How do I install Proxmox on a dedicated server?

Should I pick the Proxmox image or install Proxmox on Debian myself?

Pick the Proxmox VE image unless you need your own partition layout. Proxmox's wiki says a supported install uses its bare-metal ISO installer, and that installing on Debian makes sense for a custom partition layout.

With no remote console, you cannot run that ISO installer yourself, so the image is the closest route. The Debian route gives full control, but every step runs over SSH, including a reboot into a new kernel.

How do I secure the web interface on port 8006?

Keep port 8006 closed to the internet and reach it through an SSH tunnel. Proxmox's firewall documentation says the firewall is completely disabled by default. It lists the ports Proxmox uses: 8006 for the web interface, 5900 to 5999 for the VNC web console, 3128 for the SPICE proxy and 22 for SSH.

• Tunnel the interface. Run ssh -L 8006:127.0.0.1:8006 root@YOUR_SERVER_IP, then open https://127.0.0.1:8006 on your own computer.
• Keep SSH key-only. Setting a root password for the web interface does not turn on SSH password login. Root access over SSH: add your own public key at checkout and password login stays off, or leave it empty and get a temporary root password with your server, to change at first login.
• Turn on the Proxmox firewall at datacenter level once SSH and your tunnel are allowed.

ZFS or mdadm RAID: which should I use for Proxmox?

Proxmox's wiki names ZFS as the only software RAID it supports; mdraid is listed as unsupported. The reason given: mdraid has no checks for bit rot, so corruption can go unnoticed. The wiki adds that Proxmox support and its forum will not help with mdraid issues.

On Ironatoll, the disk layout is fixed before delivery. On plans with two disks, the system is installed on software RAID 1 (mirrored) unless you ask support for RAID 0 or separate disks before the server is ready. Ask support which RAID technology your image uses before you store data on it. Your practical choices:

• Keep the default mirror. One dead disk does not take the server down.
• Ask for separate disks, then use ZFS on the second one. You get checksums and snapshots for guest disks, but no redundancy, so backups matter more.
• Avoid ZFS on a hardware RAID controller. The wiki warns that ZFS and hardware RAID with its own cache do not mix.

ZFS needs memory. The wiki says to start with at least 8 GB. By default its cache (ARC) takes 10% of RAM, capped at 16 GiB.

How do I give virtual machines internet access with one IPv4 address?

Put guests on a private bridge and NAT them behind the host's IPv4: Proxmox calls this masquerading. Every server has one dedicated IPv4 address and an IPv6 /64. The port speed and the monthly traffic are listed with each plan; traffic counts outgoing data per 30-day period, and over the quota there is never an automatic extra charge. Extra IPv4 addresses are not part of our offer, so plan every guest around NAT and IPv6.

Do not bridge guests straight onto the public interface. Proxmox's network guide explains that hosting providers often cut networking when several MAC addresses appear on one port. NAT and routed setups keep a single MAC address.

• IPv4: NAT plus port forwards. Guests get private addresses such as 10.10.10.2. Each public service gets a forwarded port on the host.
• IPv6: a public address per guest. Route addresses from your /64 to the private bridge with IPv6 forwarding on. If the /64 is on-link rather than routed to your server, the host must also answer neighbour discovery for guests (proxy NDP). Support can tell you which applies.

# -o / -i must name the interface that holds your public IPv4
# (vmbr0 if the host address sits on a bridge, else e.g. eno1)
auto vmbr1
iface vmbr1 inet static
        address 10.10.10.1/24
        bridge-ports none
        bridge-stp off
        bridge-fd 0
        post-up   echo 1 > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/ip_forward
        post-up   iptables -t nat -A POSTROUTING -s '10.10.10.0/24' -o vmbr0 -j MASQUERADE
        post-down iptables -t nat -D POSTROUTING -s '10.10.10.0/24' -o vmbr0 -j MASQUERADE
        # public port 2222 -> SSH of guest 10.10.10.2
        post-up   iptables -t nat -A PREROUTING -i vmbr0 -p tcp --dport 2222 -j DNAT --to 10.10.10.2:22
        post-down iptables -t nat -D PREROUTING -i vmbr0 -p tcp --dport 2222 -j DNAT --to 10.10.10.2:22

How do I back up Proxmox virtual machines?

Back up to a different machine, because Ironatoll keeps no copy for you. There are no automatic backups, so every file you need to keep should also live somewhere you control.

Proxmox has backups built in: start them from the web interface or with vzdump, and schedule backup jobs. stop mode gives the most consistent backup with a short downtime. snapshot mode gives the least downtime, with a small risk of inconsistency.

The target can be file storage or a Proxmox Backup Server, which stores de-duplicated chunks. A second, smaller server running Proxmox Backup Server keeps copies off the main machine.

Which Ironatoll plan should I choose for Proxmox?

Size the plan by RAM: guests, the host and the ZFS cache all share it. Proxmox recommends 2 GB for the system and its services, plus the memory you give guests.

According to Ironatoll's check of 30 October 2026, a dedicated server comparable to Atoll 128 cost a median $470.70 at 10 hosts that accept crypto without ID; Ironatoll charges $205.27. Prices across the market are in our dedicated server price index, and every plan is on how much an Ironatoll dedicated server costs.