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, ext3, 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 server will be removed during the installation
55 Please insert the xref:installation_prepare_media[prepared installation media]
56 (for example, USB flash drive or CD-ROM) and boot from it.
58 TIP: Make sure that booting from the installation medium (for example, USB) is
59 enabled in your servers firmware settings.
61 [thumbnail="screenshot/pve-grub-menu.png"]
63 After choosing the correct entry (e.g. Boot from USB) the {pve} menu will be
64 displayed and one of the following options can be selected:
68 Starts the normal installation.
70 TIP: It's possible to use the installation wizard with a keyboard only. Buttons
71 can be clicked by pressing the `ALT` key combined with the underlined character
72 from the respective button. For example, `ALT + N` to press a `Next` button.
74 Install {pve} (Debug mode)::
76 Starts the installation in debug mode. A console will be opened at several
77 installation steps. This helps to debug the situation if something goes wrong.
78 To exit a debug console, press `CTRL-D`. This option can be used to boot a live
79 system with all basic tools available. You can use it, for example, to
80 xref:chapter_zfs[repair a degraded ZFS 'rpool'] or fix the
81 xref:sysboot[bootloader] for an existing {pve} setup.
85 With this option you can boot an existing installation. It searches all attached
86 hard disks. If it finds an existing installation, it boots directly into that
87 disk using the Linux kernel from the ISO. This can be useful if there are
88 problems with the boot block (grub) or the BIOS is unable to read the boot block
93 Runs `memtest86+`. This is useful to check if the memory is functional and free
96 [thumbnail="screenshot/pve-select-target-disk.png"]
98 After selecting *Install {pve}* and accepting the EULA, the prompt to select the
99 target hard disk(s) will appear. The `Options` button opens the dialog to select
100 the target file system.
102 The default file system is `ext4`. The Logical Volume Manager (LVM) is used when
103 `ext3`, `ext4` or `xfs` ist selected. Additional options to restrict LVM space
104 can be set (see <<advanced_lvm_options,below>>).
106 {pve} can be installed on ZFS. As ZFS offers several software RAID levels, this
107 is an option for systems that don't have a hardware RAID controller. The target
108 disks must be selected in the `Options` dialog. More ZFS specific settings can
109 be changed under `Advanced Options` (see <<advanced_zfs_options,below>>).
111 WARNING: ZFS on top of any hardware RAID is not supported and can result in data
114 [thumbnail="screenshot/pve-select-location.png", float="left"]
116 The next page asks for basic configuration options like the location, the time
117 zone, and keyboard layout. The location is used to select a download server
118 close by to speed up updates. The installer usually auto-detects these settings.
119 They only need to be changed in the rare case that auto detection fails or a
120 different keyboard layout should be used.
122 [thumbnail="screenshot/pve-set-password.png"]
124 Next the password of the superuser (root) and an email address needs to be
125 specified. The password must consist of at least 5 characters. It's highly
126 recommended to use a stronger password. Some guidelines are:
128 - Use a minimum password length of 12 to 14 characters.
130 - Include lowercase and uppercase alphabetic characters, numbers, and symbols.
132 - Avoid character repetition, keyboard patterns, common dictionary words,
133 letter or number sequences, usernames, relative or pet names, romantic links
134 (current or past), and biographical information (for example ID numbers,
135 ancestors' names or dates).
137 The email address is used to send notifications to the system administrator.
140 - Information about available package updates.
142 - Error messages from periodic CRON jobs.
144 [thumbnail="screenshot/pve-setup-network.png"]
146 The last step is the network configuration. Please note that during installation
147 you can either use an IPv4 or IPv6 address, but not both. To configure a dual
148 stack node, add additional IP addresses after the installation.
150 [thumbnail="screenshot/pve-installation.png", float="left"]
152 The next step shows a summary of the previously selected options. Re-check every
153 setting and use the `Previous` button if a setting needs to be changed. To
154 accept, press `Install`. The installation starts to format disks and copies
155 packages to the target. Please wait until this step has finished; then remove
156 the installation medium and restart your system.
158 [thumbnail="screenshot/pve-install-summary.png"]
160 If the installation failed check out specific errors on the second TTY
161 (`CTRL + ALT + F2'), ensure that the systems meets the
162 xref:install_minimal_requirements[minimum requirements]. If the installation
163 is still not working look at the xref:getting_help[how to get help chapter].
165 Further configuration is done via the Proxmox web interface. Point your browser
166 to the IP address given during installation (https://youripaddress:8006).
168 NOTE: Default login is "root" (realm 'PAM') and the root password is defined
169 during the installation process.
