This article is part of a series on Virtualization (Hypervisors).
Type 1 Hypervisor, a VM Server, for free, in the cloud
Soon after building my custom DIY Desktop PC and replacing my old PC, I watched a video on YouTube by NetworkChuck about Proxmox, a type of virtualization software that I could run as a server. Once I found out I could turn the old computer into a VM server, I knew immediately that I had to make it happen.
In March of 2023, I took the old pre-built computer I had purchased from NewEgg and upgraded nearly every single part of it. Where before I would severely limit how often I opened the comptuer’s case for fear of breaking something, I now enjoyed completely breaking down the machine and rebuilding it as if it was from parts. When it finally booted up with all the upgrades installed, I was so excited - I couldn’t wait to install Proxmox.
And that’s what I did. With my new “old computer” ready, I watched a few YouTube videos and made Proxmox happen. Then, I immediately took it a step further by making sure it had the GPU passthrough right at the start, just like I had done with the QEMU setup on my desktop PC. The upgraded parts came from a one-at-a-time process of trying to fix different problems as they came up. But, I got it done, and my type 1 hypervisor VM juggernaut was ready.
Building out another component of my home lab on my personal home cloud really motivated me to tackle other home lab projects. I felt like I could do it all! But, I had to wait. Right after completing the server, I began studying intensely for the CompTIA Security+ exam, and I had to take a pause from VMs and hypervisors and home lab projects.
Since building the server, Proxmox has become an essential part of my home network. With my self-hosted VM server, I can:
- run a VM that hosts all my Docker containers.
- try out other Linux distributions that I don’t want to install on bare metal.
- use it to play old software, like the occasional ISO I have from old video games I use to play on Windows 98 or Windows XP.
- test out anything I want, like intentionally downloading old viruses onto a Windows XP machine.
- And, I can do that all from within a safe environment where I can delete the VM the moment I’m done with it, and it doesn’t harm any of my other machines.
- do all of this without bloating my main machine with test VMs, or detracting from its virtualization tasks by utilizing system resources for smaller VMs.
That’s awesome.
A screenshot of the desktop of a Ubuntu VM, being run on a local Proxmox server and being accessed through a web browser.
The Build
Hardware upgrades:
- Motherboard: ASRock B450M Pro4 -> ASUS
- Old motherboard was giving me issues in conjunction with other upgraded parts
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 2700X -> AMD Ryzen 5700G
- This was a crucial upgrade, as the integrated graphics allowed for the passthrough of the GPU, while still allowing the hypervisor to boot.
- RAM: 16GB -> 32GB
- More RAM to split between all the virtual machines
- Storage: blah
- GPU: NVIDIA GeForce -> AMD Radeon
Software stack:
- Proxmox Virtual Environment
- Type 1 hypervisor
A neofetch of a SSH terminal window of the Arch Linux VM running on my Proxmox VE server. The Arch VM is actively running all of my Docker containers.
How to do backups using CLI
- /var/lib/vz
- Directory for VM images and something else…
- /etc/pve/qemu-server
- stuff
- /etc/…
- more stuff
Fresh Install Bullet Points
Here’s how I would reinstall Proxmox if I needed to:
- Go to my personal GitHub and reference my guides on:
Thanks to those who got me here!
- NetworkChuck - Proxmox install video
- Techno Tim - 11 Things to Setup Proxmox video
- Proxmox documentation on how to set up PCI (GPU) passthrough