Proxmox VE Setup Guide¶

Mini PC configuration for running OPNsense router and Docker VM.

Hardware Requirements¶

Component	Spec	Notes
CPU	Intel N150	VT-x/VT-d enabled
RAM	12GB	~1GB host + 2GB OPNsense + 9GB Docker
Storage	512GB SSD	VMs + ISO storage
NIC	Dual port	nic0/vmbr0 (WAN) + nic1/vmbr1 (LAN)

Installation¶

1. Download Proxmox VE¶

# Download from proxmox.com
# Latest stable: Proxmox VE 8.x
# Create bootable USB with balenaEtcher or Rufus

2. Boot from USB¶

Enable UEFI boot in BIOS
Disable Secure Boot
Boot from Proxmox installer USB

3. Installation Wizard¶

Setting	Value
Target Disk	512GB SSD
Country	Paraguay
Timezone	America/Asuncion
Keyboard	us
Admin Password	(strong password)
Email	augusto@cronova.dev
Hostname	pve.cronova.local
Management IP	192.168.0.237/24
Gateway	192.168.0.1 (temporary)
DNS	1.1.1.1

Note: Initial IP is temporary. After OPNsense setup, DHCP will assign static IPs.

Post-Installation¶

1. Access Web UI¶

https://192.168.0.237:8006
Username: root
Password: (set during install)

2. Remove Subscription Notice¶

# SSH into Proxmox
ssh root@192.168.0.237

# Edit sources list
sed -i 's/^deb/#deb/' /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pve-enterprise.list

# Add no-subscription repo
echo "deb http://download.proxmox.com/debian/pve bookworm pve-no-subscription" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pve-no-subscription.list

# Update
apt update && apt full-upgrade -y

3. Enable IOMMU (optional, for future PCI passthrough)¶

# Edit GRUB config
nano /etc/default/grub

# Change line to:
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet intel_iommu=on iommu=pt"

# Update GRUB
update-grub

# Add VFIO modules
echo "vfio" >> /etc/modules
echo "vfio_iommu_type1" >> /etc/modules
echo "vfio_pci" >> /etc/modules
echo "vfio_virqfd" >> /etc/modules

# Reboot
reboot

4. Verify IOMMU¶

dmesg | grep -e DMAR -e IOMMU
# Should show: DMAR: IOMMU enabled

Network Configuration¶

Identify NICs¶

ip link show
# Example:
# enp1s0 - WAN (vmbr0 bridge)
# enp2s0 - LAN (vmbr1 bridge)

Edit Network Config¶

nano /etc/network/interfaces

auto lo
iface lo inet loopback

# WAN Bridge (OPNsense WAN - public IP via DHCP)
auto vmbr0
iface vmbr0 inet manual
    bridge-ports enp1s0
    bridge-stp off
    bridge-fd 0

# LAN Bridge (OPNsense LAN + Docker VM + Proxmox mgmt)
auto vmbr1
iface vmbr1 inet static
    address 192.168.0.237/24
    gateway 192.168.0.1
    bridge-ports enp2s0
    bridge-stp off
    bridge-fd 0

# Apply changes
ifreload -a

Storage Configuration¶

Default Storage¶

Storage	Path	Content
local	/var/lib/vz	ISO images, CT templates
local-lvm	LVM thin pool	VM disks

Upload ISOs¶

Datacenter > Storage > local > ISO Images
Upload:
OPNsense-24.x-amd64.iso
debian-12-amd64.iso (for Docker VM)

Create OPNsense VM¶

1. Create VM¶

General¶

Setting	Value
VM ID	100
Name	opnsense

OS¶

Setting	Value
ISO	OPNsense-24.x-amd64.iso
Type	Other

System¶

Setting	Value
Machine	q35
BIOS	OVMF (UEFI)
Add EFI Disk	Yes
SCSI Controller	VirtIO SCSI

Disks¶

Setting	Value
Bus	SCSI
Size	20 GB
Storage	local-lvm
Discard	Enabled

CPU¶

Setting	Value
Cores	2
Type	host

Memory¶

Setting	Value
Memory	2048 MB

Network:

Setting	Value
Bridge	vmbr0
Model	VirtIO

2. Add Second NIC (WAN)¶

The OPNsense VM needs two bridged NICs — one for WAN (vmbr0) and one for LAN (vmbr1). The first NIC (vmbr0) was added during VM creation. Now add the second:

VM > Hardware > Add > Network Device¶

Setting	Value
Bridge	vmbr1
Model	VirtIO

3. VM Options¶

VM > Options¶

Setting	Value
Start at boot	Yes
Start/Shutdown order	1
Startup delay	0

4. Install OPNsense¶

See docs/guides/opnsense-setup.md for installation steps.

