How to Install Proxmox on Debian Jessie

Introduction

Proxmox is an open source solution for server virtualization. What makes Proxmox unique is that it allows you to run simultaneously run two types of virtualization: KVM and LXC. Additionally, it comes with a clean web interface to use, which minimizes the need to use the command line to configure it, and an excellent API.

Requirements

• Debian Jessie
• VT to use KVM

Important Note

Vultr’s servers are already virtualized, which means that it won’t be possible to run KVM VMs if you install Proxmox since VT will not be enabled. However, LXC should work. It is highly recommended to install Proxmox on a bare-metal server if you intend to use it in production.

Installation

In order to install Proxmox. we have to add their repository: The first step is the add the Proxmox repository to apt:

echo "deb http://download.proxmox.com/debian jessie pve-no-subscription" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pve-install-repo.list

Next, we add the repository’s key to ensure its validity and to ave a secure source for the required packages:

wget -O- "http://download.proxmox.com/debian/key.asc" | apt-key add -

Once we’ve completed the two steps above, we can proceed with updating our repository and installing Proxmox:

apt-get update && apt-get install proxmox-ve ntp ssh postfix ksm-control-daemon open-iscsi systemd-sysv

Common issues

In some cases, the installation may fail due to a qemu-server error. Should you encounter this error, make sure your /etc/hosts file has the following entires:

127.0.0.1       localhost.localdomain localhost 
192.168.15.77   machine.test.com machine

Please note that machine.test.com should be your valid server’s hostname.

Usage

In order to access Proxmox’s web interface, point your browser to https://YOUR_SERVER_IP:8006 and log in with your server’s root credentials.

For more information on how to use Proxmox, please take the time to read its official documentation.