PSProxmox/Documentation/guides/Creating-VMs.md

Creating VMs

This guide explains how to create virtual machines using the PSProxmox module.

Prerequisites

• PSProxmox module installed
• Connection to a Proxmox VE server

Basic VM Creation

The simplest way to create a VM is to use the New-ProxmoxVM cmdlet with basic parameters:

# Connect to the Proxmox VE server
$credential = Get-Credential
$connection = Connect-ProxmoxServer -Server "proxmox.example.com" -Credential $credential -Realm "pam"

# Create a basic VM
$vm = New-ProxmoxVM -Connection $connection -Node "pve1" -Name "test-vm" -Memory 2048 -Cores 2 -DiskSize 32 -Start

This creates a VM with the following specifications:

• Name: test-vm
• Memory: 2 GB
• CPU: 2 cores
• Disk: 32 GB
• The VM will be started after creation

Advanced VM Creation

For more control over the VM configuration, you can specify additional parameters:

$vm = New-ProxmoxVM -Connection $connection -Node "pve1" -Name "web-server" `
    -Memory 4096 -Cores 2 -Sockets 1 -DiskSize 50 -Storage "local-lvm" `
    -OSType "l26" -NetworkModel "virtio" -NetworkBridge "vmbr0" `
    -Description "Web server for testing" -Start

This creates a VM with more specific configuration:

• Name: web-server
• Memory: 4 GB
• CPU: 2 cores, 1 socket
• Disk: 50 GB on local-lvm storage
• OS Type: Linux 2.6+ kernel
• Network: virtio model on vmbr0 bridge
• Description: "Web server for testing"
• The VM will be started after creation

Using the VM Builder Pattern

For complex VM configurations, you can use the VM builder pattern:

# Create a VM builder
$builder = New-ProxmoxVMBuilder -Name "db-server"

# Configure the VM using the builder pattern
$builder.WithMemory(8192)                                # 8 GB of memory
        .WithCores(4)                                    # 4 CPU cores
        .WithSockets(2)                                  # 2 CPU sockets
        .WithDisk(100, "local-lvm")                      # 100 GB primary disk on local-lvm storage
        .WithAdditionalDisk(200, "local-lvm")            # 200 GB additional disk on local-lvm storage
        .WithNetwork("virtio", "vmbr0")                  # virtio network on vmbr0 bridge
        .WithAdditionalNetwork("virtio", "vmbr1")        # Additional network interface on vmbr1
        .WithIPConfig("192.168.1.20/24", "192.168.1.1")  # Static IP configuration for first interface
        .WithCPUType("host")                             # CPU type
        .WithVGA("std")                                  # VGA type
        .WithBoot("order=scsi0;net0")                    # Boot order
        .WithDescription("Database server for production") # Description
        .WithStart($true)                                # Start the VM after creation

# Create the VM using the builder
$vm = New-ProxmoxVM -Connection $connection -Node "pve1" -Builder $builder

The builder pattern allows you to:

• Chain configuration methods together
• Configure complex settings like multiple disks and network interfaces
• Set advanced parameters like CPU type, VGA type, and boot order

Creating VMs from Templates

If you have VM templates, you can create VMs from them using the New-ProxmoxVMFromTemplate cmdlet:

# Create a VM from a template
$vm = New-ProxmoxVMFromTemplate -Connection $connection -Node "pve1" -TemplateName "Ubuntu-Template" -Name "web01" -Start

You can also override template settings:

# Create a VM from a template with custom settings
$vm = New-ProxmoxVMFromTemplate -Connection $connection -Node "pve1" -TemplateName "Ubuntu-Template" `
    -Name "web01" -Memory 4096 -Cores 2 -DiskSize 50 -Start

Creating Multiple VMs from Templates

You can create multiple VMs from a template in one operation:

# Create multiple VMs from a template
$vms = New-ProxmoxVMFromTemplate -Connection $connection -Node "pve1" -TemplateName "Ubuntu-Template" `
    -Prefix "web" -Count 3 -Start

This creates three VMs named "web1", "web2", and "web3".

You can also specify a starting index:

# Create multiple VMs from a template with a custom starting index
$vms = New-ProxmoxVMFromTemplate -Connection $connection -Node "pve1" -TemplateName "Ubuntu-Template" `
    -Prefix "web" -Count 3 -StartIndex 10 -Start

This creates three VMs named "web10", "web11", and "web12".

Creating VMs with IP Addresses from a Pool

If you have IP pools configured, you can assign IP addresses from them:

# Create a VM with an IP address from a pool
$vm = New-ProxmoxVMFromTemplate -Connection $connection -Node "pve1" -TemplateName "Ubuntu-Template" `
    -Name "web01" -IPPool "Production" -Start

This assigns an IP address from the "Production" pool to the VM.

Best Practices

• Use descriptive names for your VMs
• Use templates for consistent VM configurations
• Use the builder pattern for complex VM configurations
• Document your VM configurations
• Use IP pools for IP address management
• Test your VM configurations before deploying to production

Next Steps

Now that you know how to create VMs, you can proceed to the Managing VMs guide to learn how to manage them.