Preparing VM setup
Define Storage for Install Images
Proxmox provides an option to allow image files archiving into a registered storage: this can be one of the supported storage types, chosen from:
- Local Storage (internal disk)
- SMB Network Storage (i.e. on a NAS)
- NFS protocol
For full details about Proxmox Storage, see our dedicated section1 or Official Proxmox Documentation about Storage2
New Storage
To add a new storage dedicated to image file archive, click on Datacenter from the left menu, click on Storage from the submenu and click Add button.
Select storage type from the dropdown and fill in details into the dialog; below an example adding a SMB storage dedicated to image files.
Pay attention on the Content field: to enable ISO image files archiving capabilities, choose ISO Image from the dropdown. Other capabilities can be selected as well, storing ISOs in "mixed" storage types is allowed. On the target file system, Proxmox will create different subfolders dedicated to each content.
When done, click Add button and wait a couple of seconds: if the storage is recognized, Proxmox will add it and it will be ready to be used as image file archive.
Existing Storage
Load image files in Proxmox VE
The simple way to load image files into Proxmox Ve is using the Web Interface. This can be done in two different ways:
- Downloading ISO files from Internet
- Uploading from local computer
Downloading from Internet
Click on the Download from URL button, paste the download link and click Query URL.
If recognized, some information will autofill other fields, ready to be customized.
- File Name: is obtained from download link, but can be edited if required; don't remove filename extension.
- Hash Algorithm: can be chosen from a complete list of different checksum types, if selected enables Checksum
- Verify Certificates: uncheck if the download comes from a page with no valid SSL certificate (like self-signed)
- Decompression Algorithm: if the source is a compressed archive, like LZO, GZIP or ZSTD, Proxmox can extract automatically
When everything is in place, click on Download button to start retrieving file image.
A background task starts, leaving in foreground a status windows, which can be closed without interrupting the download (it can be reopened from the tasklist on the bottom).
Uploading from local computer
Click on the Upload button and fill out the required fields:
- File, a placeholder path used for upload, generated clicking Select File and pointing to your locally stored image file
- File Name, the name given to ISO file (can be customized if needed)
- File Size, calculated image file size
- Hash, none by default, can be selected from a list of different algorithms (MD5, ...)
- Checksum, if Hash checking is enabled, the checksum string provided from the source to verify your upload