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Proxmox VE Setup Guide - Speedrun

A Proxmox Installation Speedrun that assumes the reader already understands the concepts from the Detailed Proxmox VE setup guide.

Posted Updated
By Michael Schmitz
6 min read
Proxmox VE Setup Guide - Speedrun

Proxmox Installation, Speedrun - v20260710

Need the explanations and design decisions? Read the full guide.

https://mikesco3.github.io/posts/proxmox-setup-guide/

In this setup

We will set up Proxmox VE using the following layout:

Hardware

These commands are meant to be read, understood, and adapted (not just copy-pasted). Think of this as a recipe that keeps improving over time, and feel free to refine it for your own setup or share any insights back.

1. Hardware Checklist

  • Clean out dust; check the heatsink compound.
  • Check CMOS battery (replace if ≤ 3.0 V)
  • Update BIOS
  • Configure BIOS (Enable VT-x/AMD-V and IOMMU)
  • Install drives
  • Check the RAM with memtest

2. Install Proxmox

  • Boot into the installation media and choose:
  • Filesystem: ZFS
  • Layout: RAID1 (mirror)
  • Select only the two HDDs
  • Set compression=zstd (optional)

  • Set ashift=12

  • Proceed with the install and reboot

3. Helper Script

  • Run the PVE Post-Install Script
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    bash -c "$(wget -qLO - https://github.com/community-scripts/ProxmoxVE/raw/main/misc/post-pve-install.sh)"
  • disable enterprise repo,
  • enables no-sub repo,
  • kill subscription nag,
  • disable corosync and clustering
  • DON’T Update yet

4. Install Basic Tools

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apt update && apt upgrade -y && \
apt install -y libcapture-tiny-perl libconfig-inifiles-perl pv lzop mbuffer net-tools sudo mc unzip screen iftop lshw sshfs make nfs-kernel-server sysstat smartmontools ethtool pv htop ntfs-3g git samba rpcbind libsasl2-modules neofetch ncdu vim tmux iperf3 archivemount fio kpartx tldr speedtest-cli

Note: Adjust for your package preference or fix any missing packages

  • Reboot

5. Create ZFS Datasets

Create separate datasets for _Backup, _Shadows, and _VMs.

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zfs create -o atime=off -o compression=zstd -o casesensitivity=mixed rpool/_Backup
ln -s /rpool/_Backup/ /_Backup

zfs create -o atime=off -o compression=zstd -o casesensitivity=mixed rpool/_Shadows
ln -s /rpool/_Shadows/ /_Shadows

zfs create -o atime=off -o compression=zstd -o casesensitivity=mixed rpool/_VMs

Verify Everything

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zpool status
zfs list
lsblk
pvesm status

6. Create NVMe Pool

  • Install the NVMe Drive.
  • Locate the NVMe drive
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    lsblk -o name,model,serial

Partition the NVMe Drive

Warning: Do NOT blindly copy the device names shown in this guide. Confirm the correct NVMe device using the previous commands and substitute those values before creating the pool.

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cfdisk /dev/nvme0n1
  • create a gpt partition table
  • create a primary partition of type:
    Solaris /usr & Apple ZFS (6A898CC3-1DD2-11B2-99A6-080020736631)
  • Only allocate 85% of total capacity, leaving room for over-provisioning.
  • Write and quit cfdisk.

Finally the following command to label the partition:

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sudo sgdisk --change-name=1:"fast200" /dev/nvme0n1

You can list disks and their IDs with:

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ls -l /dev/disk/by-id/ |grep nvme0n1 |grep part1

Create the pool

Danger: Creating a ZFS pool destroys all data on the selected device. Double-check the device identifier before pressing Enter.

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zpool create fast200 \
  -o ashift=12       \
  -o autotrim=on     \
  nvme-2TB-Samsung_SSD_EVO_2TB_SN0001234-part1

zpool upgrade fast200
zfs set compression=zstd fast200

Create the fast200/_VMs Dataset

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zfs create                 \
  -o atime=off             \
  -o compression=zstd      \
  -o casesensitivity=mixed \
  fast200/_VMs

Schedule ZFS Scrubs

Run crontab -e as root and add:

0 06 * * SUN /usr/sbin/zpool scrub fast200
2 06 * * SUN /usr/sbin/zpool scrub rpool

7. Add Storages in Proxmox

Datacenter → Storage

  • Disable: local and local-zfs
  • Add: fast200/_VMs, rpool/_Backup, rpool/_Shadows and rpool/_VMs

StorageLayout

8. Create an Admin User

Create the User in Linux User:

In our example, called: johndoe

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sudo useradd -m \
  -s /usr/bin/bash \
  -G adm,sudo,shadow,staff,users,crontab,postfix,sambashare,dip,root \
  johndoe

sudo passwd johndoe
  • Create the same user for Samba access:
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smbpasswd -a johndoe

