Proxmox VE for home (desktop) use scenarios?

J

JustSomeGeek

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Jun 6, 2022
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Hi all,
I imagine this has been asked before, so apologies, but I haven't found the info I need to make a decision yet.
I currently run Arch using my onboard Intel GPU, for normal non-demanding use (surfing, office, downloading etc.), and use KVM/Libvirt for my VM's, and passthrough an NV GTX 1080, NiCs, Soundcard, PCIe USB card etc. for Some Linux and Windows guests when needed (Gaming, Audio & Video editing, distro testing etc.) and use CPU pinning, dedicated monitor KB, Mouse. Giving me, in effect, two computers I can use at once.

I am looking at switching Proxmox for better management and backup of the VM's, and because I like to tinker with new (to me) things.

I can think of 3 ways to do this, but am not sure of the pros and cons, or if all are possible:

1. Install Proxmox and add a user+DE/WM, Browser, Office etc.
2. Install Debian, and add Proxmox to it
3. Install Proxmox and add a daily driver distro VM and pass through the onboard GPU

And yes, I realise Proxmox wasn't meant to be used this way. It's why I love Linux/FOSS.

A pointer to any threads etc. that cover this, would be much appreciated.

Thanks! :-)
 
I've been running option 3 in your list above for two months now.

I converted my workstation (Running Windows 11) over to Promox, but kept using Windows 11 as my "daily driver" with passthrough of NVME SSD, GPU and USB Controller. I added an additional NVME SSD for Proxmox itself and VM/Container storage. I also converted my Intel RAID10 array over to ZFS and share out the storage with Samba. (I do this on the Proxmox host itself.)

I don't have any comparisons to other similar configurations with different software. But this is very functional for me.

I have all of my backups going to my ZFS pool. I then use ZFS send with external USB drives for rotating backups. It's pretty solid.
 
JustSomeGeek said:
That's great to know Nick, thanks! So, did you use your onboard GPU, and Proxmox was OK running headless, with no console complaints?
Click to expand...
I have an iGPU and GPU. Default video output is through the GPU. Proxmox will boot from UEFI and then disable console output on the GPU so the VM can grab it through VFIO. (I use the iGPU for transcoding in a Container.)

So, it's essentially headless. Haven't had any issues so far.

NOTE: There's been a lot of issues with GPU passthrough in 7.2. I would suggest just pinning the 5.13.19-6-pve kernel for now.
 
nick.kopas said:
So, it's essentially headless. Haven't had any issues so far.

NOTE: There's been a lot of issues with GPU passthrough in 7.2. I would suggest just pinning the 5.13.19-6-pve kernel for now.
Click to expand...
Sounds perfect. I'll give it a shot this way. Many thanks!
 
JustSomeGeek said:
Hi all,
I imagine this has been asked before, so apologies, but I haven't found the info I need to make a decision yet.
I currently run Arch using my onboard Intel GPU, for normal non-demanding use (surfing, office, downloading etc.), and use KVM/Libvirt for my VM's, and passthrough an NV GTX 1080, NiCs, Soundcard, PCIe USB card etc. for Some Linux and Windows guests when needed (Gaming, Audio & Video editing, distro testing etc.) and use CPU pinning, dedicated monitor KB, Mouse. Giving me, in effect, two computers I can use at once.

I am looking at switching Proxmox for better management and backup of the VM's, and because I like to tinker with new (to me) things.

I can think of 3 ways to do this, but am not sure of the pros and cons, or if all are possible:

1. Install Proxmox and add a user+DE/WM, Browser, Office etc.
2. Install Debian, and add Proxmox to it
3. Install Proxmox and add a daily driver distro VM and pass through the onboard GPU

And yes, I realise Proxmox wasn't meant to be used this way. It's why I love Linux/FOSS.

A pointer to any threads etc. that cover this, would be much appreciated.

Thanks! :)
Click to expand...
Did you implement this? I'm thinking of doing the same thing, but was wondering whether you then leave the machine on 24/7 or how the shutting down is managed.
 
Option 1 is how we run our workstations here. Since you are then using Debian stable packages for the desktop stuff, be prepared that you will not always get the newest packages.
This can be a bit annoying from times when you run something more recent on other machines. I was thrilled to upgrade to bullseye, as it meant better bluetooth headphone and pipewire support, similar to what I was used from my setup at home. :)
 
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aaron said:
Option 1 is how we run our workstations here. Since you are then using Debian stable packages for the desktop stuff, be prepared that you will not always get the newest packages.
This can be a bit annoying from times when you run something more recent on other machines. I was thrilled to upgrade to bullseye, as it meant better bluetooth headphone and pipewire support, similar to what I was used from my setup at home. :)
Click to expand...
It seems like the simplest way, but going from the latest Ubuntu probably means quite a big step back in package versions!
 
Joshua M said:
It seems like the simplest way, but going from the latest Ubuntu probably means quite a big step back in package versions!
Click to expand...
Debian ;-) The kernel we ship is based on the Ubuntu kernel. :)
 
I tried to do Option 1 with my Dell XPS 9520 laptop, installed Proxmox, all good, then installed Gnome but I had no Wifi or Bluetooth in Gnome, is there a guide to, help me in configuring them? Thanks
 
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