In Part 2 of the Home Lab Series:
- The Concept: What is a Type-1 Hypervisor?
- Installation: Flashing Proxmox VE to a USB stick.
- First Boot: Navigating the Web Dashboard.
- The "Subscription" Error: Why you can ignore it.
- Your First VM: Uploading an ISO and spinning up Ubuntu.
In Part 1, we scavenged an old laptop or Mini PC. Now, we are going to wipe it clean. Instead of installing Windows or standard Linux, we are installing Proxmox Virtual Environment (VE).
Proxmox is an open-source enterprise OS that allows you to slice one physical computer into many "Virtual Machines" (VMs). It is the backbone of the modern home lab.
Why Proxmox? (Hypervisor 101)
Most people are used to running software inside their main OS (like running VirtualBox on Windows). That is slow. Proxmox is different.
Bare Metal (Type 1)
Proxmox installs directly on the hardware. There is no Windows underneath slowing things down. It has direct access to your CPU and RAM, making your VMs run at near-native speed.
Snapshots & Backups
The best feature: If you break your server (and you will), Proxmox lets you "Rollback" to a previous snapshot in seconds. It is a safety net for learning.
Step 1: The Installation
You will need a USB Drive (8GB+) and a tool called Rufus (Windows) or Etcher (Mac/Linux).
- Download the Proxmox VE ISO Installer from the official website.
- Use Rufus to flash that ISO to your USB stick.
- Plug the USB into your Home Lab PC.
- Boot the PC and smash the BIOS key (usually F2, F12, or Del) to select "Boot from USB."
Warning: Data Loss
Installing Proxmox will completely erase the hard drive in your Home Lab PC. Ensure you have backed up any old photos or documents from that laptop before proceeding.
Follow the installer prompts. They are straightforward, but ensure you set a Static IP Address (e.g., 192.168.1.100) so you always know where to find your server.
Step 2: The Web Interface
Once the installation finishes, the screen will turn black and show white text. Do not panic. It is not a command line OS. It will display a URL.
Go to your main computer, open Chrome or Firefox, and visit:
https://192.168.1.100:8006
Note: Your browser will yell at you saying "This connection is not private." This is normal for local servers. Click Advanced -> Proceed Unsafe.
Log in with:
- Username: root
- Password: (The one you set during install)
Step 3: Creating Your First VM
Now we have an empty server. Let's install Ubuntu Server, which we will use in Part 3 to run our Docker containers.
1. Upload the ISO
In the Proxmox Menu tree, click local (pve) -> ISO Images -> Upload. Select the Ubuntu Server ISO you downloaded.
2. Create the VM
Click the blue "Create VM" button in the top right.
- General: Name it "Docker-Host".
- OS: Select the Ubuntu ISO you just uploaded.
- System: Leave defaults (Graphics card: Default).
- Disks: Give it 32GB or more. Check "Discard" (SSD Emulation) for better performance.
- CPU: Give it 2 Cores. Change "Type" to Host (this passes your actual CPU features through).
- Memory: 2048MB (2GB) or 4096MB (4GB) depending on your hardware.
Click Finish. Your VM will appear in the left menu. Right-click it and select Start, then click Console to watch it boot.
Common "Gotchas"
As a beginner, you will run into two annoyances immediately. Here is the fix.
| The Issue |
The Fix |
| "No Valid Subscription" Popup |
Every time you log in, Proxmox warns you that you don't have a paid license. Ignore it. The free version is fully functional; you just don't get enterprise support. |
| Updates Failing |
By default, Proxmox tries to check the Enterprise (Paid) update servers. You need to disable the "Enterprise Repository" and enable the "No-Subscription Repository" in the Updates -> Repositories tab. |
Conclusion
Congratulations. You are now a System Administrator. You have a bare-metal hypervisor running a virtualized Linux server.
Coming Up in Part 3: We will log into that Ubuntu VM and install Docker & Portainer, opening the door to thousands of self-hosted apps.
Stuck on the Install?
BIOS settings can be tricky, and IP addresses can be confusing. Join Great Meets to find the "Home Lab Support" group. Post a screenshot of your error, and our community of builders will help get your server online.
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