First steps with your Proxmox server
From the first login to the first virtual machine, without detours.
Starting at from €13.99/mo
Introduction
Good news to start with: you do not have to install Proxmox. The server arrives with Proxmox VE in place and its web interface already reachable. Your credentials and the login address are handed over on delivery, within ten minutes of ordering.
The interface comes in three zones: the tree on the left with the server and what it holds, the content in the middle, and the tasks at the bottom — that is where you read what happened when an operation fails. Spend a minute walking through it before creating anything: it is dense but logical.
A useful warning on first boot: the browser will flag a self-signed certificate. That is normal on a fresh install and is not an attack. You can proceed for now, then install a Let's Encrypt certificate from the interface once a domain name points at the server.
What the server brings, across the whole range
Proxmox VE already installed
The server arrives with <strong>Proxmox VE</strong> in place and its web interface reachable. You create your virtual machines and LXC containers from the browser, without a support ticket or a wait. <strong>Reinstalls are unlimited</strong>: an experiment that goes wrong is redone in minutes.
RAM, because that is what runs out first
On a hypervisor it is almost never the processor that caps out first: it is <strong>memory</strong>, because every virtual machine reserves its own. The range starts at <strong>16 GB</strong> and goes up to <strong>96 GB</strong>, which leaves room to stack several VMs without starving them.
Unlimited snapshots and backups
A snapshot before an update, another before a configuration change: that is what separates a test from a gamble. Neither the count nor the frequency is billed, so nothing discourages taking one more.
Up to 16 additional IPv4 addresses
Each VM can hold its own public address, which avoids routing everything through port forwards on the host. Useful as soon as a virtual firewall, a web server and a third-party service have to coexist cleanly.
The first five things to do
Secure access
Change the password, create a dedicated user rather than working as root, and enable two-factor authentication. Five minutes that avoid a lot of trouble.
Fetch an installation image
In local storage, ISO section: download the distribution image straight from its URL, without going through your own computer.
Create the first virtual machine
The 'Create VM' button opens a wizard. The defaults are fine almost everywhere; the only values to adjust are memory, disk and core count.
Take a snapshot right away
Once the system is installed and updated, before installing anything else. That is the clean state you will want to come back to one day.
Set up the firewall
Proxmox ships its own, disabled by default. Enabling it and opening only what must be open is the highest-return move on this list.
Frequently asked questions
No, it is already in place on delivery. You receive the interface address and your credentials. If you want a fresh base, reinstalls are unlimited from the client area.
The certificate is self-signed on a fresh install. That is not a fault. You can install a Let's Encrypt certificate from the interface as soon as a domain name points at the server.
Debian or Ubuntu if you are starting out: online documentation is abundant and most tutorials use them as reference. Nothing stops you trying others afterwards.
The client area gives access to a console independent of your VMs' network, along with reboot and reinstall. That is the net for when a firewall rule goes wrong.