Create Docker VM¶

1. Create VM¶

General¶

Setting	Value
VM ID	101
Name	docker

OS¶

Setting	Value
ISO	debian-13-amd64.iso
Type	Linux
Version	6.x - 2.6 Kernel

System¶

Setting	Value
Machine	q35
BIOS	OVMF (UEFI)
Add EFI Disk	Yes
SCSI Controller	VirtIO SCSI

Disks¶

Setting	Value
Bus	SCSI
Size	100 GB
Storage	local-lvm
Discard	Enabled

CPU¶

Setting	Value
Cores	2
Type	host

Memory¶

Setting	Value
Memory	9216 MB
Ballooning	Disabled

Network:

Setting	Value
Bridge	vmbr1
Model	VirtIO

2. VM Options¶

VM > Options¶

Setting	Value
Start at boot	Yes
Start/Shutdown order	2
Startup delay	30

3. Install Debian¶

Boot from ISO
Graphical install (or text)
Hostname: docker
Domain: cronova.local
Root password: (set strong password)
User: augusto
Partitioning: Guided - entire disk
Software: SSH server, standard system utilities only
Install GRUB to disk

4. Post-Install Configuration¶

# SSH into Docker VM
ssh augusto@192.168.0.10

# Become root
su -

# Update system
apt update && apt upgrade -y

# Install Docker
apt install -y ca-certificates curl gnupg
install -m 0755 -d /etc/apt/keyrings
curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/debian/gpg | gpg --dearmor -o /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg
chmod a+r /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg

echo \
  "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture) signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg] https://download.docker.com/linux/debian \
  $(. /etc/os-release && echo "$VERSION_CODENAME") stable" | \
  tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list > /dev/null

apt update
apt install -y docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-plugin

# Add user to docker group
usermod -aG docker augusto

# Enable Docker service
systemctl enable docker

# Install useful tools
apt install -y vim git htop ncdu nfs-common

# Configure static IP (if not using DHCP reservation)
# Edit /etc/network/interfaces

Note: OpenClaw runs on a dedicated Raspberry Pi 5 (not a Proxmox VM). See docs/architecture/hardware.md for RPi 5 specs and ansible/playbooks/openclaw.yml for automated setup.

Intel QuickSync (Hardware Acceleration)¶

For Frigate and Jellyfin transcoding.

Enable on Proxmox Host¶

# Verify Intel GPU
ls -la /dev/dri
# Should show: card0, renderD128

# Check GPU
lspci | grep -i vga

Pass through to Docker VM¶

Method 1: Device Passthrough¶

Edit VM config:

nano /etc/pve/qemu-server/101.conf

# Add line:
args: -device vfio-pci,host=00:02.0

Method 2: LXC Container (Alternative)¶

If using LXC instead of VM:

# Edit container config
nano /etc/pve/lxc/101.conf

# Add:
lxc.cgroup2.devices.allow: c 226:* rwm
lxc.mount.entry: /dev/dri dev/dri none bind,optional,create=dir

Verify in Docker VM¶

ls -la /dev/dri
# Should show renderD128

# Install vainfo
apt install -y vainfo
vainfo
# Should show Intel QuickSync capabilities

Backup Configuration¶

Enable VM Backups¶

Datacenter > Backup > Add¶

Setting	Value
Storage	local
Schedule	Daily 03:00
Selection Mode	Include selected VMs
VMs	100 (opnsense), 101 (docker)
Mode	Snapshot
Compression	ZSTD
Retention	Keep last 7

