Installing Proxmox VE ===================== ifndef::manvolnum[] :pve-toplevel: endif::manvolnum[] ifdef::wiki[] :title: Installation endif::wiki[] {pve} is based on Debian and comes with an installation CD-ROM which includes a complete Debian system ("stretch" for version 5.x) as well as all necessary {pve} packages. The installer just asks you a few questions, then partitions the local disk(s), installs all required packages, and configures the system including a basic network setup. You can get a fully functional system within a few minutes. This is the preferred and recommended installation method. Alternatively, {pve} can be installed on top of an existing Debian system. This option is only recommended for advanced users since detail knowledge about {pve} is necessary. ifndef::wiki[] include::pve-system-requirements.adoc[] endif::wiki[] Using the {pve} Installation CD-ROM ----------------------------------- You can download the ISO from {website}. It includes the following: * Complete operating system (Debian Linux, 64-bit) * The {pve} installer, which partitions the hard drive(s) with ext4, ext3, xfs or ZFS and installs the operating system. * {pve} kernel (Linux) with LXC and KVM support * Complete toolset for administering virtual machines, containers and all necessary resources * Web based management interface for using the toolset NOTE: By default, the complete server is used and all existing data is removed. [thumbnail="screenshot/pve-grub-menu.png"] Please insert the installation CD-ROM, then boot from that drive. Immediately afterwards you can choose the following menu options: Install Proxmox VE:: Start normal installation. Install Proxmox VE (Debug mode):: Start installation in debug mode. It opens a shell console at several installation steps, so that you can debug things if something goes wrong. Please press `CTRL-D` to exit those debug consoles and continue installation. This option is mostly for developers and not meant for general use. Rescue Boot:: This option allows you to boot an existing installation. It searches all attached hard disks and, if it finds an existing installation, boots directly into that disk using the existing Linux kernel. This can be useful if there are problems with the boot block (grub), or the BIOS is unable to read the boot block from the disk. Test Memory:: Runs `memtest86+`. This is useful to check if your memory is functional and error free. [thumbnail="screenshot/pve-select-target-disk.png"] You normally select *Install Proxmox VE* to start the installation. After that you get prompted to select the target hard disk(s). The `Options` button lets you select the target file system, which defaults to `ext4`. The installer uses LVM if you select `ext3`, `ext4` or `xfs` as file system, and offers additional option to restrict LVM space (see <>) If you have more than one disk, you can also use ZFS as file system. ZFS supports several software RAID levels, so this is specially useful if you do not have a hardware RAID controller. The `Options` button lets you select the ZFS RAID level, and you can choose disks there. [thumbnail="screenshot/pve-select-location.png", float="left"] The next page just ask for basic configuration options like your location, the time zone and keyboard layout. The location is used to select a download server near you to speedup updates. The installer is usually able to auto detect those setting, so you only need to change them in rare situations when auto detection fails, or when you want to use some special keyboard layout not commonly used in your country. [thumbnail="screenshot/pve-set-password.png"] You then need to specify an email address and the superuser (root) password. The password must have at least 5 characters, but we highly recommend to use stronger passwords - here are some guidelines: - Use a minimum password length of 12 to 14 characters. - Include lowercase and uppercase alphabetic characters, numbers and symbols. - Avoid character repetition, keyboard patterns, dictionary words, letter or number sequences, usernames, relative or pet names, romantic links (current or past) and biographical information (e.g., ID numbers, ancestors' names or dates). It is sometimes necessary to send notification to the system administrator, for example: - Information about available package updates. - Error messages from periodic CRON jobs. All those notification mails will be sent to the specified email address. [thumbnail="screenshot/pve-setup-network.png"] The last step is the network configuration. Please note that you can use either IPv4 or IPv6 here, but not both. If you want to configure a dual stack node, you can easily do that after installation. [thumbnail="screenshot/pve-installation.png", float="left"] If you press `Next` now, installation starts to format disks, and copies packages to the target. Please wait until that is finished, then reboot the server. Further configuration is done via the Proxmox web interface. Just point your browser to the IP address given during installation (https://youripaddress:8006). NOTE: Default login is "root" (realm 'PAM') and the root password is defined during the installation process. [[advanced_lvm_options]] Advanced LVM Configuration Options ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The installer creates a Volume Group (VG) called `pve`, and additional Logical Volumes (LVs) called `root`, `data` and `swap`. The size of those volumes can be controlled with: `hdsize`:: Defines the total HD size to be used. This way you can save free space on the HD for further partitioning (i.e. for an additional PV and VG on the same hard disk that can be used for LVM storage). `swapsize`:: Defines the size of the `swap` volume. The default is the size of the installed memory, minimum 4 GB and maximum 8 GB. The resulting value cannot be greater than `hdsize/8`. + NOTE: If set to `0`, no `swap` volume will be created. `maxroot`:: Defines the maximum size of the `root` volume, which stores the operation system. The maximum limit of the `root` volume size is `hdsize/4`. `maxvz`:: Defines the maximum size of the `data` volume. The actual size of the `data` volume is: + `datasize = hdsize - rootsize - swapsize - minfree` + Where `datasize` cannot be bigger than `maxvz`. + NOTE: In case of LVM thin, the `data` pool will only be created if `datasize` is bigger than 4GB. + NOTE: If set to `0`, no `data` volume will be created and the storage configuration will be adapted accordingly. `minfree`:: Defines the amount of free space left in LVM volume group `pve`. With more than 128GB storage available the default is 16GB, else `hdsize/8` will be used. + NOTE: LVM requires free space in the VG for snapshot creation (not required for lvmthin snapshots). ZFS Performance Tips ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ZFS uses a lot of memory, so it is best to add additional RAM if you want to use ZFS. A good calculation is 4GB plus 1GB RAM for each TB RAW disk space. ZFS also provides the feature to use a fast SSD drive as write cache. The write cache is called the ZFS Intent Log (ZIL). You can add that after installation using the following command: zpool add log ifdef::wiki[] link:/wiki/Install_Proxmox_VE_on_Debian_Stretch[Install Proxmox VE on Debian Stretch] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- link:/wiki/Install_from_USB_Stick[Install from USB Stick] --------------------------------------------------------- endif::wiki[] ifndef::wiki[] Install {pve} on Debian ----------------------- {pve} ships as a set of Debian packages, so you can install it on top of a normal Debian installation. After configuring the repositories, you need to run: [source,bash] ---- apt-get update apt-get install proxmox-ve ---- Installing on top of an existing Debian installation looks easy, but it presumes that you have correctly installed the base system, and you know how you want to configure and use the local storage. Network configuration is also completely up to you. In general, this is not trivial, especially when you use LVM or ZFS. You can find a detailed step by step howto on the {webwiki-url}Install_Proxmox_VE_on_Debian_Stretch[wiki]. include::pve-usbstick.adoc[] endif::wiki[] ifdef::wiki[] Video Tutorials --------------- * List of all official tutorials on our http://www.youtube.com/proxmoxve[Proxmox VE YouTube Channel] * Tutorials in Spanish language on http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUULBIhA5QDBdNf1pcTZ5UXhek63Fij8z[ITexperts.es YouTube Play List] See Also -------- * link:/wiki/System_Requirements[System Requirements] * link:/wiki/Package_Repositories[Package Repositories] * link:/wiki/Host_System_Administration[Host System Administration] * link:/wiki/Network_Configuration[Network Configuration] * link:/wiki/Installation:_Tips_and_Tricks[Installation: Tips and Tricks] endif::wiki[]