Install Proxmox on a remote root server (@Hetzner)

ixomon

New Member
Dec 12, 2012
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I am sorry to bother people with a fairly simple request but I could not find anything decent via search/google:
Is there a decent how-to for a straight forward remote install of Proxmox on a (more or less blank) remote root server?
I did this three years ago with 1.8 and made painfully experiences of a long process, I would like to avoid this time.

Starting point would be a fresh root server (EX40 @Hetzner) running either

  • CentOS 6.5 minimal
  • CentOS 7.0 minimal - only 64 bit
  • Debian 7.6 LAMP - only 64 bit
  • Debian 7.6 minimal
  • openSUSE 13.1 minimal - only 64 bit
  • Ubuntu 14.04 LTS minimal - only 64 bit
or just a simple rescue system with midnight commander, which I kinda like to use.

Of two drives, I would usually designate one drive as my storage (and later backup) unit, upload the proxmox iso there and use this as a mounting point for the installation. Still so many questions are there for me as a fairly little-experienced linux user, hence the painful experience three years ago, when I did the installation of proxmox 1.8.

I am sure other people had similar challenges and would be happy if someone could direct me to some wiki or a how to for a remote proxomx install on a (more or less) blank root server.

Thanks a lot in advance.
 
You consider that a helpful answer?
I read this and also http://wiki.hetzner.de/index.php/Proxmox_VE/en. Neither is what I am asking for... I would consider the installation over a Debian Wheezy as a rather complicated way with quite a few hurdles. Actually I would have a few questions to that way...

I guess using Hetzner LARA console (http://wiki.hetzner.de/index.php/LARA/en#Installing_an_OS) might be an option, as it puts me (virtually) in the position as if the server would be next to me. But it is neither flexible (very limited time frame) nor cheap (in some variants).

Isn't there a simple wiki / how-to that specifically addresses the hurdles of a remote server installation of proxomx? Many people should have a similar challenge & focus... and experience
 
Thx for the info regarding OVH. I will look into that - but would like to stay with Hetzner. I had no bad experiences over the last three years and I do like the robot and the scripts.

As far as I know Hetzner does not offer a Proxmox VE image. I would be happy to learn otherwise. Unfortunately they even do not put the ISO on their http://download.hetzner.de/, where most images of major linux distros, vmware & windows ISO are provided for the local installation. Thanks to the transparent and direct download opportunitiy of https://www.proxmox.com/downloads, it is not a big issue to just wget the proxomx ISO to my machine (...MS on the other hand...try to get an ~6gb Exchange ISO into the proxmox respository for installation of a VM, MS technet is the horror in this regard.)

But even with the proxmox ISO on the machine, I still have the hurdles of the remote install... hence my wish for some sort of how-to, to not to have to find America again...(we know it is there anyway, I found it three years ago myself)... and I have no problems to admit, that most of the lost time originates from my lack on experience with linux servers.

Anyway... I still would be happy with any docu / wiki / how-to in regards to a remote installation of proxmox in an environment like this... Thx all
 
as i remember there is a way to install proxmox with hetzner-installimage... but i dont find any doc's about this...
my first proxmox server @ hetzner was a manual setup but my actual ex40 i installed proxmox with installimage.... (it works well)

UPDATE:
just seen that it must be something inside the virtualisation menu in installimage acc to http://wiki.hetzner.de/index.php/Installimage
 
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Thx for the reply.

I am not sure but I think you mean an installation of Proxmox on top of a Debian Wheezy, that is put in place by the rescue system & the installimage, mentioned in the Hetzner wiki (http://wiki.hetzner.de/index.php/Proxmox_VE/en):

1. Debian Wheezy needs to be installed as the operating system.

2. Adjust APT sources for Proxmox
3. Install Proxmox

Actually I choose this way with my current server (EX40). It uses an APTsource from the Hetzner FTP for the install.
I got Proxomox to run using this... unfortunately kinda bumpy... it is not running the way I would like to. I got mayor problems with the repository, OpenVZ containers (not able to delete them) and the entire system not running correctly.

Some of the problems are just a mystery to me others I assume have something to do with with the network configuration. I put it in KVM/bridged and even with virtual MAC addresses for the additional IPs, the routing seems to be messed up.

I do not remember if I used KVM/routed or KVM/bridged in the past with my old EQ4. Also I do not remember how I dealt with all of that in the past. I just remember it was a mayor pain in the butt back then too and took me a long time to get my VMs properly running. .... and I was lacking the time last weeks to look deeper into the whole thing.

But let's say it just like this: I would highly prefer to use the installer of Proxmox, who is more familiar to me and producing a stable system as a result.
The installation of Proxomox over a Debian Wheezy seems not to getting the stable Proxmox as a result... maybe the fault is on my side. Still I can't hardly imagine I would be the only one, who wants to remotely install Proxmox over the boot image installer and not on top of a Debian Wheezy.

