pve-installation.adoc

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