Try Out ProxMox Virtual Environment in VirtualBox 🌱

NOTE: This is a helpful exercise to get familiar with the ProxMox VE user interface and terminology but is not recommended for production use. 

  1. Download the Proxmox VE .iso file Download
  2. Launch Virtualbox
  3. Create a New VM by selecting Machine > New

    Name: ProxMox VE
    Machine Folder: C:\VMs
    Type: Linux
    Version: Debian (64-bit)
    Memory Size: 8192 MB
    Hard disk: Create a virtual hard disk now

  4. Click Create
  5. On the Create Virtual Hard Disk dialog

    Name the virtual disk image ProxMox VE.vdi
    File size: 16 GB
    Hard disk file type: VDI
    Storage on physical hard disk: Dynamically Allocated

  6. Click Create
  7. Select the VM and Click Settings
  8. Select System > Processor
  9. Give the VM at least 2 processors
  10. Check the Enable Nested VT-x/AMD-V
  11. Select Display
  12. Slide the Video Memory to 128 MB
  13. Select Network
  14. Set the attached to dropdown to Bridged Adapter
  15. Select Storage
  16. Click on the CD-ROM drive
  17. Select the disc dropdown to the right > Choose a virtual optical disc file...
  18. Browse to and select the downloaded ProxMox VE .iso file
  19. Click OK
  20. Select the hard disk dropdown to the right
  21. Click the Create button at the top
  22. Change the size to 500 GB > Click Create
  23. Click OK to accept the settings
  24. Make sure the ProxMox VE VM is selected and click Start > Normal
  25. Select Install Proxmox VE and press Enter
  26. Click the I agree button to accept the EULA
  27. Select the appropriate Target Harddisk from the dropdown > Click Next
  28. Set the Country, Time zone and Keyboard Layout > Click Next
  29. Enter a password and confirm, Enter an email address > Click Next
  30. Give the Proxmox device a hostname, confirm the network settings > Click Next
  31. Click the Install button
  32. Wait for Proxmox to be installed and configured
  33. After the installation succeeds, take note of the IP address and port
  34. Select Devices > Optical Drives > Remove disk from virtual drive 
  35. Click the Reboot button
  36. After the VM reboots, open a web browser on the host machine and navigate to https://DNSorIP:8006
  37. Login with the username root and the password set during the installation
  38. Welcome to ProxMox VE inside VirtualBox

Setting Up Additional VM Storage

  1. Click the Shell button in the ProxMox VE web interface
  2. Enter the following commands to initialize the new disk
    # locate the device name for the new hard disk
    fdisk -l
    # sdb is the 500 GB .vdi created earlier, replace sdb if your hard disk has a different identifier
    cfdisk /dev/sdb
  3. Arrow over to New > Press Enter
  4. Press Enter to accept the default partition size
  5. Press Enter to select Primary
  6. Arrow over to Write > Press Enter
  7. Type yes > Press Enter
  8. Arrow over to Quit > Press Enter
  9. Back in the ProxMox web interface, select the Data Center > Storage
  10. Click Add > LVM
  11. Give the new storage a unique name, select pve for the storage group > Click Add
  12. The additional storage should now be showing on the far left of the UI and be available for use for new VMs