Overview

My primary objective for deploying Proxmox Virtual Environment (VE) was to establish a robust, enterprise-grade type-1 hypervisor to serve as the foundational infrastructure for my homelab. Instead of running a traditional bare-metal operating system, Proxmox VE allows me to maximize the compute efficiency of an energy-efficient AMD-based Mini PC by splitting its resources across multiple isolated environments.

Hardware / Requirements

  • AMD-based Mini PC: An energy-efficient mini PC with 8 GB to 16 GB of system RAM. (This guide specifically covers AMD hardware configurations).
  • USB Flash Drive: Minimum 8 GB for the Proxmox installer.

🌐 Prerequisite: Before proceeding with the steps below, you must ensure that your installation USB flash drive has already been created. If you haven’t prepared your bootable media yet, please follow my step-by-step guide: Create a Proxmox Bootable USB.

Procedure

Step 1: Enable Virtualization

Before installing Proxmox, you must configure your system’s BIOS/UEFI. Boot into your BIOS and enable SVM Mode (Secure Virtual Machine) to allow hardware virtualization for your virtual machines. Additionally, you should enable AMD-IOMMU to support PCIe passthrough. This allows Proxmox to assign specific hardware components—like your Zigbee USB dongle—directly to your guest operating systems.

Step 2: Install Proxmox VE

  1. Insert the bootable USB into your AMD Mini PC and power it on.
  2. Press the boot menu key (usually F11, F12, or Del) and select your USB drive to boot in UEFI mode.
  3. Select Install Proxmox VE (Graphical) from the boot menu.
  4. Agree to the EULA and select your target hard disk (SSD).
  5. Choose your country, time zone, and keyboard layout.
  6. Set a strong root password and enter your email address.
  7. Configure the management network:
    • Select your active Ethernet interface.
    • Assign a Static IP address (e.g., 192.168.0.25).
    • Set your Gateway and DNS Server (usually your router’s IP).
  8. Review the summary and click Install. The system will reboot automatically when finished.

Step 3: Access the Proxmox Web UI

Once the Mini PC reboots, you can disconnect the monitor and keyboard. Access the control panel from any browser on your local network:

  • URL: https://YOUR_STATIC_IP:8006 (Ignore the SSL certificate warning in your browser).
  • Username: root
  • Password: The password you defined during Step 3.

Step 4: Run the Proxmox VE Post-Install Script

This community-maintained script automates repository configuration, removes subscription warnings, and cleans up single-node setups.

  1. Go to your Proxmox Web UI.
  2. Select your main node on the left, and open the Shell.
  3. Run the updated official command from the Proxmox VE Helper-Scripts community:
bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/community-scripts/ProxmoxVE/main/tools/pve/post-pve-install.sh)"
  1. The script will initialize and present a series of interactive blue menu prompts. Respond to them as follows for a standard home server setup:
  • Start Proxmox VE Post Install Script? → Select Yes.
  • Disable Enterprise Repository? → Select Yes (This removes the locked repository that requires a paid license).
  • Enable No-Subscription Repository? → Select Yes (This enables free community updates).
  • Add/Correct PVE Sources? → Select Yes (Fixes missing or misconfigured system package lists).
  • Disable Subscription Nag? → Select Yes (Removes the annoying popup warning every time you log in).
  • Disable High Availability (HA) Cluster Services? → Select Yes (Crucial for Mini PCs! If you only have one server, disabling HA stops Proxmox from constantly writing logs to your disk, saving your SSD from wearing out).
  • Update Proxmox VE? → Select Yes (Installs all available OS updates immediately).
  • Reboot Proxmox VE? → Select Yes (Reboots the system to apply all changes safely).

Step 5: SSD Optimizations (Reduce Wear and Tear)

  1. Go to your Proxmox Web UI.
  2. Select your main node on the left, and open the Shell.
  3. Run the following commands:
systemctl stop pve-ha-lrm
systemctl stop pve-ha-crm
systemctl disable pve-ha-lrm pve-ha-crm