Right now I think using a remote console like Hetzners LARA (http://wiki.hetzner.de/index.php/LARA/en) might be a solution with a better outcome.
Do someone has experience with this for the Proxmox boot image install or can recommend a way?
 
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No...
if you boot into the rescue system and run installimage
you can select the point Virtualisation on the choose OS Screen.
At the time i installed my EX40 i was able to select Proxmox in the Submenu.
But at the moment i have no access to a server to try this way.
 
Right now I think using a remote console like Hetzners LARA (http://wiki.hetzner.de/index.php/LARA/en) might be a solution with a better outcome.
Do someone has experience with this for the Proxmox boot image install or can recommend a way?
Proxmox installation very easy, just install Debian then install Proxmox as described in https://pve.proxmox.com/wiki/Category:Installation, see https://pve.proxmox.com/wiki/Install_Proxmox_VE_on_Debian_Wheezy. If you have any error on this installation steps then

But ... if you feel above installation procedure still hard to follow then use Proxmox ISO CD which has been supported since long time ago by OVH.

Some of the problems are just a mystery to me others I assume have something to do with with the network configuration. I put it in KVM/bridged and even with virtual MAC addresses for the additional IPs, ....
I have try many Data Centers, but if you have complex network configuration or simple issue like Virtual MAC for additional IPs then OVH is the expert. I see only OVH can support Proxmox very well. They have interface to set the Virtual MAC even new or use existing MAC (when Proxmox create VM then MAC automatically created, mean you can still use this MAC for Virtual MAC).

the routing seems to be messed up
If you read the Proxmox Documentation, this issue has been addressed. Routing have to depend on Data Center rule. You may not use commonly GATEWAY IP in a block IP, instead Data Center usually use the Proxmox MAIN IP Gateway so the packet will be routed in the correct way.
 
Proxmox installation very easy, just install Debian then install Proxmox as described in https://pve.proxmox.com/wiki/Category:Installation, see https://pve.proxmox.com/wiki/Install_Proxmox_VE_on_Debian_Wheezy. If you have any error on this installation steps then

But ... if you feel above installation procedure still hard to follow then use Proxmox ISO CD which has been supported since long time ago by OVH.


I have try many Data Centers, but if you have complex network configuration or simple issue like Virtual MAC for additional IPs then OVH is the expert. I see only OVH can support Proxmox very well. They have interface to set the Virtual MAC even new or use existing MAC (when Proxmox create VM then MAC automatically created, mean you can still use this MAC for Virtual MAC).


If you read the Proxmox Documentation, this issue has been addressed. Routing have to depend on Data Center rule. You may not use commonly GATEWAY IP in a block IP, instead Data Center usually use the Proxmox MAIN IP Gateway so the packet will be routed in the correct way.

Proxmox works out of the box on Hetzner. Just install the latest Proxmox image via Robot. I think you might have to apt-get a few extra packages on the Debian system, but that's it. The backend is automatically started on port 8006 and you're good to go. I am tinkering with it now as I write this waiting for some IPs to come my way, but i have been running speed tests from the shell and the data xfer rate drops horrendously on a Proxmox VM, but then again I do not know exactly what I am doing either :)
 
A bit to late i think but here some screenshots of the Hetzner Installimage i made during my Installation of Proxmox.
Maybe this helps sombody else....

1. Boot Rescue

2. run installimage

3. choose O/S
1.png

4. choose Image
2.png

5. Accept Notice
3.png

6. Configure Preset's
4.png

7. As Examle my installimage.conf (with S/W Raid)

Code:
## Hetzner Online AG - installimage
#
# This file contains the configuration used to install this
# system via installimage script. Comments have been removed.
#
# More information about the installimage script and
# automatic installations can be found in our wiki:
#
# http://wiki.hetzner.de/index.php/Betriebssystem_Images_installieren
#


DRIVE1 /dev/sda
DRIVE2 /dev/sdb
SWRAID 1
SWRAIDLEVEL 1
BOOTLOADER grub
HOSTNAME srv-proxmox.asdf.com
PART  /boot  ext3  512M
PART  lvm    vg0    all
LV  vg0  root  /     ext3  100G
LV  vg0  swap  swap  swap  64G
LV  vg0  vz /var/lib/vz ext3 1400G
IMAGE /root/.oldroot/nfs/install/../images/Debian-70-wheezy-64-minimal.tar.gz
 
Yah I don't know where any of you get off saying hetzner installimage works right out of the box. I have installed using it several times and not once, i mean not once, have i been able to reach the GUI on port 8006 or even 8086. Tried every firewall config possible.
 

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