In virtualized environments, it’s common to have a VM running behind NAT, especially when using tools like QEMU, VirtualBox, or cloud labs. This setup means the VM can reach the host, but the host cannot directly initiate connections to the VM — including to web services like the Proxmox web GUI running on port 8006. Fortunately, this limitation is easy to bypass using reverse SSH tunneling. 🧠 Objective We want to: ...
End-to-end automation of Proxmox ISO customization and VM provisioning using Docker and libvirt with support for dual QCOW2 disks.
My Journey of Automating Proxmox on Arch Linux Automating Proxmox installs can be a time-saver, but the official Proxmox Automated Installer is built specifically for Debian-based systems, leaving Arch and other distros out in the cold. This project emerged out of my frustration with the limitations of the Proxmox installer. Why I Built This Solution I was using Arch Linux as my primary system, and I needed to deploy Proxmox VE multiple times in a virtualized environment. The official installer was only available for Debian-based systems, so I decided to find a way to make it work on Arch. After trying several workarounds and encountering issues along the way, I decided to package the installer in a Docker container. ...
This document describes how to use the Dockerized Proxmox Auto Installer image to generate unattended Proxmox VE installation ISOs for multiple profiles (e.g., pve-1, pve-2). Overview The proxmox-auto-installer Docker image wraps the official proxmox-auto-install-assistant tool to convert a standard Proxmox VE ISO into an unattended-install ISO using profile-specific answer.toml files. By specifying a profile name, you can maintain multiple configurations and generate distinct custom ISOs in a reproducible manner. Prerequisites Docker installed (version 20.10+). A Proxmox VE ISO (e.g., proxmox-ve_8.4-1.iso). Profile directories each containing an answer.toml file. Write permissions for the output directory. Directory Structure Scripts/ ├── iso/ │ ├── proxmox-ve_8.4-1.iso # Base ISO │ └── output/ # Generated ISOs ├── secrets/ │ ├── pve-1/ │ │ └── answer.toml # Profile pve-1 settings │ └── pve-2/ │ └── answer.toml # Profile pve-2 settings ├── Dockerfile # Build definition └── entrypoint.sh # Profile-aware entrypoint Building the Docker Image Run the following command from the directory containing the Dockerfile and entrypoint.sh: ...
My Quest for Hands-Free Proxmox: An Incomplete Attempt at Automated Bliss via Embedded Preseed Hey everyone! Today, I wanted to recount a recent, and ultimately uncompleted, foray into the realm of virtualization automation. My ambition? To achieve a completely unattended installation of Proxmox VE within VirtManager on my trusty Arch Linux machine. The vision was clear: craft a custom ISO with a preseed file meticulously integrated, initiate a VM, and witness Proxmox install itself autonomously, requiring zero manual input. Sounds like a dream, doesn’t it? Well, the journey proved to be quite… enlightening in its lack of completion. ...
📡 Full Network Addressing Architecture for Hybrid Infrastructure 1. 🎯 Concept Overview This document defines a highly structured, hierarchical IP addressing and hostname convention for a multi-environment infrastructure that includes: Baremetal systems (e.g., Arch Linux on sitar-1-arch) Virtualized systems (e.g., Proxmox VMs, OPNsense appliances) Containerized services (e.g., Docker networks) Mobile-edge systems (e.g., Termux-based clients or gateways) Future cloud or experimental research subnets The network design is hierarchical, incremental, and self-documenting, using a w.x.y.z IP structure and FQDN conventions for every entity on the network. ...