Setup a ProxMox Instance with NextCloud

 Introduction

This article describes the steps I took to set up a ProxMox instance and then installed NextCloudPi in a container.

About ProxMox

From the ProxMox website: “Proxmox Virtual Environment is a complete open-source platform for enterprise virtualization. With the built-in web interface you can easily manage VMs and containers, software-defined storage and networking, high-availability clustering, and multiple out-of-the-box tools using a single solution.”

About NextCloud

NextCloud is an open source cloud software. You can install NextCloud on your own computer and have your own private cloud instance, and keep your (private) data in your control, visible only to you, and to those whom you authorize to access it.

Installation

• Download ProxMox iso
• Flash the iso into a USB drive as a bootable drive
  • I used EaseUS but it failed to install on the old Asus laptop with an error that it could not find the iso image
  • I re-flashed using Balena Etcher, and then the installation was successful
• Plug the USB into the old Asus laptop
• Turn the laptop on, and press the key to get to the sartup options
• Select to boot from the USB
• Go through the installation process
• After installation, it showed the URL to use for accessing the ProxMox admin panel
• Go to that URL by using an internet browser (Chrome, FireFox, etc) from another computer on the local network
• Enter the login and password to get to the ProxMox control panel

Run the post-install helper script

ProxMox VE Helper Scripts is a crucial repository of helper scripts for ProxMox. For a community edition (no subscription) homelab instance, it is best to run the Post Install helper script. It disabled the nagging message urging you to subscribe, and makes a number of other helpful adjustments.

Note: It can be dangerous to run a script from the internet. You might want to inspect the script before running it, and run them at your own risk. I did not write these scripts, and I do not accept any responsibility for what the scripts do.

• Open: ProxMox VE Helper Scripts

• Expand Proxmox VE Tools and click on Proxmox VE Post Install

  • Copy the command and paste as text into the ProxMox shell window and wait for it to finish (answering “yes” (y) to all options presented during the process):

    bash -c "$(wget -qLO - https://github.com/tteck/Proxmox/raw/main/misc/post-pve-install.sh)"

Install NextCloudPi

The next step is to install NextCloud. Fortunately, the helper scripts contain a script that automates the tasks for installing and configuring NextCloud. It is called NextCloudPi. It also provides a managemnt page to manage the NextCloud instance.

• On the ProxMox VE helper Scripts page from above, type NextCloud in the search box

• Copy the command and paste as text into the ProxMox shell window and wait for it to finish (you may have to press yes to all the prompts):

  bash -c "$(wget -qLO - https://github.com/tteck/Proxmox/raw/main/ct/nextcloudpi.sh)"

• Visit the URL for NextCloudPi to manage the NextCloud instance.
• Visit the NextCloud page and login as the admin username ncp and create user accounts for your users, including yourself.

Miscellaneous Setup

I have also set up some other things, which I might describe in another article:

• Set up reverse proxy (via CloudFlare) so that I can access Nextcloud via the internet from anywhere
• Add firewall rules using FirewallD to allow the above reverse proxy to work
• Set up NextCloud and the NAS to backup NextCloud onto the NAS on a schedule
• Upgrade the ProxMox hard drive to a bigger hard drive and give more disk space to NextCloud