Proxmox Setup Guide

proxmox debian virtualization server linux networking infrastructure

Complete guide for installing Proxmox over Debian 11, including network configuration and setup steps

Proxmox Setup Guide

Network: 10.6.6.1/24 - DMZ
VLAN ID: 600
IP: 10.6.6.5
WebUI: https://10.6.6.5:8006

Note: These are personal notes and not necessarily a tutorial. Some things may not work in your environment due to differences in networks and subnets. If you see a domain name, it probably refers to an IP address of a machine that I have set up for myself.

Installation

The Proxmox bare-metal ISO installer doesn’t work for me. Instead, I have to install it over the top of Debian.

Debian 11.5 - Bullseye

Download the torrent file

  • Open it to download Debian

Setup the installation USB

Find the USB disk that will be used for the install:

sudo fdisk -l

Copy the ISO to the USB disk (replace /dev/sdX with the USB disk found above):

sudo dd if=~/Downloads/debian-11.5.0-amd64-netinst.iso of=/dev/sdX status=progress

Install

  • Insert the USB disk into the machine and boot from it
  • Follow the prompts to provision and install on the desired disk or disks

Network Configuration

Make the following change to /etc/hosts:

127.0.1.1 debian.local_domain debian
10.6.6.5 inf-thor.jasonbrennan.com inf-thor

Proxmox 7.3 Installation

Add Proxmox Repository to APT

echo "deb [arch=amd64] http://download.proxmox.com/debian/pve bullseye pve-no-subscription" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pve-install-repo.list

Add Proxmox Repository Key

wget https://enterprise.proxmox.com/debian/proxmox-release-bullseye.gpg -O /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/proxmox-release-bullseye.gpg

Verify the Key

sha512sum /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/proxmox-release-bullseye.gpg
# Expected: 7fb03ec8a1675723d2853b84aa4fdb49a46a3bb72b9951361488bfd19b29aab0a789a4f8c7406e71a69aabbc727c936d3549731c4659ffa1a08f44db8fdcebfa

Update APT Cache and Packages

sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade

Install Proxmox Kernel

sudo apt install pve-kernel-5.15 && systemctl reboot

Install Proxmox Packages

sudo apt install proxmox-ve postfix open-iscsi

Choose “local only” for mail server configuration.

Remove Debian Kernel

sudo apt remove linux-image-amd64 'linux-image-5.10*'

Update GRUB

Add /usr/sbin to $PATH for su (helps ensure /usr/sbin is added to $PATH for su just like it’s added for su -):

su
echo 'export PATH=$PATH:/usr/sbin' >> /root/.bashrc && source /root/.bashrc
update-grub && exit

Remove os-prober

sudo apt remove os-prober

Network Configuration

Add a bridged network that allows virtual machines to access the LAN.

Edit /etc/network/interfaces:

# Proxmox set to a static IP using DHCP
auto enp5s0
iface enp5s0 inet dhcp

auto vmbr0
iface vmbr0 inet static
	address 10.6.6.5/24
	gateway 10.6.6.1
	bridge-ports enp5s0
	bridge-stp off
	bridge-fd 0
	bridge-vlan-aware yes
	bridge-vids 2-4094

Restart Networking

sudo systemctl restart networking

Post-Installation

After completing these steps, you should be able to access the Proxmox web interface at https://10.6.6.5:8006.

Questions?

If you have any questions or need help with your setup, don’t hesitate to reach out. I’m here to help!