1. Introduction to Proxmox VE

Proxmox VE is a complete enterprise virtualization open-source platform. Using the built-in web interface, you can easily manage virtual machines and containers, software-defined storage and networks, high availability clusters, and a variety of integrated tools on a single solution. Based on Debian Linux, it offers enterprise-level features such as ZFS, Ceph, and more, making it a great alternative to VMware ESXi Server. It tightly integrates the KVM hypervisor and Linux containers (LXC) with software-defined storage and network features on a single platform. Through the integrated web-based user interface, you can easily manage VMs and containers, high availability clusters, and disaster recovery tools. The enterprise-grade features and 100% software-based focus make Proxmox VE the perfect choice for virtualized IT infrastructure, optimizing existing resources, and improving efficiency at the lowest cost. You can easily virtualize the most demanding Linux and Windows application workloads and dynamically scale compute and storage as needed, ensuring that your data center can adapt to future growth.

2. Installation Steps

1. Download the ISO Image

Go to the official website to download the ISO image file for Proxmox VE.

2. Burn the ISO File to a CD or USB Drive

Burn the downloaded ISO image to a CD or USB drive. The example in this blog post demonstrates using a USB drive for installation.

3. Start the Installation

Begin the installation process and select “Install Proxmox VE.”

4. Proceed to the next step by clicking “Next.”

5. Choose Time Zone

For the country, a drop-down selection mode is available, but after typing part of the characters, it will provide a suggestion. You can either complete the input or click to choose from the list.

6. Set the Root Password

Set the account password. The password must meet complexity requirements: at least 8 characters, including letters, numbers, and special symbols.

7. Set IP Address

Configure the IP address, subnet mask, gateway, DNS, and other network information. When setting the hostname, a domain name format is required.

8. Configuration Overview

Review the configuration settings.

9. Begin the Installation

Proceed to start the installation process.

10. Console Login

Log in to the console by entering `https://ip:8006` and using the password set in Step 6.

11. Start Your Virtualization Journey

At first glance, Proxmox VE seems like a great piece of software: open-source and free, with a rich feature set in the console, easy to use, and highly convenient.

3. QA

SSH Login Error

Error Message:

(Insert error message here.)

Cause of the Error:

The version of OpenSSH installed on the current operating system is relatively new and blocks insecure key exchange algorithms by default.

Solution:

Edit the `/etc/ssh/sshd_config` configuration file and add the following lines:

KexAlgorithms curve25519-sha256@libssh.org,ecdh-sha2-nistp256,ecdh-sha2-nistp384,ecdh-sha2-nistp521,diffie-hellman-group-exchange-sha256,diffie-hellman-group14-sha1,diffie-hellman-group-exchange-sha1,diffie-hellman-group1-sha1

Save the file and restart the SSH service:

# service sshd restart