1 [[chapter_installation]]
11 {pve} is based on Debian. This is why the install disk images (ISO files)
12 provided by Proxmox include a complete Debian system (Debian 10 Buster for
13 {pve} version 6.x) as well as all necessary {pve} packages.
15 The installer will guide through the setup, allowing you to partition the local
16 disk(s), apply basic system configurations (for example, timezone, language,
17 network) and install all required packages. This process should not take more
18 than a few minutes. Installing with the provided ISO is the recommended method
19 for new and existing users.
21 Alternatively, {pve} can be installed on top of an existing Debian system. This
22 option is only recommended for advanced users because detailed knowledge about
27 include::pve-system-requirements.adoc[]
29 include::pve-installation-media.adoc[]
34 [[installation_installer]]
35 Using the {pve} Installer
36 -------------------------
38 The installer ISO image includes the following:
40 * Complete operating system (Debian Linux, 64-bit)
42 * The {pve} installer, which partitions the local disk(s) with ext4, xfs
43 or ZFS and installs the operating system.
45 * {pve} Linux kernel with KVM and LXC support
47 * Complete toolset for administering virtual machines, containers, the host
48 system, clusters and all necessary resources
50 * Web-based management interface
52 NOTE: All existing data on the for installation selected drives will be removed
53 during the installation process. The installer does not add boot menu entries
54 for other operating systems.
56 Please insert the xref:installation_prepare_media[prepared installation media]
57 (for example, USB flash drive or CD-ROM) and boot from it.
59 TIP: Make sure that booting from the installation medium (for example, USB) is
60 enabled in your servers firmware settings.
62 [thumbnail="screenshot/pve-grub-menu.png"]
64 After choosing the correct entry (e.g. Boot from USB) the {pve} menu will be
65 displayed and one of the following options can be selected:
69 Starts the normal installation.
71 TIP: It's possible to use the installation wizard with a keyboard only. Buttons
72 can be clicked by pressing the `ALT` key combined with the underlined character
73 from the respective button. For example, `ALT + N` to press a `Next` button.
75 Install {pve} (Debug mode)::
77 Starts the installation in debug mode. A console will be opened at several
78 installation steps. This helps to debug the situation if something goes wrong.
79 To exit a debug console, press `CTRL-D`. This option can be used to boot a live
80 system with all basic tools available. You can use it, for example, to
81 xref:chapter_zfs[repair a degraded ZFS 'rpool'] or fix the
82 xref:sysboot[bootloader] for an existing {pve} setup.
86 With this option you can boot an existing installation. It searches all attached
87 hard disks. If it finds an existing installation, it boots directly into that
88 disk using the Linux kernel from the ISO. This can be useful if there are
89 problems with the boot block (grub) or the BIOS is unable to read the boot block
94 Runs `memtest86+`. This is useful to check if the memory is functional and free
97 [thumbnail="screenshot/pve-select-target-disk.png"]
99 After selecting *Install {pve}* and accepting the EULA, the prompt to select the
100 target hard disk(s) will appear. The `Options` button opens the dialog to select
101 the target file system.
103 The default file system is `ext4`. The Logical Volume Manager (LVM) is used when
104 `ext4` or `xfs` ist selected. Additional options to restrict LVM space
105 can be set (see <<advanced_lvm_options,below>>).
107 {pve} can be installed on ZFS. As ZFS offers several software RAID levels, this
108 is an option for systems that don't have a hardware RAID controller. The target
109 disks must be selected in the `Options` dialog. More ZFS specific settings can
110 be changed under `Advanced Options` (see <<advanced_zfs_options,below>>).
112 WARNING: ZFS on top of any hardware RAID is not supported and can result in data
115 [thumbnail="screenshot/pve-select-location.png", float="left"]
117 The next page asks for basic configuration options like the location, the time
118 zone, and keyboard layout. The location is used to select a download server
119 close by to speed up updates. The installer usually auto-detects these settings.
120 They only need to be changed in the rare case that auto detection fails or a
121 different keyboard layout should be used.
123 [thumbnail="screenshot/pve-set-password.png"]
125 Next the password of the superuser (root) and an email address needs to be
126 specified. The password must consist of at least 5 characters. It's highly
127 recommended to use a stronger password. Some guidelines are:
129 - Use a minimum password length of 12 to 14 characters.
131 - Include lowercase and uppercase alphabetic characters, numbers, and symbols.
133 - Avoid character repetition, keyboard patterns, common dictionary words,
134 letter or number sequences, usernames, relative or pet names, romantic links
135 (current or past), and biographical information (for example ID numbers,
136 ancestors' names or dates).
138 The email address is used to send notifications to the system administrator.
141 - Information about available package updates.
143 - Error messages from periodic CRON jobs.
145 [thumbnail="screenshot/pve-setup-network.png"]
147 The last step is the network configuration. Please note that during installation
148 you can either use an IPv4 or IPv6 address, but not both. To configure a dual
149 stack node, add additional IP addresses after the installation.
151 [thumbnail="screenshot/pve-installation.png", float="left"]
153 The next step shows a summary of the previously selected options. Re-check every
154 setting and use the `Previous` button if a setting needs to be changed. To
155 accept, press `Install`. The installation starts to format disks and copies
156 packages to the target. Please wait until this step has finished; then remove
157 the installation medium and restart your system.
