Installing ProxMox

This post will walk you through what Proxmox is, how to install it, how to use it, and why it’s such a powerful tool for anyone—from IT professionals to curious tinkerers like us.

What is Proxmox VE?

Proxmox Virtual Environment (VE) is an open-source virtualization platform that lets you manage virtual machines (VMs), containers (LXC), storage, networking, and backups—all from a sleek web interface. How cool is that? It combines two powerful technologies: KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) for full virtualization and LXC (Linux Containers) for lightweight container-based virtualization.

Think of Proxmox as your very own mini data center, packed into one machine, completely under your control.

Let's dive a little bit deeper...

To appreciate Proxmox, you need to understand a fundamental concept: hypervisors.

A hypervisor is a piece of software (or sometimes even firmware) that allows you to run multiple virtual machines (VMs) on a single physical computer (called the host). Each VM runs its own operating system, as if it were a separate computer.

Think of it like this:

You have one real PC, but thanks to the hypervisor, you can create several fake PCs (virtual machines) that all share the same hardware—but they act like they’re completely independent.

We know two types of hypervisors:

  • Type 2 Hypervisor (Hosted): This runs on top of an existing OS (like Windows or Linux). Think VirtualBox or VMware Workstation. It’s great for casual testing but not ideal for performance-heavy workloads.

  • Type 1 Hypervisor (Bare-metal): This runs directly on the hardware. No middleman. Examples? Proxmox VE! Because it doesn’t rely on a host OS, it tends to be faster and more secure.

So when you install Proxmox, you’re wiping out the host OS and installing a lean, powerful virtualization system that talks directly to your hardware. That’s one reason it’s so fast.

Installing Proxmox VE

1

Download the ISO

Go to the official site: proxmox.com/downloads

Pick Proxmox VE ISO Installer, and download it.

2

Burn the ISO to a USB Drive

For this step, you'll need an USB Drive. I recommend a minimum of 2 GB. Plug it into your computer, and then use a tool like Rufus or Balena Etcher to write the ISO to a USB stick.

You'll just have to open Rufus or Balena Etcher, select your USB stick from the available drives list, and then select the ISO file you've just installed. Click on start and... boom!

3

Boot from USB

Insert the USB into the machine you want to turn into a Proxmox server. Boot into the BIOS (usually by pressing F12 on your keyboard while turning on your PC, but it depends on your motherboard), navigate to booting settings and select the USB Device as Booting Device.

4

Install Proxmox

Once booted, the installer is straightforward: you will be shown a GUI interface. That's the ProxMox VE installer interface. Just follow the steps, and you will be done! I might give you some suggestions, though:

  • Don't use only a part of your SSD/HDD, use the entire disk.

  • Configure a static IP address.

5

Access the Web Interface

From another device on the same network (connected to the same Wi-Fi, or to the same router, to talk easy), open your browser and navigate to:

https://yourserverip:8006

You’ll probably get a certificate warning... ignore it for now. We don’t have to worry about security issues… I mean… it’s us!

Log in with root and the password you set earlier. And done! You're in!

First Configurations

Once you’re in, the magic begins! Here’s the GUI of my ProxMox:

Look at that — pretty slick, huh?

This is the Proxmox VE dashboard, your control center for running and managing powerful virtual infrastructure, right from your browser. Let's dive a little bit further... and let's create our first Container and Virtual Machine!

Creating a Container

1

Enable Containers

  1. Go to Datacenter > Storage

  2. Double click on local

  3. In content, select Container, Container Template

2

Download your template

  1. Go to Datacenter > pve > local (pve)

  2. Click on CT Templates

  3. On the top menu, click Templates

  4. Download the template you prefer the most!

3

Create the Container

  1. On the top-right corner, click on Create CT

  2. Set a hostname and password to access the container.

  3. Click continue, and select the template you've just downloaded.

  4. Continue through the configuration process

  5. Boom! You have your first container. To access it, click on its icon on the left sidebar, and click on Start. Then, click on console to access the CLI.

Creating a Virtual Machine

1

Enable Virtual Machines

  1. Go to Datacenter > Storage

  2. Double click on local

  3. In content, select ISO image

2

Upload a ISO image

  1. Download a ISO image of an OS that you like, such as Windows, Ubuntu, Debian... you should be able to easily to that by googling for the ISO image download. Then, download it

  2. On your ProxMox VE Web Interface, go to Datacenter > pve > local (pve)

  3. Click on ISO Images

  4. On the to menu, click on Import, and select the ISO image you've downloaded

3

Create the Virtual Machine

  1. On the top-right corner, click on Create VM

  2. Insert a name for the VM

  3. On the OS panel, select the ISO Image you've just imported.

  4. Keep going with the configuration and... boom!

  5. To start it, click on the VM icon on the left sidebar and click on Start.

Final Thoughts

Proxmox is more than just a virtualization tool—it’s an ecosystem. Whether you’re building a simple home server, running labs for study and certification, or experimenting with clusters and high availability, Proxmox has your back.

If you’re just getting started, take your time. Break things, make containers explode, rebuild them, experiment. That’s where the real learning happens.

If you’re diving into Proxmox, you’re in good company. Stay tuned.

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