171 [[advanced_lvm_options]]
172 Advanced LVM Configuration Options
173 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
175 The installer creates a Volume Group (VG) called `pve`, and additional Logical
176 Volumes (LVs) called `root`, `data`, and `swap`. To control the size of these
181 Defines the total hard disk size to be used. This way you can reserve free space
182 on the hard disk for further partitioning (for example for an additional PV and
183 VG on the same hard disk that can be used for LVM storage).
187 Defines the size of the `swap` volume. The default is the size of the installed
188 memory, minimum 4 GB and maximum 8 GB. The resulting value cannot be greater
191 NOTE: If set to `0`, no `swap` volume will be created.
195 Defines the maximum size of the `root` volume, which stores the operation
196 system. The maximum limit of the `root` volume size is `hdsize/4`.
200 Defines the maximum size of the `data` volume. The actual size of the `data`
203 `datasize = hdsize - rootsize - swapsize - minfree`
205 Where `datasize` cannot be bigger than `maxvz`.
207 NOTE: In case of LVM thin, the `data` pool will only be created if `datasize` is
210 NOTE: If set to `0`, no `data` volume will be created and the storage
211 configuration will be adapted accordingly.
215 Defines the amount of free space left in the LVM volume group `pve`. With more
216 than 128GB storage available the default is 16GB, else `hdsize/8` will be used.
218 NOTE: LVM requires free space in the VG for snapshot creation (not required for
221 [[advanced_zfs_options]]
222 Advanced ZFS Configuration Options
223 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
224 The installer creates the ZFS pool `rpool`. No swap space is created but you can
225 reserve some unpartitioned space on the install disks for swap. You can also
226 create a swap zvol after the installation, altough this can lead to problems.
227 (see <<zfs_swap,ZFS swap notes>>).
231 Defines the `ashift` value for the created pool. The `ashift` needs to be set at
232 least to the sector-size of the underlying disks (2 to the power of `ashift` is
233 the sector-size), or any disk which might be put in the pool (for example the
234 replacement of a defective disk).
238 Defines whether compression is enabled for `rpool`.
242 Defines which checksumming algorithm should be used for `rpool`.
246 Defines the `copies` parameter for `rpool`. Check the `zfs(8)` manpage for the
247 semantics, and why this does not replace redundancy on disk-level.
251 Defines the total hard disk size to be used. This is useful to save free space
252 on the hard disk(s) for further partitioning (for exmaple to create a
253 swap-partition). `hdsize` is only honored for bootable disks, that is only the
254 first disk or mirror for RAID0, RAID1 or RAID10, and all disks in RAID-Z[123].
260 ZFS works best with a lot of memory. If you intend to use ZFS make sure to have
261 enough RAM available for it. A good calculation is 4GB plus 1GB RAM for each TB
264 ZFS can use a dedicated drive as write cache, called the ZFS Intent Log (ZIL).
265 Use a fast drive (SSD) for it. It can be added after installation with the
269 # zpool add <pool-name> log </dev/path_to_fast_ssd>
274 link:/wiki/Install_from_USB_Stick[Install from USB Stick]
275 ---------------------------------------------------------
277 link:/wiki/Install_Proxmox_VE_on_Debian_Buster[Install Proxmox VE on Debian Buster]
278 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
284 Install {pve} on Debian
285 -----------------------
287 {pve} ships as a set of Debian packages and can be installed on to of a standard
289 xref:sysadmin_package_repositories[After configuring the repositories] you need
290 to run the following commands:
294 # apt-get install proxmox-ve
297 Installing on top of an existing Debian installation looks easy, but it presumes
298 that the base system has been installed correctly and that you know how you want
299 to configure and use the local storage. You also need to configure the network
302 In general, this is not trivial, especially when LVM or ZFS is used.
304 A detailed step by step how-to can be found on the
305 {webwiki-url}Install_Proxmox_VE_on_Debian_Stretch[wiki].
315 * List of all official tutorials on our
316 http://www.youtube.com/proxmoxve[{pve} YouTube Channel]
318 * Tutorials in Spanish language on
319 http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUULBIhA5QDBdNf1pcTZ5UXhek63Fij8z[ITexperts.es
326 * link:/wiki/System_Requirements[System Requirements]
328 * link:/wiki/Package_Repositories[Package Repositories]
330 * link:/wiki/Host_System_Administration[Host System Administration]
332 * link:/wiki/Network_Configuration[Network Configuration]
334 * link:/wiki/Installation:_Tips_and_Tricks[Installation: Tips and Tricks]