Manual Backup¶

# Backup specific VM
vzdump 100 --storage local --compress zstd

# List backups
ls /var/lib/vz/dump/

Monitoring¶

Enable Email Alerts¶

Datacenter > Options > Email from address¶

Set to: <pve@cronova.dev>

User > root > Email¶

Set to: <augusto@cronova.dev>

System Metrics¶

Available in Proxmox web UI:

CPU usage
Memory usage
Network I/O
Disk I/O

Integration with Uptime Kuma¶

Add Proxmox health check:

Type: HTTP
URL: https://192.168.0.237:8006
Expected: 200

Verification Checklist¶

Proxmox Host¶

[ ] Proxmox VE installed and accessible
[ ] IOMMU enabled and verified
[ ] Network bridge (vmbr0) configured
[ ] WAN NIC identified for vmbr0 bridge
[ ] ISOs uploaded

OPNsense VM¶

[ ] VM created with correct resources
[ ] Dual bridged NICs configured (vmbr0 WAN, vmbr1 LAN)
[ ] Boots successfully
[ ] See docs/guides/opnsense-setup.md for configuration

Docker VM¶

[ ] VM created with 9GB RAM, 100GB disk
[ ] Debian 13 (trixie) installed
[ ] Docker and docker-compose installed
[ ] User added to docker group
[ ] NFS client installed
[ ] Intel QuickSync accessible (if needed)

Backups¶

[ ] Automated backups scheduled
[ ] Test restore performed

Resource Summary¶

VM	vCPU	RAM	Disk	Purpose
OPNsense	2	2GB	20GB	Router/Firewall
Docker	2	9GB	100GB	All containers
Total	4	11GB	120GB
Host Reserve	-	~1GB	392GB	Proxmox + buffers

Troubleshooting¶

Cannot Access Web UI¶

# Check if Proxmox is running
systemctl status pveproxy

# Check IP address
ip addr show vmbr0

# Restart networking
systemctl restart networking

IOMMU Not Working¶

# Verify BIOS settings
# - VT-d: Enabled
# - IOMMU: Enabled

# Check kernel parameters
cat /proc/cmdline | grep iommu

VM Won't Start¶

# Check VM status
qm status 100

# View VM config
qm config 100

# Start with debug
qm start 100 --debug

docs/guides/opnsense-setup.md - OPNsense configuration
docs/guides/vlan-design.md - Network segmentation
docs/guides/nfs-setup.md - NFS for Frigate recordings
docs/architecture/hardware.md - Hardware specifications

Proxmox VE Setup Guide¶

Hardware Requirements¶

Installation¶

1. Download Proxmox VE¶

2. Boot from USB¶

3. Installation Wizard¶

Post-Installation¶

1. Access Web UI¶

2. Remove Subscription Notice¶

3. Enable IOMMU (optional, for future PCI passthrough)¶

4. Verify IOMMU¶

Network Configuration¶

Identify NICs¶

Edit Network Config¶

Storage Configuration¶

Default Storage¶

Upload ISOs¶

Create OPNsense VM¶

1. Create VM¶

General¶

OS¶

System¶

Disks¶

CPU¶

Memory¶

2. Add Second NIC (WAN)¶

VM > Hardware > Add > Network Device¶

3. VM Options¶

VM > Options¶

4. Install OPNsense¶

Create Docker VM¶

1. Create VM¶

General¶

OS¶

System¶

Disks¶

CPU¶

Memory¶

2. VM Options¶

VM > Options¶

3. Install Debian¶

4. Post-Install Configuration¶

Intel QuickSync (Hardware Acceleration)¶

Enable on Proxmox Host¶

Pass through to Docker VM¶

Method 1: Device Passthrough¶

Method 2: LXC Container (Alternative)¶

Verify in Docker VM¶

Backup Configuration¶

Enable VM Backups¶

Datacenter > Backup > Add¶

Manual Backup¶

Monitoring¶

Enable Email Alerts¶

Datacenter > Options > Email from address¶

User > root > Email¶

System Metrics¶

Integration with Uptime Kuma¶

Verification Checklist¶

Proxmox Host¶

OPNsense VM¶

Docker VM¶

Backups¶

Resource Summary¶

Troubleshooting¶

Cannot Access Web UI¶

IOMMU Not Working¶

VM Won't Start¶

Related Documentation¶