159 [thumbnail="screenshot/pve-install-summary.png"]
161 If the installation failed check out specific errors on the second TTY
162 (`CTRL + ALT + F2'), ensure that the systems meets the
163 xref:install_minimal_requirements[minimum requirements]. If the installation
164 is still not working look at the xref:getting_help[how to get help chapter].
166 Further configuration is done via the Proxmox web interface. Point your browser
167 to the IP address given during installation (https://youripaddress:8006).
169 NOTE: Default login is "root" (realm 'PAM') and the root password is defined
170 during the installation process.
172 [[advanced_lvm_options]]
173 Advanced LVM Configuration Options
174 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
176 The installer creates a Volume Group (VG) called `pve`, and additional Logical
177 Volumes (LVs) called `root`, `data`, and `swap`. To control the size of these
182 Defines the total hard disk size to be used. This way you can reserve free space
183 on the hard disk for further partitioning (for example for an additional PV and
184 VG on the same hard disk that can be used for LVM storage).
188 Defines the size of the `swap` volume. The default is the size of the installed
189 memory, minimum 4 GB and maximum 8 GB. The resulting value cannot be greater
192 NOTE: If set to `0`, no `swap` volume will be created.
196 Defines the maximum size of the `root` volume, which stores the operation
197 system. The maximum limit of the `root` volume size is `hdsize/4`.
201 Defines the maximum size of the `data` volume. The actual size of the `data`
204 `datasize = hdsize - rootsize - swapsize - minfree`
206 Where `datasize` cannot be bigger than `maxvz`.
208 NOTE: In case of LVM thin, the `data` pool will only be created if `datasize` is
211 NOTE: If set to `0`, no `data` volume will be created and the storage
212 configuration will be adapted accordingly.
216 Defines the amount of free space left in the LVM volume group `pve`. With more
217 than 128GB storage available the default is 16GB, else `hdsize/8` will be used.
219 NOTE: LVM requires free space in the VG for snapshot creation (not required for
222 [[advanced_zfs_options]]
223 Advanced ZFS Configuration Options
224 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
225 The installer creates the ZFS pool `rpool`. No swap space is created but you can
226 reserve some unpartitioned space on the install disks for swap. You can also
227 create a swap zvol after the installation, although this can lead to problems.
228 (see <<zfs_swap,ZFS swap notes>>).
232 Defines the `ashift` value for the created pool. The `ashift` needs to be set at
233 least to the sector-size of the underlying disks (2 to the power of `ashift` is
234 the sector-size), or any disk which might be put in the pool (for example the
235 replacement of a defective disk).
239 Defines whether compression is enabled for `rpool`.
243 Defines which checksumming algorithm should be used for `rpool`.
247 Defines the `copies` parameter for `rpool`. Check the `zfs(8)` manpage for the
248 semantics, and why this does not replace redundancy on disk-level.
252 Defines the total hard disk size to be used. This is useful to save free space
253 on the hard disk(s) for further partitioning (for example to create a
254 swap-partition). `hdsize` is only honored for bootable disks, that is only the
255 first disk or mirror for RAID0, RAID1 or RAID10, and all disks in RAID-Z[123].
261 ZFS works best with a lot of memory. If you intend to use ZFS make sure to have
262 enough RAM available for it. A good calculation is 4GB plus 1GB RAM for each TB
265 ZFS can use a dedicated drive as write cache, called the ZFS Intent Log (ZIL).
266 Use a fast drive (SSD) for it. It can be added after installation with the
270 # zpool add <pool-name> log </dev/path_to_fast_ssd>
275 Install {pve} on Debian
276 -----------------------
278 {pve} ships as a set of Debian packages and can be installed on to of a standard
280 xref:sysadmin_package_repositories[After configuring the repositories] you need
281 to run the following commands:
285 # apt-get install proxmox-ve
288 Installing on top of an existing Debian installation looks easy, but it presumes
289 that the base system has been installed correctly and that you know how you want
290 to configure and use the local storage. You also need to configure the network
293 In general, this is not trivial, especially when LVM or ZFS is used.
295 A detailed step by step how-to can be found on the
296 {webwiki-url}Install_Proxmox_VE_on_Debian_Buster[wiki].
306 * List of all official tutorials on our
307 http://www.youtube.com/proxmoxve[{pve} YouTube Channel]
309 * Tutorials in Spanish language on
310 http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUULBIhA5QDBdNf1pcTZ5UXhek63Fij8z[ITexperts.es
317 * link:/wiki/Prepare_Installation_Media[Prepare Installation Media]
319 * link:/wiki/Install_Proxmox_VE_on_Debian_Buster[Install Proxmox VE on Debian Buster]
321 * link:/wiki/System_Requirements[System Requirements]
323 * link:/wiki/Package_Repositories[Package Repositories]
325 * link:/wiki/Host_System_Administration[Host System Administration]
327 * link:/wiki/Network_Configuration[Network Configuration]
329 * link:/wiki/Installation:_Tips_and_Tricks[Installation: Tips and Tricks]