot nowIf you suspect your RAM chips may have an error, you can run 'Test Memory (memtest86+)' to check your memory to verify if it is okay. You do this option after a boot when the OS is not in memory.
The 'UEFI Firmware Settings' will reboot the system and go into the UEFI menu. This will allow you to make any necessary changes, such as enabling virtualization.
If you switched to 'Advanced Options', you can switch back by pressing the Escape key.
Graphical Installation Steps
Once you select 'Install Proxmox VE (Graphical)', the screen should go black with text appearing. This is the setup starting with some initial hardware setup, such as the network. Once it detects the hardware that it needs, it will load a GUI menu.
This is the next step in the installation process, which is shown in Figure 3.
FIGURE 3
At the bottom right of the screen, click on 'I agree' to continue with the installation.
The next screen will let you choose which drive to install the Debian OS with Proxmox. In Figure 4, you can see at the bottom that it chose '/dev/sda' as the default choice. If the choice it makes is not correct, you'll need to change it so data is not overwritten if it chooses the wrong drive.
FIGURE 4
If you choose 'Options', you'll see a new window appear, as shown in Figure 5. Here you can specify a different format other than 'EXT4' to be used. You can also set the size of the swap file (swapsize), maximum size for the root (maxroot), the minimum free (minfree) and the maximum size of the partition used for storing the Virtual Machines (maxvz).
FIGURE 5
Once you have made all your choices, click on 'Next' in the bottom right corner.
The next screen, Figure 6, lets you specify your country, time zone and keyboard layout. These should be auto-detected, but change some options if needed. Click on 'Next' when you have made your choices.
FIGURE 6
Next, it asks to set the ROOT password, verify it and put in a valid e-mail to send important e-mail alerts. Figure 7 shows the options. When you are satisfied with your choices, click 'Next'.
FIGURE 7
On the next screen, Figure 8, you can set the network device for the local network. This may be the only network card you have, but if you have multiple devices, this is the one that is used when connecting for management services through a web browser. Set the Hostname (FQDN), IP Address (CIDR), Gateway and DNS Server (only the first one). We can add DNS Servers later to allow for redundancy if one should fail. Be aware that the set up makes the IP Address static on the server, so you may need to choose an available one that is not included in the DHCP pool. Click on 'Next' when done.
FIGURE 8
The last screen is a 'Summary' screen that allows you to see all the options you chose so you can look over them one last time to verify your choices. Figure 9 shows the summary of my choices, which yours could most likely vary from. There is a checkbox to check if you want the system to reboot once the install completes. Click on 'Install' once you are satisfied with your choices. The installation should now start.
FIGURE 9
Before rebooting, if you chose the installation to do so when done or not, the last screen is shown. If you choose the system to automatically reboot, then the screen is shown until the counter reaches zero before the system reboots, and it starts at 5 seconds. If you did not choose to automatically reboot, then the screen will remain until you select 'Reboot'.
Here, it shows the IP Address and a Port number to use to connect from another system through a Web Browser. In my case, it is 'https://192.168.1.7:8006'. The Port number should always be '8006', as shown in Figure 10.
FIGURE 10
After the installation completes, if you chose a restart, the system should restart and wait at a command prompt asking for a username.
Conclusion
This should get you started and have the Operating System installed. There is quite a bit more to cover to get through the use of Proxmox.
I will say that if you are used to managing a server from a command line, this system is not typical. By using the web address at the end after the install, you can see how this server will be different. You can still use the command line, but it is better and easier to use the web interface. Most of what you need to do is done through the interface, and some things do not work through the command line as expected.
