Create PXE bootable Proxmox installation

• 2023-03-23: successfully pxe-installed 7.4
• 2022-11-22: successfully pxe-installed 7.3
• 2022-08-18: successfully pxe-installed 7.2
• 2021-07-09: successfully pxe-installed PBS 2.2-1
• 2021-07-09: successfully pxe-installed 7.0
• 2020-10-26: successfully pxe-installed 6.2
• 2019-12-30: successfully pxe-installed 6.1
• 2018-08-27: successfully pxe-installed 5.2
• 2017-07-11: successfully pxe-installed 5.0 (despite #1)
• 2017-06-07: successfully ipxe-installed 4.4
• 2016-12-13: successfully pxe-installed 4.4
• 2016-09-27: successfully pxe-installed 4.3

Preparation

• install cpio file zstd gzip genisoimage packages
• download Proxmox VE ISO Installer from Proxmox into a folder somewhere (e.g. ~/Downloads/proxmox-ve_6.4-1.iso)
• run the script pve-iso-2-pxe.sh with the path to the ISO file as parameter
  • bash pve-iso-2-pxe.sh ~/Downloads/proxmox-ve_6.4-1.iso
• the linux26 and initrd (including ISO) will copied to the sub-directory pxeboot located relative to the iso file (e.g. ~/Downloads/pxeboot)

iPXE (recommended)

1. copy/move linux26 and initrd to a directory of your webserver (e.g. /var/www/proxmox/${version})
2. mofiy the ip address of the server in the following ipxe bootscript according to your setup:

   #!ipxe
   dhcp
   set serverip http://192.168.1.1 //Modify this to match the ip address or domain of your webserver
   set pveversion 6.2 //Modify this to match the version you want to install
   set opts "vga=791 video=vesafb:ywrap,mtrr ramdisk_size=16777216 rw quiet initrd=initrd"
   menu Please choose an operating system to boot
       item normal Install Proxmox
       item debug Install Proxmox (Debug Mode)
   choose --default normal --timeout 5000 target && goto ${target}
   :debug
       set kernel "${webserver}/proxmox/${pveversion}/linux26 ${opts} splash=verbose proxdebug"
       goto init
   :normal
       set kernel "${webserver}/proxmox/${pveversion}/linux26 ${opts} splash=silent"
       goto init
   :init
   initrd ${webserver}/proxmox/${pveversion}/initrd
   chain ${kernel}
   

3. embed the bootscript into your ipxe build or start the script from ipxe using the chain command
4. be happy and think about supporting the great guys at Proxmox!

PXE (HTTP - faster)

1. on your PXE server, use lpxelinux.0 as pxelinux.0 (overwrite or set filename via DHCP option)
2. copy/move linux26 and initrd to a directory of your webserver (e.g. /var/www/proxmox/${version})
3. add the following lines to your PXE config file (mind the important parameter ramdisk_size or the initrd won't fit into default memory):

   label proxmox-install-http
           menu label Install Proxmox HTTP
           linux http://${webserver}/proxmox/${version}/linux26
           initrd http://${webserver}/proxmox/${version}/initrd
           append vga=791 video=vesafb:ywrap,mtrr ramdisk_size=16777216 rw quiet splash=silent
           
   label proxmox-install-http
           menu label Install Proxmox HTTP (Debug)
           linux http://${webserver}/proxmox/${version}/linux26
           initrd http://${webserver}/proxmox/${version}/initrd
           append vga=791 video=vesafb:ywrap,mtrr ramdisk_size=16777216 rw quiet splash=silent proxdebug
   

4. be happy and think about supporting the great guys at Proxmox!

PXE (TFTP)

1. on your PXE server, create a directory proxmox/${version} in your PXE root directory (e.g. /var/lib/tftpboot/ or /srv/pxe/)

2. copy/move linux26 and initrd to this directory

3. add the following lines to your PXE config file (mind the important parameter ramdisk_size or the initrd won't fit into default memory):

   label proxmox-install
           menu label Install Proxmox
           linux proxmox/${version}/linux26
           append vga=791 video=vesafb:ywrap,mtrr ramdisk_size=16777216 rw quiet splash=silent
           initrd proxmox/${version}/initrd
   
   label proxmox-debug-install
           menu label Install Proxmox (Debug Mode)
           linux proxmox/${version}/linux26
           append vga=791 video=vesafb:ywrap,mtrr ramdisk_size=16777216 rw quiet splash=verbose proxdebug
           initrd proxmox/${version}/initrd
   

4. be happy and think about supporting the great guys at Proxmox!