Add the User to Proxmox

  1. In the Proxmox Web Interface, create a group (for example, masters):
    Datacenter → Permissions → Groups → Create

  2. Grant that group administrative rights from the command line:
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    pveum aclmod / -group masters -role Administrator
  3. Then, back in the web interface, create the user:

Datacenter → Permissions → Users → Add and assign the user (e.g. johndoe@pam) to the masters group. __ __

9. Configure Samba

  • Backup Samba config first
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    cp /etc/samba/smb.conf /etc/samba/smb.conf_orig

Edit the Main Configuration

  • Open /etc/samba/smb.conf, and edit the following lines:
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workgroup = WORKGROUP

# Under [homes]
read only = no
create mask = 0775
directory mask = 0775

# At the end of the file, include the custom shares file:
include = /etc/samba/shares.conf

Add the Shares

  • Create /etc/samba/shares.conf and add the Shares:

Example:

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[.Backup$]
   comment = Proxmox Backup Share
   path = /rpool/_Backup
   browseable = no         
   guest ok = no           
   read only = no          
   valid users = johndoe, @staff, @adm
   admin users = johndoe, @adm
   force user = johndoe
   force group = adm
   create mask = 0660
   directory mask = 2770
   case sensitive = no

Set the Permissions

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chmod 644 /etc/samba/shares.conf 
chown :sambashare --recursive /rpool/_Backup
chmod g+rwx --recursive /rpool/_Backup

Final Check and Start the Service

Before starting Samba, verify that the configuration is valid:

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testparm   # Checks for syntax errors and lists available shares

If no errors appear, enable and start the service:

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systemctl enable --now smbd nmbd
systemctl status smbd nmbd

From a Windows or macOS system, test access to the share.

10. Install Additional Software & Tools

Sanoid & Syncoid

For Creating Snapshots and Replicating ZFS Datasets

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apt update
apt install -y sanoid
  • Create the configuration /etc/sanoid/sanoid.conf

Samples are available from:

  • Enable the timer:
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systemctl enable --now sanoid sanoid-prune 
systemctl status sanoid sanoid-prune sanoid.timer

DriveStatus

drivestatus is a small utility for identifying disks.

Example output:

drivestatus

  • Download and Install drivestatus
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    sudo wget -O /usr/bin/drivestatus \
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Mikesco3/drivestatus.sh/main/drivestatus.sh && \
sudo chmod +x /usr/bin/drivestatus

ZeroTier

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curl -s https://install.zerotier.com | sudo bash

11. Replicate Production VMs

Once we have Production VMs we can setup replication to their Shadow Equivalents:

In this example we will replicate VM 201 to a Shadow VM 1201

Create the Shadow VM:

  • Copy the VM Config file in /etc/pve/qemu-server/ from 201.conf to 1201.conf
  • Change the Shadow VM drive entries:
  • In /etc/pve/qemu-server/1201.conf

Example:

from: fast200 vm 201

efidisk0: fast200_VMs-zfs:vm-201-disk-0,efitype=4m,pre-enrolled-keys=1,size=1M
tpmstate0: fast200_VMs-zfs:vm-201-disk-1,size=4M,version=v2.0
virtio0: fast200_VMs-zfs:vm-201-disk-2,discard=on,iothread=1,size=150G

To: _Shadow vm 1201.

efidisk0: rpool_Shadows-zfs:vm-1201-disk-0,efitype=4m,pre-enrolled-keys=1,size=1M
tpmstate0: rpool_Shadows-zfs:vm-1201-disk-1,size=4M,version=v2.0
virtio0: rpool_Shadows-zfs:vm-1201-disk-2,discard=on,iothread=1,size=150G
  • Disable the network interfaces of the Shadow VM 1201:

Create the Replication Script

In our example we’re creating the script in /root/replicateVMs-to-Shadows.sh

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#!/usr/bin/bash

## VM 201 Win11 
  /usr/sbin/syncoid --force-delete fast200/_VMs/vm-201-disk-0 rpool/_Shadows/vm-1201-disk-0 && \
  /usr/sbin/syncoid --force-delete fast200/_VMs/vm-201-disk-1 rpool/_Shadows/vm-1201-disk-1 && \
  /usr/sbin/syncoid --force-delete fast200/_VMs/vm-201-disk-2 rpool/_Shadows/vm-1201-disk-2

Schedule the Script

Schedule this script from crontab -e:

5 8-18/2 * * * /root/replicateVMs-to-Shadows.sh >/dev/null 2>&1

12. Maintenance & Lifecycle Planning

  • Enable Sanoid
  • Configure replication
  • Schedule scrubs
  • Configure monitoring & Alerts
  • Verify Replicatoin and Restores

  • Keep Proxmox Updated ___

  • Backup Strategy
  • Schedule Lifecycle & Redundancy Planning
  • Disaster Recovery Drills

Schedule Replacements:

  • NVMe Wear Level
  • Hard Drives
  • CMOS Battery

If you run into installer issues, network problems, USB/KVM quirks, or hardware compatibility issues, refer to the Troubleshooting section of the full guide Link:

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