Installing and Running a VM on Pimox [Proxmox for ARM] 🌱

Creating the VM

  1. Plug a USB 3 drive into the Raspberry Pi to use for VM storage

    DISCLAIMER: The drive will be formatted, backup any important data

  2. Open a web browser > Navigate to the Pimox web UI and login
  3. Select the Pimox node > Expand Disks > Click ZFS
  4. Click the Create: ZFS button
  5. Give the new ZFS storage a Name and select the USB 3 drive from the devices displayed > Click Create
  6. Select the local storage from the left navigation pane > ISO Images > Download from URL
  7. Paste the download URL for Ubuntu Server Download > Click Query URL > Click Download
  8. Right click the Pimox node name > Create VM
  9. Give the VM a unique VMID and Name> Click Next
  10. On the OS tab select Do not use any media and set the Guest OS Type to Linux and Version to 5.x - 2.6 Kernel > Click Next
  11. On the System tab set the BIOS for OVMF (UEFI) and the EFI Storage > Click Next
  12. On the Hard Disk tab set the Storage device to USB3 and set the Disk size to 16 (adjust as needed) > Click Next
  13. On the CPU tab, set the Type to host and Cores to 2 (adjust as needed) > Click Next
  14. On the Memory tab, set the Memory to 1024 (adjust as needed) > Click Next
  15. Leave the defaults on the Network tab > Next
  16. Review the summary and click Finish
  17. Select the new VM from the left navigation menu > Hardware
  18. Click on the CD/DVD Drive to select it > Click Remove at the top of the main content area > Click Yes to confirm
  19. Click Add > Select CD/DVD Drive > Set the Bus/Device to SCSI > Select the local storage device > Select the uploaded Ubuntu .iso > Click Create
  20. Click Add > Serial Port > Leave the Port Number 0 > Click Add
  21. Double click Display to edit it > Set the Graphic card value to Serial terminal 0 > Click OK
  22. Select Options from the left navigation sub-menu
  23. Double click Boot order to edit it > Drag/drop the scsi2 device (where the Ubuntu iso is attached) to the top of the list > Click OK
  24. Click the Start button in the top right of the screen
  25. Click the Console dropdown at the top right of the screen > Select xterm.js
  26. Wait a moment for the serial console to initialize
  27. Follow the prompts to complete the OS installation
  28. After the installation completes, select the Shutdown dropdown at the top of the screen > Stop
  29. Select Hardware from the left sub-navigation menu
  30. Double click the CD/DVD Drive to edit it > Select Do not use any media > Click OK
  31. Click Start at the top right of the screen to start the VM again
  32. Reconnect to the xterm.js console
  33. The GRUB menu should boot and start loading Ubuntu Server

Adding a Desktop Environment

  1. Login once Ubuntu Server has booted
  2. Run the following commands to install lxce
    # update software repositories
    sudo apt update
    # install xfce4
    # When prompted, press Enter to configure a display manager > Select lightdm > Press Enter
    sudo apt install xfce4 -y
    # shutdown the VM
    sudo shutdown now
  3. Back in the Pimox UI, navigate back to the VM Hardware settings
  4. Double click Display to edit it > Set the Graphic card value to Default > Click OK
  5. Click the Serial Port (serial0) to select it > Click Remove > Yes
  6. Click the Start button in the top right of the screen
  7. Click the normal Console display
  8. Log back in at the xfce login screen
  9. Welcome to ARM64 based Ubuntu Server running on Proxmox on your Raspberry Pi