Proxmox VE Virtual Machine Management

Optimal Configuration for Virtual Machines

The configuration of virtual machines can vary widely, but we only recommend this specific configuration, as it has demonstrated the best performance and stability in our production environment.

Configuration Items	Type	Advantages	Disadvantages
CPU	host/max/default	This type can pass through CPU information to the virtual machine.	Online migration between different CPUs may encounter issues.
BIOS	UEFI	UEFI supports Windows 11. If the VM is running Windows 7 or earlier, please do not select it.”	Does not support VMs running Windows 7 or earlier.
vga 1	Virtio-GPU	Virtio-GPU can provide better performance and supports access via SPICE, VNC, RDP, and other protocols.	Virtio-GPU does not support Windows 7, and drivers need to be installed on the VM.
vga 2	spice	In a SPICE scenario, it can provide better performance. Supports SPICE, RDP, and VNC.	equires the VM to install drivers and needs a SPICE client.
vga 3	Nvidia vGPU	Applicable in scenarios using Nvidia vGPU. Provides vGPU functionality. Supports SPICE, RDP, and VNC	Requires Nvidia vGPU drivers.
SCSI controller	VirtIO SCSI single	provides better I/O throughput	Description
Disk type	SCSI	provides better I/O throughput and supports hot-swapping.	Description
Network Card	virtio	provides better I/O throughput	Description
EFI disk	pre-enroll keys key	Provides secure boot	The operating system within the VM needs to support secure boot.
TPM	2.0	Provides TPM devices.	Snapshots require the storage to be block storage, such as LVM-thin, ZFS, or CEPH.
USB	spice	Provides a virtual USB for SPICE usage.
Other configurations (located in the VM options page).
Qemu-ga	Must be enabled.	Provides communication interfaces between Proxmox VE and virtual machines.	QEMU Guest Agent needs to be installed inside the VM.
OSType	Must be selected correctly.	Proxmox VE will optimize the configuration based on the OS type.
SPICE增强	Needs to be enabled.	Using SPICE enhances performance, such as folder sharing and video streaming.	Requires more bandwidth.
KVM hardware virtualization.	Must be enabled.	Provides KVM hardware acceleration.

1. CPU configuration.

Type	Value	Description
socket	1	This is the physical number of CPUs; if it is 1, it represents a single socket, and if it is 2, it represents a dual socket. Recommended value is 1.
cors	4	This is the maximum number of CPUs in the system; for example, if set to 4, it represents 4 cores.
type	default	Default provides the best compatibility, refer to guidehttps://foxi.buduanwang.vip/virtualization/599.html/
other	default	Some advanced options may have adverse effects if not understood; it is recommended to stick with the defaults.

2. Memory configuration.

Type	Value	Description
Memory	8192	Unit: MB, total memory size
Ballooning	off	Memory ballooning allows you to allocate a certain amount of memory initially. If the host runs low on memory, it can reclaim memory from the virtual machine. You can enable it to save memory, but for stability, it is recommended not to enable it.

Note that the ballooning device does not allocate memory based on usage; it initially provides all the allocated memory, and only reclaims it if the host runs low on memory.

3. BIOS

Value	Description
OVMF	Modern UEFI BIOS models support Secure Boot.

4. vga

Value	Description
virtio	This is the optimal option.
spice	SPICE connection requires
mdev	When using Nvidia vGPU, the web console will display the vGPU output. (This feature is unofficial and available only with PXVIRT. )

5. Machine

Type	Description
q35	Q35 is a modern motherboard model with PCIe support.

6. Scsi Controller

Type	Description
VirtIO SCSI Single	Paravirtualization offers the best performance. Note that in Windows virtual machines, you need to install the disk controller driver. Referencehttps://foxi.buduanwang.vip/virtualization/pve/1214.html/

7. Disk device

Type	Value	Description
Device Type	SCSI	Using SCSI can provide better performance and hot-swapping support. You need to install the disk controller driver.
SSD Emulation	enable	Once enabled, the disk is recognized as an SSD by the system and supports TRIM.
TRIM	enable	Enabling TRIM allows the system to periodically perform low-level disk cleanup to save more disk space.

8. Network Card

Type	Description
VirtIO	Paravirtualization offers the best performance. Note that in Windows virtual machines, you need to install the network card driver.

9. EFI Disk

Under the OVMF BIOS, EFI disks can store some BIOS configuration information. If not configured, a warning will be issued.

Type	Description
pre-enroll keys	Once enabled, Secure Boot will be activated, and some systems that do not support Secure Boot will fail to start. If it is an ARM virtual machine, please do not add it.

10. TPM

Type	Description
v2.0	v2.0 is the new standard for TPM (Trusted Platform Module).

Note! After adding TPM, the virtual machine only supports snapshots when using block storage.

11. Qemu Guest Agent

Type	Value	Description
Qemu Guest Agent	enable	This option must be enabled; it is a necessary procedure for communication between Proxmox VE and the virtual machine.

12. OS type

PXVDI will read the value of ostype and perform targeted optimizations.

Type	Description
ostype < win8.1	PXVDI will use RDP encryption to establish the connection
ostype >= win8.1	PXVDI will use NLA (AD mode) and TLS encryption to establish the connection.

PXVDI and Virtual Machine System Compatibility

OS	Windows10/windows11	Windows8.1	Windows7	WindowsXP
Freerdp（ad mode）	Support	Support	Support	Support
Freerdp（non-ad mode）	Need to disable NLA authentication.
Spice	Support	Support	Support	Support
Horizon	https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/78714	Not support	Not support	Not support

Download materials

1. Windows ISO can be downloaded from

https://msdn.itellyou.cn

2. Windows KVM drivers can be downloaded here.

https://download.lierfang.com/proxmox/drivers/

3. Spice guest tools

https://download.lierfang.com/proxmox/drivers/spice-guest-tools-latest.exe