Proxmox VE Getting Started — Installation, Storage, VMs, and LXC

What is Proxmox Virtual Environment (PVE)?

Proxmox VE is an open-source, enterprise-grade Type-1 (bare-metal) hypervisor. Unlike software like VirtualBox or VMware Workstation that runs on top of a desktop OS, Proxmox installs directly onto your server hardware, combining a Debian Linux core with:

1. KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine): Full hardware virtualization for running Linux, Windows, BSD, or TrueNAS.
2. LXC (Linux Containers): Lightweight container virtualization sharing the host kernel for minimal CPU and RAM overhead.
3. Web-based Management GUI: A web dashboard on port 8006 to monitor resources, manage disks, take snapshots, and cluster nodes.

Step 1: Installation & Initial Access

1. Download the official Proxmox VE ISO from proxmox.com and flash it to a USB drive with BalenaEtcher or Ventoy.
2. Boot your server from the USB drive and run the installer.
3. Crucial Network Setting: Always assign a static IP address (e.g. 192.168.1.100/24) and your router gateway (192.168.1.1). Never use DHCP on a hypervisor; if the IP changes, you will lose web access.
4. Once installation completes and the server reboots, connect to the web interface from any computer on your network:

https://192.168.1.100:8006 (Accept the self-signed TLS warning, then log in as root with the password set during installation).

Step 2: Choosing your Storage Backend

During installation, Proxmox asks for your target filesystem:

Step 3: VMs vs. LXC Containers — Which to use?

• Virtual Machine (KVM): Emulates a complete virtual computer with virtual BIOS, virtual CPU, and virtual devices. Use VMs when you need:
• Windows or FreeBSD/TrueNAS.
• Complete kernel isolation.
• Custom kernel modules or Docker with complex storage drivers.
• LXC (Linux Container): Shares the host Linux kernel directly. Starts in 1 second and consumes virtually zero idle RAM (often under 30MB). Use LXC for:
• Small Linux services (Pi-hole, reverse proxies, WireGuard, lightweight web apps).

Step 4: Managing LXC Containers from the CLI

While the web GUI is intuitive, sysadmins often manage containers from the terminal using pct (Proxmox Container Toolkit):

# 1. Download a Debian 12 container template
pveam update
pveam download local debian-12-standard_12.7-1_amd64.tar.zst

# 2. Create an unprivileged container (ID 100)
pct create 100 local:vztmpl/debian-12-standard_12.7-1_amd64.tar.zst \
  --hostname webserver \
  --cores 2 \
  --memory 2048 \
  --swap 512 \
  --rootfs local-lvm:16 \
  --net0 name=eth0,bridge=vmbr0,ip=dhcp \
  --unprivileged 1

# 3. Start the container
pct start 100

# 4. Open a root shell inside the container
pct enter 100

Command & flag breakdown

• pct create 100: Creates a new container assigned numeric ID 100.
• --hostname webserver: Sets the internal container hostname.
• --cores 2: Grants the container access to 2 virtual CPU cores.
• --memory 2048: Allocates 2048 MB (2 GB) of RAM.
• --rootfs local-lvm:16: Provisions a 16 GB root disk on the local-lvm storage pool.
• --net0 name=eth0,bridge=vmbr0,ip=dhcp: Connects virtual interface eth0 to the default Proxmox network bridge vmbr0 using DHCP.
• --unprivileged 1: Enforces UID namespace isolation for security.
• pct enter 100: Drops you directly into an interactive root terminal session inside container 100 without needing SSH.

VM Essential: Install the QEMU Guest Agent

Whenever you install a Linux VM (like Debian or Ubuntu) inside Proxmox, always install the guest agent:

# Inside your VM guest operating system:
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y qemu-guest-agent
sudo systemctl enable --now qemu-guest-agent

This communicates with Proxmox, allowing the web GUI to display the VM's real IP address, sync time, and safely trigger graceful ACPI OS shutdowns during backups.