It's easy to start: Just download the ISO image and install Proxmox VE on your hardware. In five minutes you'll be creating your first virtual machines and containers.

The source code of Proxmox VE is licensed under the GNU AGPLv3. With the bare-metal installation, you'll get a complete operating system based on Debian GNU/Linux, 64-bit, a Proxmox VE kernel with KVM and container support, great tools for backup/restore and HA clustering, and much more... Configuration is done easily with the intuitive web-based interface.

Ready to go? Take a look at the system requirements, then follow the steps below or read the full installation guide in the Proxmox VE documentation.

Want to migrate to Proxmox VE? Learn how to migrate your existing VMs with the transition methods described in our guide: Migrate to Proxmox VE.

Fast and easy to install

Download ISO image

The ISO image file is an image of a disk. Download the Proxmox VE ISO, then copy it to a USB flash drive or CD/DVD in order to use it.

Boot from USB or CD/DVD

Press 'Enter' to start the installation wizard on your dedicated hardware.

If you need help with the installation, read the documentation or get a subscription for technical support.

Configure the host machine

You can configure the host easily via the web browser. No need to install a separate management tool.

Note: Proxmox VE is a bare-metal installer, please be aware that the complete server is used and existing data on the selected disks will be removed.

System Requirements

For production servers, high quality server equipment is needed. Proxmox VE supports clustering, this means that multiple Proxmox VE installations can be centrally managed thanks to the integrated cluster functionality. Proxmox VE can use local storage like (DAS), SAN, NAS, as well as shared, and distributed storage (Ceph).

Recommended Hardware

Intel 64 or AMD64 with Intel VT/AMD-V CPU flag.
Memory, minimum 2 GB for OS and Proxmox VE services. Plus designated memory for guests. For Ceph or ZFS additional memory is required, approximately 1 GB memory for every TB used storage.
Fast and redundant storage, best results with SSD disks.
OS storage: Hardware RAID with batteries protected write cache (“BBU”) or non-RAID with ZFS and SSD cache.
VM storage: For local storage use a hardware RAID with battery backed write cache (BBU) or non-RAID for ZFS. Neither ZFS nor Ceph are compatible with a hardware RAID controller. Shared and distributed storage is also possible.
Redundant Gbit NICs, additional NICs depending on the preferred storage technology and cluster setup – 10 Gbit and higher is also supported.
For PCI(e) passthrough a CPU with VT-d/AMD-d CPU flag is needed.

For Evaluation

Minimum Hardware (for testing only)

CPU: 64bit (Intel 64 or AMD64)
Intel VT/AMD-V capable CPU/Mainboard (for KVM full virtualization support)
Minimum 1 GB RAM
Hard drive
One NIC

See more details in the Requirements documentation

Testing with desktop virtualization

Proxmox VE can be installed as a guest on all common used desktop virtualization solutions as long as they support nested virtualization.

Supported web browsers for accessing the web interface

To use the web interface you need a modern browser, this includes:

Firefox, a release from the current year, or the latest Extended Support Release
Chrome, a release from the current year
Microsofts currently supported version of Edge
Safari, a release from the current year

Installation on a Debian system

If you want you can install Proxmox VE on top of a running Debian 64-bit. This is especially interesting, if you want to have a custom partition layout.

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