Proxmox on Raspberry Pi 5

Step-by-step guide to install a proxmox port on the rpi5

This has been written after my troubleshooting, so the only source I can mention are this one and this one. The debian template has been downloaded from this website

• Proxmox on Raspberry Pi 5
  • Prerequisites
  • Step 1 - Preparation
  • Step 2 - Proxmox installation
  • Step 3 - Proxmox LXC creation
    • Follow these steps to create a Proxmox container
      • Adding the CT Template
      • Creating the container
  • Step 4 - Proxmox VM creation
  • Miscellaneous
    • Deactivate all LEDs
    • LXC Filesystem Trimming
    • Add subscription
    • Disable sticky subscription alert

Prerequisites

• Raspberry Pi 5
• An SD card
• A computer with internet connection
• An ethernet cable for the pi

Step 1 - Preparation

Flash the original Raspberry Pi OS 64BIT Lite version on an SD card. Make sure to bind also the Wi-Fi network during the installation otherwise you may face network issues during the installation. Set the hostname and write it down somewhere. When the SD is ready plug it into the SD card reader, plug the ethernet cable, turn it on and connect to it. Connecting to it via HDMI and keyboard is fine; but if you can't, remember not to use the ethernet IP address but rather the Wi-Fi one.

Step 2 - Proxmox installation

Run the following commands

1. sudo -s
2. apt update
3. apt upgrade -y
4. curl https://mirrors.apqa.cn/proxmox/debian/pveport.gpg -o /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/pveport.gpg if this results in an error, remove the https and try with http
5. echo "deb https://mirrors.apqa.cn/proxmox/debian/pve bookworm port" | tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list here as well
6. apt update
7. apt dist-upgrade -y
8. nano /etc/network/interfaces
9. inside comment everything and write:

auto lo
iface lo inet loopback

iface eth0 inet manual

auto vmbr0
iface vmbr0 inet static
    address 192.168.1.100/24
    gateway 192.168.0.1
    bridge-ports eth0
    bridge-stp off
    bridge-fd 0

In the address write an ip for proxmox (choose one that is unused on your local network) and the netmask in the CIDR notation. In the gateway put the router ip

10. nano /etc/hosts
11. delete everything inside and write:

127.0.0.1       localhost
192.168.1.100   raspberrypi

Change the second ip address with the one you've set in the /etc/network/interfaces file and raspberrypi with the hostname you've written down during the installation (or use hostname to find it)

12. reboot now
13. sudo -s
14. apt install pve-qemu-kvm proxmox-ve -y if you face any issue, try installing pve-qemu-kvm first and then proxmox-ve
15. reboot now
16. sudo -s
17. curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/pimox/pimox7/master/RPiOS64-IA-Install.sh > installer.sh
18. chmod +x installer.sh
19. ./installer.sh
20. Now there will be asked some questions:
21. Enter new hostname e.g. RPi4-01-PVE : enter the hostname (or a new one) you have written down during the installation, in my case: raspberrypi
22. Enter new static IP and NETMASK e.g. 192.168.0.100/24 : enter the ip and the netmask set in the file /etc/network/interfaces, in my case: 192.168.1.100/24
23. Is 192.168.1.1 the correct gateway ? y / n : check if the gateway shown matches the gateway set in the file /etc/network/interfaces
24. YOU ARE OKAY WITH THESE CHANGES ? YOUR DECLARATIONS ARE CORRECT ? CONTINUE ? y / n : check if everything is fine, then reply y
25. after this, set the root password and wait until it reboots
26. after having logged in run sudo -s
27. apt upgrade -y
28. reboot now
29. now open the ip address specified in the /etc/network/interfaces file followed by the port 8006 in your browser on your computer. In my case: https://192.168.1.100:8006
30. Proxmox has successfully been installed and is redy to use

Step 3 - Proxmox LXC creation

Follow these steps to create a Proxmox container

Adding the CT Template

1. ssh into the pi. now use the root address, so in my case ssh root@192.168.1.100
2. install git using apt install git
3. clone this repo wherever you like using git clone https://github.com/DanieleMassa/proxmoxOnRPI5
4. cd proxmoxOnRPI5
5. mv OS_PROXMOX_DEBIAN12.tar.xz /var/lib/vz/template/cache/

Creating the container

1. Click on Create CT in the top right corner

2. In the Hostname textbox write the container name, in my case debian

3. Set a password and confirm it, then click Next

4. In the Template select the OS_PROXMOX_DEBIAN12.tar.xz file you've downloaded early, then click Next

5. Select the disk size and click Next

6. Select the number of cores and click Next

7. Choose how much RAM and SWAP your container should have and click Next

8. Leave the network and the DNS as it is and click Next. Then click Finish to create the container

Step 4 - Proxmox VM creation

1. Click on local (hostname) in the left tab, then select ISO Images

2. Look for an arm64 ISO image and copy the download link
3. Then click on Download from URL, paste the link and click on Query URL, then Download. I'll be using debian

4. Now click on Create VM in the top right corner and enter a hostname. Then click Next

5. On the OS tab click on Do not use any media, then click Next

6. Leave the System tab as default and choose the disk size in the Disks tab, then click Next

7. Choose the number of core and click Next

8. Choose the RAM amount and click Next

9. Leave the Network tab as default and click on Finish to create the VM

10. Once created, open the Hardware configuration and edit the BIOS, setting it to OVMF (UEFI)

11. Now delete the existing CD/DVD Drive and create a new one, setting the Bus to SCSI and leaving the Device as default. In the Storage section select local and in the ISO Image section select the ISO you've downloaded previously

12. Now create an EFI Disk setting the EFI Storage to local, leave the rest as default

13. Now go to options and edit the Boot Order, placing the ISO on top of the list, then click OK

14. Now run the VM and install the system, after that go back on the Boot Order menu and place back the VM drive on top, after this you can use the vm

Miscellaneous

Deactivate all LEDs

If you want to turn off all LEDs on the pi, follow these steps:

1. Open the shell and type nano /boot/firmware/config.txt
2. Go to the end of the file, under the [all] section and add the following lines:

dtparam=pwr_led_trigger=default-on
dtparam=pwr_led_activelow=off
dtparam=act_led_trigger=none
dtparam=act_led_activelow=off
dtparam=eth_led0=4
dtparam=eth_led1=4

3. Save and reboot

LXC Filesystem Trimming

It may happen that you fill a container with data, then you empty it, and you may notice that on the home Summary page of the node the disk usage hasn't been updated. Here's the solution:

1. Open the shell
2. run bash -c "$(wget -qLO - https://github.com/tteck/Proxmox/raw/main/misc/fstrim.sh)" (source)

Add subscription

1. Once proxmox is installed, you should add a subscription to receive updates, so click on the warning and then on Add

2. Now select No-Subscription and click on Add

3. Open the shell and run apt update && apt upgrade -y

Disable sticky subscription alert

It might happen that the subscription alert after logging in doesn't disappear after clicking on OK. Here's the solution:

1. Open the shell
2. Type passwd
3. Enter the current proxmox password (which is the root password)
4. Try logging back in