pve-installation.adoc

   1 Installing Proxmox VE
   2 ---------------------
   3 include::attributes.txt[]
   4
   5 {pve} ships as a set of Debian packages, so you can simply install it
   6 on top of a normal Debian installation. After configuring the
   7 repositories, you need to run:
   8
   9 [source,bash]
  10 ----
  11 apt-get update
  12 apt-get install proxmox-ve
  13 ----
  14
  15 While this looks easy, it presumes that you have correctly installed
  16 the base system, and you know how you want to configure and use the
  17 local storage. Network configuration is also completely up to you.
  18
  19 In general, this is not trivial, especially when you use LVM or
  20 ZFS. This is why we provide an installation CD-ROM for {pve}. That
  21 installer just ask you a few questions, then partitions the local
  22 disk(s), installs all required packages, and configures the system
  23 including a basic network setup. You can get a fully functional system
  24 within a few minutes, including the following:
  25
  26 * Complete operating system (Debian Linux, 64-bit)
  27 * Partition the hard drive with ext4 (alternative ext3 or xfs) or ZFS
  28 * {pve} Kernel with LXC and KVM support
  29 * Complete toolset
  30 * Web based management interface
  31
  32 NOTE: By default, the complete server is used and all existing data is
  33 removed.
  34
  35 Using the {pve} Installation CD-ROM
  36 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  37
  38 Please insert the installation CD-ROM, then boot from that
  39 drive. Immediately afterwards you can choose the following menu
  40 options:
  41
  42 Install Proxmox VE::
  43
  44 Start normal installation.
  45
  46 Install Proxmox VE (Debug mode)::
  47
  48 Start installation in debug mode. It opens a shell console at several
  49 installation steps, so that you can debug things if something goes
  50 wrong. Please press `CTRL-D` to exit those debug consoles and continue
  51 installation. This option is mostly for developers and not meant for
  52 general use.
  53
  54 Rescue Boot::
  55
  56 This option allows you to boot an existing installation. It searches
  57 all attached hard disks, and if it finds an existing installation,
  58 boots directly into that disk using the existing Linux kernel. This
  59 can be useful if there are problems with the boot block (grub), or the
  60 BIOS is unable to read the boot block from the disk.
  61
  62 Test Memory::
  63
  64 Runs 'memtest86+'. This is useful to check if your memory if
  65 functional and error free.
  66
  67 You normally select *Install Proxmox VE* to start the installation.
  68 After that you get prompted to select the target hard disk(s). The
  69 `Options` button lets you select the target file system, which
  70 defaults to `ext4`. The installer uses LVM if you select 'ext3',
  71 'ext4' or 'xfs' as file system, and offers additional option to
  72 restrict LVM space (see <<advanced_lvm_options,below>>)
  73
  74 If you have more than one disk, you can also use ZFS as file system.
  75 ZFS supports several software RAID levels, so this is specially useful
  76 if you do not have a hardware RAID controller. The `Options` button
  77 lets you select the ZFS RAID level, and you can choose disks there.
  78
  79 The next pages just asks for basic configuration options like time
  80 zone and keyboard layout. You also need to specify your email address
  81 and select a superuser password.
  82
  83 The last step is the network configuration. Please note that you can
  84 use either IPv4 or IPv6 here, but not both. If you want to configure a
  85 dual stack node, you can easily do that after installation.
  86
  87 If you press `Next` now, installation starts to format disks, and
  88 copies packages to the target. Please wait until that is finished,
  89 then reboot the server.
  90
  91 Further configuration is done via the Proxmox web interface. Just
  92 point your browser to the IP address given during installation
  93 (https://youripaddress:8006). {pve} is tested for IE9, Firefox 10
  94 and higher, and Google Chrome.
  95
  96
  97 [[advanced_lvm_options]]
  98 Advanced LVM configuration options
  99 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 100
 101 The installer creates a Volume Group (VG) called `pve`, and additional
 102 Logical Volumes (LVs) called `root`, `data` and `swap`. The size of
 103 those volumes can be controlled with:
 104
 105 `hdsize`::
 106
 107 Defines the total HD size to be used. This way you can save free
 108 space on the HD for further partitioning (i.e. for an additional PV
 109 and VG on the same hard disk that can be used for LVM storage).
 110
 111 `swapsize`::
 112
 113 To define the size of the `swap` volume. Default is the same size as
 114 installed RAM, with 4GB minimum and `hdsize/8` as maximum.
 115
 116 `maxroot`::
 117
 118 The `root` volume size. The `root` volume stores the whole operation
 119 system.
 120
 121 `maxvz`::
 122
 123 Define the size of the `data` volume, which is mounted at
 124 '/var/lib/vz'.
 125
 126 `minfree`::
 127
 128 To define the amount of free space left in LVM volume group `pve`.
 129 16GB is the default if storage available > 128GB, `hdsize/8` otherwise.
 130 +
 131 NOTE: LVM requires free space in the VG for snapshot creation (not
 132 required for lvmthin snapshots).
 133
 134
 135 ZFS Performance Tips
 136 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 137
 138 ZFS uses a lot of memory, so it is best to add additional 8-16GB RAM
 139 if you want to use ZFS.
 140
 141 ZFS also provides the feature to use a fast SSD drive as write cache. The
 142 write cache is called the ZFS Intent Log (ZIL). You can add that after
 143 installation using the following command:
 144
 145  zpool add <pool-name> log </dev/path_to_fast_ssd>
 146