How to configure Proxmox VE after installation
After Proxmox VE is installed, a few settings are needed before you create virtual machines: configure the repositories so the node receives updates, update the system, add disks for virtual machine storage and protect SSH from password guessing. This guide covers these steps for Proxmox VE 8 and 9. The main steps are the same in both versions, although some interface details may differ. The screenshots were taken on Proxmox VE 8.4.
Proxmox VE 8 reached end of support on 31 August 2026. On a new server, install Proxmox VE 9. If the server runs version 8, plan an upgrade to version 9.
Step 1. Configure the repositories
A fresh installation enables the enterprise repository by default. Access to it requires a valid subscription, and without one apt update returns a 401 Unauthorized error for this repository. To receive updates without a subscription, disable the enterprise repository and enable the free no-subscription repository.
The no-subscription repository is officially provided by Proxmox for test and non-production use. Its packages are tested less than the enterprise ones. For production servers, Proxmox recommends a subscription.
In the web interface
Open the web interface at https://SERVER_IP:8006 and log in as root with the Linux PAM realm. Select the node in the tree on the left and go to Updates → Repositories.
Select the line with pve-enterprise and click Disable.
If the list also contains an enabled Ceph enterprise repository and you do not use Ceph with a subscription, disable it the same way. After that, the status shows an error that no Proxmox VE repository is enabled. This is expected until you add the next repository.
Click Add. The panel shows a reminder that the server has no valid subscription. Click OK, select No-Subscription in the Repository list and click Add.
The repository appears in the list, and the status changes to You get updates for Proxmox VE. The warning that the no-subscription repository is not recommended for production use is expected.
From the command line
The same can be done in the shell.
On Proxmox VE 8 with the default repository files, comment out the enterprise repository and add the no-subscription one:
sed -i 's/^deb/#deb/' /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pve-enterprise.list echo "deb http://download.proxmox.com/debian/pve bookworm pve-no-subscription" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pve-no-subscription.list
Proxmox VE 9 uses repository files in the deb822 format with the .sources extension. To disable the enterprise repository, add the line Enabled: no to /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pve-enterprise.sources. To add the no-subscription repository, create the file /etc/apt/sources.list.d/proxmox.sources with the following content:
Types: deb URIs: http://download.proxmox.com/debian/pve Suites: trixie Components: pve-no-subscription Signed-By: /usr/share/keyrings/proxmox-archive-keyring.gpg
The web interface edits the files correctly in both formats, so it is the simplest way on both versions.
Step 2. Update the system
In the web interface, go to Updates and click Refresh. When the package list is updated, click Upgrade. A console window opens. Confirm the upgrade with Y and wait until it finishes.
From the command line:
apt update apt dist-upgrade
On Proxmox VE, always use apt dist-upgrade (or apt full-upgrade), not apt upgrade. The plain upgrade does not install new dependencies and can leave the system in an inconsistent state.
If the update installed a new kernel, reboot the node:
reboot
Step 3. Add a disk for virtual machines
Proxmox VE can use an additional disk in several ways. The choice depends on what you will store on it.
- Directory: a regular file system mounted as a folder. It can store disk images in qcow2 or raw format, ISO images, container templates and backups. Suitable for backups and ISO images.
- LVM: a volume group for virtual machine disks. Fast and simple, but plain LVM does not support snapshots.
- LVM-Thin: like LVM, but with thin provisioning and snapshots. This is the type Proxmox VE uses for
local-lvmafter installation. - ZFS: a file system with checksums, compression, snapshots and software RAID. Needs more RAM than the other types.
Check the free disks
Select the node and go to Disks. The list shows all disks of the server. A free disk has No in the Usage column.
If the disk was used before and still has partitions, select it and click Wipe Disk.
Wipe Disk deletes all data on the disk. Check the device name and the model twice before you confirm.
Option 1. Directory
Go to Disks → Directory and click Create: Directory. Select the disk, choose the file system (ext4 or xfs), enter a name and keep Add Storage checked. Click Create.
Proxmox VE formats the disk, mounts it under /mnt/pve/NAME and adds it as a storage that accepts all content types: backups, disk images, ISO images, containers and snippets. To limit what can be stored on it, go to Datacenter → Storage, select the storage, click Edit and change Content.
Option 2. LVM
Go to Disks → LVM and click Create: Volume Group. Select the disk, enter a name and keep Add Storage checked. Click Create.
The storage appears in the tree on the left and can hold virtual machine disks.
If you need snapshots of virtual machines on this disk, use Disks → LVM-Thin → Create: Thinpool instead. The dialog has the same fields.
Option 3. ZFS
Go to Disks → ZFS and click Create: ZFS. Enter a name, select one or more disks and choose the RAID Level:
- Single Disk for one disk, without redundancy;
- Mirror for two or more disks, the data is copied to each of them;
- RAIDZ for three or more disks, with single parity;
- RAIDZ2 for four or more disks, with double parity;
- RAIDZ3 for five or more disks, with triple parity.
Keep Compression set to on and ashift set to 12, unless you have a reason to change them. Keep Add Storage checked and click Create.
ZFS uses RAM for its cache (ARC). By default, the cache can take up to 50% of the server memory. On new installations of Proxmox VE 8.1 and later, the limit is 10% of the memory, but not more than 16 GiB. Plan enough RAM for virtual machines and for ZFS. Do not use ZFS on top of a hardware RAID volume: ZFS needs direct access to the disks.
Check the storages
Go to Datacenter → Storage. The new storages are in the list with their types and content.
The Content column shows which types of data each storage supports. The available types depend on the storage type, so check this column before you use a storage for virtual machine disks, containers, ISO images or backups.
Step 4. Protect SSH with Fail2Ban
Fail2Ban blocks IP addresses after several failed login attempts. Install it:
apt update apt install fail2ban
Do not edit /etc/fail2ban/jail.conf: it is replaced on package updates. Create your own settings file:
nano /etc/fail2ban/jail.local
Add the following lines:
[sshd] enabled = true backend = systemd maxretry = 5 findtime = 10m bantime = 1h
Here maxretry is the number of failed attempts, findtime is the period in which they are counted, and bantime is how long the address stays blocked. The backend = systemd line makes Fail2Ban read the SSH log from the system journal. On Proxmox VE 8 and 9, the SSH log is often written only to the journal and /var/log/auth.log does not exist, so the default file-based backend would not work.
Restart the service and check the status:
systemctl restart fail2ban fail2ban-client status sshd
The output shows the number of failed attempts and the list of blocked addresses.
If the server is managed only by you, it is safer to log in with SSH keys and disable password login. Before you disable passwords, make sure that key login works and that you have console access through IP-KVM. Fail2Ban then becomes an extra layer of protection. You can also protect the web interface on port 8006 with Fail2Ban: see the official Fail2ban page of the Proxmox VE wiki.
Conclusion
The node now receives updates from the no-subscription repository, the system is up to date, an additional disk is ready for virtual machines and SSH is protected from password guessing. You can now upload ISO images and create virtual machines and containers.
