System Requirements

For production servers, high quality server equipment is needed. Proxmox VE supports clustering, this means that multiple Proxmox VE installations can be centrally managed thanks to the integrated cluster functionality. Proxmox VE can use local storage like (DAS), SAN, NAS, as well as shared, and distributed storage (Ceph).

Recommended Hardware

Intel EMT64 or AMD64 with Intel VT/AMD-V CPU flag.
Memory, minimum 2 GB for OS and Proxmox VE services. Plus designated memory for guests. For Ceph or ZFS additional memory is required, approximately 1 GB memory for every TB used storage.
Fast and redundant storage, best results with SSD disks.
OS storage: Hardware RAID with batteries protected write cache (“BBU”) or non-RAID with ZFS and SSD cache.
VM storage: For local storage use a hardware RAID with battery backed write cache (BBU) or non-RAID for ZFS. Neither ZFS nor Ceph are compatible with a hardware RAID controller. Shared and distributed storage is also possible.
Redundant Gbit NICs, additional NICs depending on the preferred storage technology and cluster setup – 10 Gbit and higher is also supported.
For PCI(e) passthrough a CPU with VT-d/AMD-d CPU flag is needed.

For Evaluation

Minimum Hardware (for testing only)

CPU: 64bit (Intel EMT64 or AMD64)
Intel VT/AMD-V capable CPU/Mainboard (for KVM Full Virtualization support)
Minimum 1 GB RAM
Hard drive
One NIC

Testing with desktop virtualization

Proxmox VE can be installed as a guest on all common used desktop virtualization solutions as long as they support nested virtualization.

Proxmox VE on a Debian System

If you want you can install Proxmox VE on top of a running Debian 64-bit. This is especially interesting, if you want to have a custom partition layout.

Read how to install Proxmox VE on a Debian System >