Guide to setup proxmox homelab from scratch.

Setup

In this guide, we’ll walk through the process of setting up a Proxmox homelab from scratch. We’ll cover everything from installing Proxmox to creating a development VM.

Installing Proxmox

The first step is to install Proxmox on your server. You can download the latest version of Proxmox from the official website and follow the installation instructions.

Proxmox first run steps

After installing Proxmox, there are a few additional steps you should take to configure it for your homelab:

1. Remove the enterprise repository and add the no-subscription repository. This will allow you to use Proxmox without a paid subscription. You can do this by running the following commands:

   sed -i.bak "s/enterprise/no-subscription/g" /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pve-enterprise.list
   apt update
   

2. Create a new vmbr1 bridge for your data network. This bridge will be shared across all hosts in your homelab and will allow you to connect your VMs to a separate network for data traffic. You can create the bridge by following these steps:

   • Open the Proxmox web interface in your browser and log in.
   • Click on the Datacenter node in the left-hand menu.
   • Click on the Network tab.
   • Click the Create button and select Linux Bridge.
   • Enter vmbr1 as the bridge name and click “Create”.
   • Select the new vmbr1 bridge and click the Edit button.
   • Configure the bridge settings as needed for your homelab.

3. Import any existing ZFS pools you have. If you have existing ZFS pools on your server, you can import them into Proxmox by following these steps:

   • Open the Proxmox web interface in your browser and log in.
   • Click on the Datacenter node in the left-hand menu.
   • Click on the Storage tab.
   • Click the Import button and select ZFS.
   • Select the ZFS pool you want to import and click Import.
   • Proxmox will now import the ZFS pool and make it available for use.

Starting the Setup

Once you have Proxmox installed and configured, you can start setting up your homelab. The first thing you’ll want to do is create a new virtual machine (VM) to use as your development environment.

Prerequisites

GitHub Copilot: Sure! Here are the steps to clone the proxmox-ubuntu-vm-template repository and make it work:

1. Install git and libguestfs-tools

    apt-get install git libguestfs-tools
   

2. Clone the repository to your local machine using the following command:

   git clone https://github.com/prashantsolanki3/proxmox-ubuntu-vm-template.git
   

3. Navigate to the cloned repository directory:

   cd proxmox-ubuntu-vm-template
   

4. Configure

    # Make the file executable
    chmod +x ./create-template.sh
   
    cp .env.sample .env
   
    # Populate the .env file with your values
    nano .env
   
    # Update the values with `{Replace:*}`
   

5. Run the script to download, configure and copy the image to the set location

    # Run the script
    bash -x ./create-template.sh .env
   

You are now ready to move on to setup proxmox to use with terraform. Continue with the next Post in the series - Prepare Proxmox for Terraform