Difference between revisions of "Prepare Installation Media"

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(Add separate instructions for OS X (execute on El Capitan))
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== Introduction ==
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<!--PVE_IMPORT_START_MARKER-->
The installation media is now a hybrid ISO image, working in two ways:
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<!-- Do not edit - this is autogenerated content -->
*An ISO image file ready to burn on CD
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{{#pvedocs:pve-installation-media-plain.html}}
*A raw sector (IMG) image file ready to directly dd to flash media (USB Stick)
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[[Category:Reference Documentation]]
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<pvehide>
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Download the installer ISO image from: https://www.proxmox.com/en/downloads/category/iso-images-pve
 +
The Proxmox VE installation media is a hybrid ISO image. It works in two ways:
 +
An ISO image file ready to burn to a CD or DVD.
 +
A raw sector (IMG) image file ready to copy to a USB flash drive (USB stick).
 +
Using a USB flash drive to install Proxmox VE is the recommended way because it is
 +
the faster option.
 +
Prepare a USB Flash Drive as Installation Medium
 +
The flash drive needs to have at least 1 GB of storage available.
 +
Do not use UNetbootin. It does not work with the Proxmox VE installation image.
 +
Make sure that the USB flash drive is not mounted and does not
 +
contain any important data.
 +
Instructions for GNU/Linux
 +
On Unix-like operating system use the dd command to copy the ISO image to the
 +
USB flash drive. First find the correct device name of the USB flash drive (see
 +
below). Then run the dd command.
 +
# dd bs=1M conv=fdatasync if=./proxmox-ve_*.iso of=/dev/XYZ
 +
Be sure to replace /dev/XYZ with the correct device name and adapt the
 +
input filename (if) path.
 +
Be very careful, and do not overwrite the wrong disk!
 +
Find the Correct USB Device Name
 +
There are two ways to find out the name of the USB flash drive. The first one is
 +
to compare the last lines of the dmesg command output before and after
 +
plugging in the flash drive. The second way is to compare the output of the
 +
lsblk command. Open a terminal and run:
 +
# lsblk
 +
Then plug in your USB flash drive and run the command again:
 +
# lsblk
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A new device will appear. This is the one you want to use. To be on the extra
 +
safe side check if the reported size matches your USB flash drive.
 +
Instructions for macOS
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Open the terminal (query Terminal in Spotlight).
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Convert the .iso file to .img using the convert option of hdiutil for example.
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# hdiutil convert -format UDRW -o proxmox-ve_*.dmg proxmox-ve_*.iso
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macOS tends to automatically add .dmg to the output file name.
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To get the current list of devices run the command:
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# diskutil list
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Now insert the USB flash drive and run this command again to determine which
 +
device node has been assigned to it. (e.g., /dev/diskX).
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# diskutil list
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# diskutil unmountDisk /dev/diskX
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replace X with the disk number from the last command.
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# sudo dd if=proxmox-ve_*.dmg of=/dev/rdiskX bs=1m
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rdiskX, instead of diskX, in the last command is intended. It will
 +
increase the write speed.
 +
Instructions for Windows
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Download Rufus from https://rufus.ie/. Either install it or use the portable
 +
version. Select the destination drive and the Proxmox VE ISO file.
 +
Once you click Start a dialog asking to download a different version of GRUB
 +
will show up. Click No. In the next dialog select the DD mode.
 +
An alternative to Rufus is Etcher. Download Etcher from https://etcher.io. It
 +
will guide you through the process of selecting the ISO and your USB Drive.
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Boot your Server from the USB Flash Drive
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Connect the USB flash drive to your server and make sure that booting from USB
 +
is enabled (check your servers firmware settings). Then follow the steps in the
 +
installation wizard.
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</pvehide>
 +
<!--PVE_IMPORT_END_MARKER-->
  
Using USB sticks is faster and more environmental friendly and therefore the recommended way to install Proxmox VE.
 
 
== Write the ISO image to USB ==
 
In order to boot the installation media you need to copy the ISO image to your USB media. You need at least a 512 mb USB stick.
 
 
'''Note''': Using UNetbootin or Rufus does not work.
 
 
=== Instructions for Windows ===
 
*Make sure that your USB media is not mounted and does not contain any data.
 
*In order to copy the ISO, you need to rename it first, just rename the downloaded file from proxmox-ve_2.0-*.iso to proxmox-ve_2.0-*.raw.
 
