Wifi with Proxmox on Debian

[Philip Blacha]

Hello, I have successfully installed Proxmox on Debian 12 Bookworm. My Wifi already works, as I can ping google.com and I can access the Proxmox Dashboard, but the issue is that I cannot setup a Bridge for my VM. I'm not able to use a Ethernet Cable, nor can I get an Adapter. I rely on Wifi as I move around the house and garden.
Can someone help me setup a bridge?
My current /etc/network/inferfaces:

source /etc/network/interfaces.d/*

auto lo
iface lo inet loopback

auto wlp0s20f3
iface wlp0s20f3 inet static
address 192.168.1.53/24
gateway 192.168.1.1
wpa-ssid *******
wpa-psk *************

 

[news]

Thats bad, Proxmox with debian 12 i a Server system an i setup only fix IPs.
The Servers have its place in complex network environment.
With management IP, backbone for backup net with i.g proxmox BS.

You can access the Webinterface over https://192.168.1.53:8006 an there you can change the network settings with a (software) bridge, name: vmbr0 and so on.

 

[tom]

See more on https://pve.proxmox.com/wiki/WLAN

 

[wbk]

Hi Philip,

I share the general concerns of using only WiFi as Proxmox connectivity, but the general use case is with Proxmox as server for the rest of the network.

Do I understand correctly that in your case it is only as virtualization layer for your laptop, with different client OS's to use on the laptop? Interesting!

 

[Philip Blacha]

Hi Philip,

I share the general concerns of using only WiFi as Proxmox connectivity, but the general use case is with Proxmox as server for the rest of the network.

Do I understand correctly that in your case it is only as virtualization layer for your laptop, with different client OS's to use on the laptop? Interesting!

Exactly, that's what im trying to do.

 

[Philip Blacha]

Thats bad, Proxmox with debian 12 i a Server system an i setup only fix IPs.
The Servers have its place in complex network environment.
With management IP, backbone for backup net with i.g proxmox BS.

You can access the Webinterface over https://192.168.1.53:8006 an there you can change the network settings with a (software) bridge, name: vmbr0 and so on.

The issue is, I don't know what settings I have to put in the bridge configuration on the Webinterface. Could you give me a step-by-step guide?

 

[Dunuin]

Did you read the wiki article tom linked that explains why you shouldn't use Wifi and why it is not possible to bridge a VM so it could access the internet and so on? You will have to turn PVE into a router and run a NAT setup via CLI if you really want to stick with wifi as wifi APs not allowing bridging (only one MAC allowed) is a physical limitation.

 

[Philip Blacha]

Did you read the wiki article tom linked that explains why you shouldn't use Wifi and why it is not possible to bridge a VM so it could access the internet and so on? You will have to turn PVE into a router and run a NAT setup via CLI if you really want to stick with wifi as wifi APs not allowing bridging (only one MAC allowed) is a physical limitation.

Okay, are there any Alternatives? The whole purpose of this is to virtualize multiple Operating Systems (only Ubuntu and macOS) and run them. I don't need any remote access or anything else crazy.

 

[Dunuin]

Okay, are there any Alternatives?

A.) skip wifi and use ethernet cables
B.) use wifi and let the PVE host do the NATing
C.) get something like a OpenWRT router in wifi client mode and put it in front of your PVE server so PVE can access the wifi via ethernet cable

 

[wbk]

Some combination of Dunuin's B&C might work: you could install OpenWRT in a container and configure WiFi as WAN, and connect your bridge to the LAN side.

 

[Dunuin]

Some combination of Dunuin's B&C might work: you could install OpenWRT in a container and configure WiFi as WAN, and connect your bridge to the LAN side.

But how should the OpenWRT LXC access the internet if no VM or LXC is allowed to send any packages to the WifiAP? This again would require that the PVE host is doing NAT and if the PVE host is already working as a router, you don't really need an additional router LXC.

 

[wbk]

But how should the OpenWRT LXC access the internet if no VM or LXC is allowed to send any packages to the WifiAP?

Ah, yes, I totally overlooked that. Sorry for adding to the confusion.

- edit - Another cludge: when holding on to 'no wire to the laptop', should adding USB WiFi dongles provide a workaround?
And on second thought (and second reading): the Wiki-page, and the linked pages there, really provide a lot of information and possible workarounds.

 

[Philip Blacha]

Ah, yes, I totally overlooked that. Sorry for adding to the confusion.

- edit - Another cludge: when holding on to 'no wire to the laptop', should adding USB WiFi dongles provide a workaround?
And on second thought (and second reading): the Wiki-page, and the linked pages there, really provide a lot of information and possible workarounds.

I checked the Wikipage and haven't really found anything. Couldn't I just give the VM access to the Wifi instead of the host and then display the VM on the Host Machines Display (Laptop Display)? I'm really only looking to run some Systems on the laptop virtualized, I don't actually need the Webinterface. I only needed it to create the VM ofc.

 

[Dunuin]

A VM can't use the physical hardware unless you PCI passthrough that hardware and then no other VM nor the host could make use of that hardware anymore.

I don't actually need the Webinterface. I only needed it to create the VM ofc.

So you don't care about stuff like security or data integrity and you don'T want to be able to update to hypervisor to patch vulnerabilities or being able to do backups or replace failed disks?
Then PVE probably isn't the right software for you and it might be better to try something like Virtualbox or VMware Workstation.

 

[Philip Blacha]

A VM can't use the physical hardware unless you PCI passthrough that hardware and then no other VM nor the host could make use of that hardware anymore.


So you don't care about stuff like security or data integrity and you don'T want to be able to update to hypervisor to patch vulnerabilities or being able to do backups or replace failed disks?
Then PVE probably isn't the right software for you and it might be better to try something like Virtualbox or VMware Workstation.

I need a Type 1 Hypervisor. I don't want to run any Linux Distro or Windows + the VM. It would take too much RAM and cause lag.

 

[Dunuin]

PVE is a full-fledged Linux distro...

 

[Philip Blacha]

A VM can't use the physical hardware unless you PCI passthrough that hardware and then no other VM nor the host could make use of that hardware anymore.


So you don't care about stuff like security or data integrity and you don'T want to be able to update to hypervisor to patch vulnerabilities or being able to do backups or replace failed disks?
Then PVE probably isn't the right software for you and it might be better to try something like Virtualbox or VMware Workstation.

If you think there is a better Type 1 Hypervisor for my use case, then please share that with me. Otherwise I have to stick to Proxmox.

 

[Philip Blacha]

PVE is a Linux distro...

Yes but its a type 1 hypervisor. For Virtualbox i also have to run a DE and then run the VM in the app. And i'm looking for a more integrated way

 

[Dunuin]

You also need to install a DE on PVE to remote access your VMs to access their desktops unless you PCI passthrough GPU + soundcard + USB controller.

 

[Philip Blacha]

You also need to install a DE on PVE to remote access your VMs to access their desktops unless you PCI passthrough GPU + soundcard + USB controller.

I already did a passthrough for GPU. And there are various tutorials for Soundcard and USB passtrough. Proxmox is a way more integrated way. On VirtualBox/VMWare Workstation I have to manually attach my USBs for example to the VM. And it still runs on top of the DE. I'd like to have my VM start with my Computer. No other login screens or anything else.