Bradley Haveman
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How I Installed Proxmox on My Old Intel NUC

#proxmox #homelab #virtualization
Table of Contents

Introduction

Transforming an old Intel NUC into a virtualization powerhouse with Proxmox VE was a fun project. These little machines are perfect for home labs because they’re small and pack enough punch. Here’s how I installed Proxmox on my Intel NUC, hopefully it helps you out.

Preparation

What You’ll Need

Before starting, I made sure I had everything I needed:

  • Old Intel NUC: I used a model with a 64-bit Intel processor with virtualization support (VT-x), 8 GB of RAM, and a 120 GB SSD. This is plenty for running a few virtual machines.
  • Bootable USB Drive: A 4 GB USB flash drive is all you need.
  • Proxmox VE ISO: I downloaded the latest Proxmox VE ISO from the Proxmox download page. I also verified the checksum to make sure the download was good.
  • Internet Connection: You’ll need this for updates and managing remote repositories.

Creating the Installation Media

With the ISO file downloaded, the next step was to create a bootable USB drive:

  1. Using Rufus for USB Drive Creation:
  • I downloaded and launched Rufus, a great tool for creating bootable USB drives.
  • I plugged in the USB stick and selected it in Rufus.
  • I chose the Proxmox VE ISO file using the “Select” button.
  • I set the partition scheme to MBR and the file system to FAT32.
  • After clicking “Start,” Rufus did its thing and made the USB drive bootable.

Booting from the USB Drive

Setting Up the Intel NUC

With the installation media ready, it was time to set up the Intel NUC:

  1. Inserting the USB Drive:
  • I plugged the bootable USB drive into one of the front USB ports of the NUC.
  1. Accessing BIOS/UEFI:
  • As the NUC started up, I pressed the F2 key to get into the BIOS setup.
  1. Configuring the Boot Order:
  • I went to the “Boot” tab in the BIOS settings.
  • I changed the boot order to make the USB drive the first boot device.
  1. Saving Changes and Rebooting:
  • I saved the changes and exited the BIOS. The NUC rebooted and the Proxmox installer started.

Installing Proxmox VE

Going Through the Installation Steps

With the Proxmox installer running, I followed these steps:

  1. Proxmox Boot Menu:
  • I selected “Install Proxmox VE” from the boot menu and pressed Enter.
  1. Agreeing to the License:
  • The installer shows the Proxmox VE license agreement. I accepted the terms to continue.
  1. Selecting the Target Hard Disk:
  • I chose the NUC’s internal SSD for the installation. This erases all data on the drive, so be careful.
  1. Filesystem Options:
  • Proxmox VE supports ext4, XFS, BTRFS, and ZFS. I went with ext4 because it’s stable and widely used.
  • If you use ZFS, don’t use it on top of hardware RAID. The Proxmox wiki has more info on this.
  1. Configuring Regional Settings:
  • I set my region, time zone, and keyboard layout.
  1. Setting Password and Email:
  • I created a strong password for the root account and entered my email for system notifications.
  1. Network Configuration:
  • I used a static IP configuration for my home network.
  • I entered the IP address, subnet mask, gateway, and DNS servers.
  1. Starting the Installation:
  • After confirming all the settings, I clicked “Install.” The installation took about 10-15 minutes.
  1. Rebooting into Proxmox:
  • Once the installation was done, I removed the USB drive and rebooted the NUC.

Accessing the Proxmox Web Interface

Final Steps to Get Proxmox Running

With Proxmox installed, I could now access the web interface:

  1. Accessing the Web Interface:
  • On my laptop, I opened a web browser and went to https://<assigned_IP>:8006.
  1. Handling the Security Warning:
  • I got a security warning because of the self-signed SSL certificate. I added a security exception to continue.
  1. Logging In:
  • I logged in with the root username and password.
  1. Post-Install Configuration:
  • I checked the IP configuration, hostname, timezone, and firewall settings.
  1. Updating Proxmox:
  • I went to the “Updates” section, clicked “Refresh,” and then “Upgrade” to install the latest updates.
  1. Changing to Community Repository (Optional):
  • If you don’t have a Proxmox subscription, you’ll need to switch to the community repository.
  • You can do this manually or use the Proxmox Helper Scripts.

Manual method: First, edit the Ceph repository:

nano /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ceph.list

Comment out the enterprise lines:

#deb https://enterprise.proxmox.com/debian/ceph-quincy bookworm enterprise

Then, edit the PVE repository:

nano /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pve-enterprise.list

Comment out the enterprise lines:

#deb https://enterprise.proxmox.com/debian/pve bookworm pve-enterprise
  • After updating the repositories, run apt update and apt upgrade -y.

Conclusion

Turning my old Intel NUC into a Proxmox server was a great experience. It’s a fantastic way to give old hardware a new purpose and learn about virtualization.

If you have an old device, give it a try. You can unlock its potential and dive into the world of virtual machines. Happy virtualizing!

Useful Resources

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