*Download the [https://github.com/downloads/openSUSE/kiwi/ImageWriter.exe SUSE Studio ImageWriter] and run as admin.  If this doesn't work (e.g. Win7), you can use the [http://www.osforensics.com/tools/write-usb-images.html OSForsenics USB installer] instead
 
*Copy the image to your USB media
 
 
=== Instructions for GNU/Linux ===
 
You can simply use dd on unix like systems. First download the ISO image, then plug in the USB stick (you need to find out what device name gets assigned to the USB stick. You can compare the last lines of 'dmesg' command before and after the insertion, or use the 'lsblk' command and identify using the size if unique).
 
 
dd if=pve-cd.iso of=/dev/XYZ bs=1M
 
 
Be sure to replace /dev/XYZ with the correct device name (be careful, and do not overwrite your hard disk!)
 
 
=== Instructions for OS X ===
 
OS X can use dd as the unix systems, but first requires the ISO image to be converted before it can be copied over to the USB stick. First you will need to download the ISO image, then plug in the USB Stick. To get the device name by running 'diskutil list'. This command will output all the disk attached to the system, you should be able to match up the USB stick to the specs and name of one listed. To get the raw device, you can add an 'r' in front of the name, ex. /dev/disk4 would become /dev/rdisk4. Next you will an to open Disk Utility and eject each partition only (If you eject from Finder or the Desktop it will eject the entire disk, removing it completely from the system). Now we can convert the ISO and copy the new image over with. Note hdiutil will commonly add the .dmg extension to the output file, so you will end up pve-cd.img.dmg
 
 
  hdiutil convert -format UDRW -o pve-cd.img pve-cd.iso
 
  sudo dd if=pve-cd.img.dmg of=/dev/rXYZ
 
 
Be sure to replace /dev/XYZ with the correct device name (be careful, and do not overwrite your hard disk!)
 
 
== Boot your server from USB media ==
 
Connect your USB media to your server and make sure that the server boots from USB - and follow the installation wizard.
 
 
== External resources ==
 
* [http://en.opensuse.org/SDB:Live_USB_stick SUSE Live USB stick]
 
  
 
[[Category: HOWTO]]
 
[[Category: HOWTO]]

Revision as of 13:54, 21 February 2020

The Proxmox VE installation media is a hybrid ISO image. It works in two ways:

  • An ISO image file ready to burn to a CD or DVD.

  • A raw sector (IMG) image file ready to copy to a USB flash drive (USB stick).

Using a USB flash drive to install Proxmox VE is the recommended way because it is the faster option.

Prepare a USB Flash Drive as Installation Medium

The flash drive needs to have at least 1 GB of storage available.

Note Do not use UNetbootin. It does not work with the Proxmox VE installation image.
Important Make sure that the USB flash drive is not mounted and does not contain any important data.

Instructions for GNU/Linux

On Unix-like operating system use the dd command to copy the ISO image to the USB flash drive. First find the correct device name of the USB flash drive (see below). Then run the dd command.

# dd bs=1M conv=fdatasync if=./proxmox-ve_*.iso of=/dev/XYZ
Note Be sure to replace /dev/XYZ with the correct device name and adapt the input filename (if) path.
Caution Be very careful, and do not overwrite the wrong disk!

Find the Correct USB Device Name

There are two ways to find out the name of the USB flash drive. The first one is to compare the last lines of the dmesg command output before and after plugging in the flash drive. The second way is to compare the output of the lsblk command. Open a terminal and run:

# lsblk

Then plug in your USB flash drive and run the command again:

# lsblk

A new device will appear. This is the one you want to use. To be on the extra safe side check if the reported size matches your USB flash drive.

Instructions for macOS

Open the terminal (query Terminal in Spotlight).

Convert the .iso file to .dmg format using the convert option of hdiutil, for example:

# hdiutil convert proxmox-ve_*.iso -format UDRW -o proxmox-ve_*.dmg
Tip macOS tends to automatically add .dmg to the output file name.

To get the current list of devices run the command:

# diskutil list

Now insert the USB flash drive and run this command again to determine which device node has been assigned to it. (e.g., /dev/diskX).

# diskutil list
# diskutil unmountDisk /dev/diskX
Note replace X with the disk number from the last command.
# sudo dd if=proxmox-ve_*.dmg bs=1M of=/dev/rdiskX
Note rdiskX, instead of diskX, in the last command is intended. It will increase the write speed.

Instructions for Windows

Using Etcher

Etcher works out of the box. Download Etcher from https://etcher.io. It will guide you through the process of selecting the ISO and your USB flash drive.

Using Rufus

Rufus is a more lightweight alternative, but you need to use the DD mode to make it work. Download Rufus from https://rufus.ie/. Either install it or use the portable version. Select the destination drive and the Proxmox VE ISO file.

Important Once you Start you have to click No on the dialog asking to download a different version of GRUB. In the next dialog select the DD mode.

Boot your Server from the USB Flash Drive

Connect the USB flash drive to your server and make sure that booting from USB is enabled (check your servers firmware settings). Then follow the steps in the installation wizard.