Setting Up a Home Server with Proxmox
Time to talk about one of my favorite topics: homelabbing. Today we're setting up Proxmox VE as the foundation for all your self-hosted services.
Why Proxmox?
- Free and open source
- Type 1 hypervisor (runs on bare metal)
- Supports VMs and LXC containers
- Web-based management
- Great community
Hardware Requirements
You don't need fancy hardware. I started with:
- Old Dell Optiplex (i5-4590)
- 32GB RAM (upgraded from 8GB)
- 256GB SSD for OS
- 2TB HDD for storageAny x86_64 machine with VT-x/AMD-V support works.
Installation
- Download ISO from proxmox.com
- Flash to USB with
ddor Balena Etcher - Boot and follow the installer
- Access web UI at
https://your-ip:8006
# After install, fix the enterprise repo nag
# Edit /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pve-enterprise.list
# Comment out the enterprise repo, add:
deb http://download.proxmox.com/debian/pve bookworm pve-no-subscriptionMy Current VMs/Containers
| Name | Type | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| docker-host | LXC | Runs all my containers |
| pihole | LXC | DNS + Ad blocking |
| nginx-proxy | LXC | Reverse proxy |
| wireguard | LXC | VPN server |
| truenas | VM | NAS + storage |
Tips
- Backups: Use Proxmox Backup Server or simple vzdump
- Networking: Set up a bridge, consider VLANs
- Storage: ZFS is great if you have the RAM
- Templates: Create LXC templates for quick deployments
Resources
Happy homelabbing! 🖥️