Default settings of containers and virtual machines

I

iprok

New Member
Jun 22, 2023
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Hello!

I want to set some settings for my CT and VMs so as they will be set as default in "Create CT\VM ..." dialog or better users should not be able to change them at all. E.g. network settings including VLAN id. Is there any way to do it?

Best regards.
 
Not that I know of.
You could script some CT/VM creation menu youself, only offering limited options and then use the API to create those VMs/LXCs with the selected options. Or maybe there are already similar paid 3rd-party-tools.
 
Hi,
the feature would still need to implemented: https://bugzilla.proxmox.com/show_bug.cgi?id=3500 The request does not include the "users should not be able to change them at all" yet. That would add more complexity and is rather independent of the other feature.
 
That would be a great (and presumable easy to implement) quality of life upgrade

Before making this search, I compiled a list of the defaults I would like to change and the values I would like to set to streamline this process.

I imagine that veteran users mostly don't use the wizard at all, because the default are highly conservative and almost always inappropriate for my purposes !

The list

template -> debian 11
disk -> 1000G
cpu -> 32 cores
memory -> 24G
swap -> 24G
network ipv4 -> dhcp
network ipv6 -> dhcp
firewall -> off
start after created -> yes
(not a wizard option but)
console mode -> shell

Of course, beyond the defaults, it would make sense to have templates for the wizards like

"low memory linux"
"windows with gpu passthrough"
"high performance linux desktop"
"DOS"
"emulators"
"Linux CT with GPU passthrough for AI"

Do veteran users instead create CT/VM templates and then clone the template instead of using the wizard maybe ? Personnally, I hagve not figured out how to do the equivalent of "sysprep" from windows, but on linux, so I prefer to start fresh each time.
 
Yeah I for one really want to be able to customise the cluster-wide defaults for provisioning new VMs/CTs. The proposal in the listed bug report of also having profiles for configs can be useful too, but for me at least being able to _change_ the defaults would be really great! There's multiple defaults that I need to change _every single time_ and building templates is not a good enough universal solution.
 
Dunuin said:
You could script some CT/VM creation menu youself, only offering limited options and then use the API to create those VMs/LXCs with the selected options. Or maybe there are already similar paid 3rd-party-tools.
Click to expand...
This may be the only viable option. Create it youself so that it fits your needs.

BloodyIron said:
There's multiple defaults that I need to change _every single time_ and building templates is not a good enough universal solution.
Click to expand...
Yes, templates suck because requirements change a lot. Do automatic (network) installations and customization. This is the only way to get exactly what you want.
 
LnxBil said:
This may be the only viable option. Create it youself so that it fits your needs.


Yes, templates suck because requirements change a lot. Do automatic (network) installations and customization. This is the only way to get exactly what you want.
Click to expand...

Network booting has no real capability of configuring the VM/LXC objects within Proxmox VE itself, which really is what this is about.

I certainly love the ability in Open Source stuff to write our own integrations/automations, but I do believe genuinely long-term this is worthwhile for the Proxmox VE Ecosystem. Being able to at a minimum change the defaults for creating new VMs/LXCs, but if we could get profiles that would be a cherry on top, so to say.
 
BloodyIron said:
Network booting has no real capability of configuring the VM/LXC objects within Proxmox VE itself, which really is what this is about.
Click to expand...
For containers, I get the netboot part, yet for VMs? I don't understand, can you please elaborate?

We have pxe boot and dhcp-based profiles so that we can create create a VM, register the mac in the dhcp and automatically install the VM based on defined profile. After the install is done, we have a fully configured and updated VM ready to serve.
 
LnxBil said:
For containers, I get the netboot part, yet for VMs? I don't understand, can you please elaborate?

We have pxe boot and dhcp-based profiles so that we can create create a VM, register the mac in the dhcp and automatically install the VM based on defined profile. After the install is done, we have a fully configured and updated VM ready to serve.
Click to expand...

I'm talking about configurations at the hypervisor level, not the guestOS level. This supersedes network boot for anything as that's post-BIOS init.

I'm talking about changing the default configurations when trying to create a new LXC/VM within Proxmox VE, the defaults as Proxmox sees them.

I do believe you're getting muddled up here.
 
LnxBil said:
Thank you for clearing this up. Yes, I feel you and we just switched over to create the VMs via the API how we like it.
Click to expand...

Ahh nice! I can see the appeal of APIs, but there's use-cases I have where the webGUI is the method used, hence interest in this. :)
 
+1 for this as well. I like having the templates for the OS etc, but I still need to enter the same information every time on the creation wizard to actually get the container created.

If we could set defaults it'd be a lot slicker.

I like the idea of setting up different named 'profiles' of those defaults, relevant to containers or VMs. That would be even better.

To be clear, I do this to make it an actual 'LXC template' https://doofer.org/2024/06/07/making-a-proxmox-vm-in-to-an-lxc-template/
 
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+1 to this idea, I made a rant a few years ago about default settings not making much sense, and it still bothers me to this day. Having profiles would be great. It's already a thing with the "OS" selection - just let us make our own please :)
 
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