majiayu000 Proxmox Skill
Proxmox VE virtualization platform reference for VM management, containers, clustering, and homelab infrastructure.
Quick Reference
# VM management (qm)
qm list # List all VMs
qm status <vmid> # Check VM status
qm start <vmid> # Start VM
qm stop <vmid> # Stop VM (graceful)
qm shutdown <vmid> # Shutdown VM (ACPI)
qm unlock <vmid> # Remove lock
qm config <vmid> # Show VM config
# Container management (pct)
pct list # List all containers
pct status <ctid> # Check container status
pct start <ctid> # Start container
pct stop <ctid> # Stop container
pct enter <ctid> # Enter container shell
# Cluster management (pvecm)
pvecm status # Cluster status and quorum
pvecm nodes # List cluster nodes
# API shell (pvesh)
pvesh get /nodes # List nodes via API
pvesh get /nodes/<node>/status # Node resource status
# Backup (vzdump)
vzdump <vmid> --mode snapshot --storage <storage>
vzdump --all --compress zstd
Reference Files
Load on-demand based on task:
| Topic | File | When to Load |
|---|---|---|
| VM vs LXC | vm-lxc.md | Choosing virtualization type |
| Docker Hosting | docker-hosting.md | Running Docker on Proxmox |
| Networking | networking.md | Bridges, VLANs, SDN, firewall |
| Storage | storage.md | Storage backends, content types |
| Cloud-init | cloud-init-templates.md | VM provisioning with cloud-init |
| Clustering | clustering.md | HA, quorum, fencing |
| Backup | backup.md | vzdump modes, restore |
| CLI Tools | cli-tools.md | qm, pct, pvecm, pvesh commands |
| Troubleshooting | troubleshooting.md | Common errors, diagnostics |
| Automation Tools | automation-tools.md | Terraform/Ansible integration |
Validation Checklist
Before deploying VMs/containers:
- Cluster status healthy (
pvecm status) - Node resources available (CPU, RAM, disk)
- Storage accessible and mounted
- Network bridges configured correctly
- VLAN tags match network design
- Resource allocation within node limits
- HA configuration correct (if enabled)
- Backup schedule in place
- Naming convention followed
VM vs LXC Quick Decision
| Factor | Use VM | Use LXC |
|---|---|---|
| OS | Windows, BSD, any | Linux only |
| Isolation | Full kernel isolation | Shared kernel |
| Performance | Good | Better (lighter) |
| Startup | Slower | Fast |
| Density | Lower | Higher |
| Complexity | Any workload | Simple services |
Homelab Network VLANs
| VLAN | Purpose | Proxmox Bridge |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Management (Web UI, API, SSH) | vmbr5 |
| 1 | Trusted network | vmbr0 |
| 11 | Storage (NFS/Ceph, MTU 9000) | vmbr11 |
| 12 | High-speed transfers | vmbr12 |