How to Create Proxmox VMs and Use Them in a Kubernetes Cluster (On-Premise Guide)

If you're running a powerful server using Proxmox VE and want to build a production-ready Kubernetes cluster, you're in the right place. This guide walks you through creating Ubuntu-based VMs in Proxmox and using them as nodes (master and workers) in a Kubernetes cluster — perfect for local development or internal production use.

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Prerequisites

• A working Proxmox VE server (e.g., on Cisco UCS C240 M5 or any x86_64 server)
• Access to Proxmox web UI or CLI
• Ubuntu 22.04 ISO uploaded in Proxmox
• At least 3 static IP addresses (e.g., 192.168.1.100–102)
• Basic knowledge of Linux and networking

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Step 1: Create VMs in Proxmox for Kubernetes Nodes

VM Specs (minimum per node):

• CPU: 2–4 vCPUs
• RAM: 4–8 GB
• Disk: 20+ GB
• Network: Bridged (e.g., vmbr0) to LAN
• Storage: Local-lvm or ZFS

Steps to Create VM:

1. Login to Proxmox web UI
2. Click Create VM
3. Enter:
   • Node name: k8s-master-1, k8s-worker-1, etc.
   • ISO: ubuntu-22.04-server.iso
   • System: EFI BIOS, SCSI disk with virtio-scsi, QEMU agent enabled
4. Hard Disk: 20–40 GB (SSD-backed preferred)
5. CPU: 4 cores (host type)
6. Memory: 8192 MB (8 GB)
7. Network: Bridged to vmbr0 (enable firewall if needed)
8. Finish and Start the VM

Repeat to create at least 3 VMs:

• k8s-master-1
• k8s-worker-1
• k8s-worker-2

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Step 2: Configure Ubuntu on Each VM

Install Ubuntu normally using your ISO. After setup:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
sudo hostnamectl set-hostname k8s-master-1   # (or worker-1 / worker-2)

Set static IP in /etc/netplan/00-installer-config.yaml:

network:
  version: 2
  ethernets:
    ens18:
      dhcp4: no
      addresses: [192.168.1.100/24]
      gateway4: 192.168.1.1
      nameservers:
        addresses: [1.1.1.1, 8.8.8.8]

Apply config:

sudo netplan apply

Install container runtime:

sudo apt install -y containerd
sudo mkdir -p /etc/containerd
containerd config default | sudo tee /etc/containerd/config.toml
sudo systemctl restart containerd

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Step 3: Install Kubernetes with RKE2 (Recommended for Production)

On Master Node:

curl -sfL https://get.rke2.io | sudo sh -
sudo systemctl enable rke2-server.service --now

Get node token:

sudo cat /var/lib/rancher/rke2/server/node-token

On Worker Nodes:

Create config /etc/rancher/rke2/config.yaml:

server: https://192.168.1.100:9345
token: <paste-master-node-token>

Install:

curl -sfL https://get.rke2.io | sudo sh -
sudo systemctl enable rke2-agent.service --now

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Step 4: Connect and Verify the Cluster

On master:

export KUBECONFIG=/etc/rancher/rke2/rke2.yaml
kubectl get nodes

You should see all nodes: master and workers in Ready status.

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Optional Add-ons for Production

Feature	Tool
Ingress	NGINX Ingress Controller
TLS	cert-manager
Volumes	Longhorn or hostPath
Monitoring	Prometheus + Grafana
Dashboard	Rancher UI
Backup	Velero, restic, snapshots

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Final Notes

• Proxmox + RKE2 gives you a flexible, secure, on-prem Kubernetes environment
• Snapshots, clones, and templates make managing nodes easy
• Can be extended with HAProxy + Keepalived for multi-master HA

Would you like a script version of this or Rancher added to the cluster? Let me know!