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Nextcloud VM Creation (VM-102)

Brief description: Create VM-102 for Nextcloud with 2 vCPU, 6GB RAM, and 50GB storage.

VM Specifications

  • VM ID: 102
  • Name: nextcloud
  • CPU: 2 vCPU
  • RAM: 6 GiB (6144 MiB)
  • Disk: 50 GiB (ZFS)
  • OS: Ubuntu Server 24.04 LTS
  • Network: vmbr2 (private internal network)
  • Static IP: 192.168.192.102/18
  • Gateway: 192.168.192.5
  • Purpose: Nextcloud file sync and share

Prerequisites

  • [ ] Proxmox Web UI accessible
  • [ ] Ubuntu 24.04 LTS ISO available
  • [ ] ZFS storage pool available
  • [ ] IP address planned from overview

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Create VM in Proxmox

  1. In Proxmox Web UI, select your node
  2. Click Create VM button

Step 2: General Tab

  • VM ID: 102
  • Name: nextcloud

Click Next

Step 3: OS Tab

  • ISO image: ubuntu-24.04-live-server-amd64.iso
  • Type: Linux
  • Version: 6.x - 2.6 Kernel

Click Next

Step 4: System Tab

  • Graphic card: Default
  • SCSI Controller: VirtIO SCSI
  • Accept other defaults

Click Next

Step 5: Disks Tab

  • Storage: rpool
  • Disk size (GiB): 50
  • Format: qcow2
  • Cache: Write back

Storage Consideration

Nextcloud requires more storage than other VMs because user files will be stored here. 50GB provides room for initial use and growth.

Click Next

Step 6: CPU Tab

  • Sockets: 1
  • Cores: 2

Click Next

Step 7: Memory Tab

  • Memory (MiB): 6146
  • Ballooning Device: Optional

Memory Requirements

Nextcloud benefits from extra RAM for file caching and database operations. 6GB provides good performance for 10-50 users.

Click Next

Step 8: Network Tab

  • Bridge: vmbr2
  • Model: VirtIO (paravirtualized)

Click Next

vmbr2 Configuration

This VM uses the internal private network (vmbr2) with NAT. The Nginx Proxy will handle external access to Nextcloud.

Step 9: Confirm

Review settings: - Name: nextcloud - VM ID: 102 - CPU: 2 cores - Memory: 6144 MiB - Disk: 50 GiB on rpool

Click Finish

Step 10: Install Ubuntu

  1. Start VM 102
  2. Open Console
  3. Boot from ISO

Step 11: Ubuntu Installation Wizard

Language: English

Keyboard Layout: Your layout

Network Configuration: - Select the network interface (ens18) - Choose Configure network manually - Enter the following: - IP Address: 192.168.192.102 - Netmask: 255.255.192.0 (/18) - Gateway: 192.168.192.5 - Name servers: 8.8.8.8, 1.1.1.1

Proxy: (none)

Mirror: Default

Storage: - Use entire disk - Accept defaults

Profile: - Your name: Administrator - Server name: nextcloud - Username: admin - Password: [strong password] - Confirm password

SSH: - [x] Install OpenSSH server

Server Snaps: - Select nextcloud snap for easy installation (recommended) - Or skip and install manually (see Nextcloud Installation)

Complete and reboot

Step 12: Post-Installation

After reboot:

  1. Login as your user
  2. Check IP address: 
    ip addr show
  3. Verify gateway: 
    ip route show
  4. Verify connectivity: 
    ping google.com
  5. Update system: 
    sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Step 13: Record IP Address

Update IP Inventory

The static IP 192.168.192.102 has been configured. Add to your documentation: 

nextcloud | 102 | vmbr2 | 192.168.192.102 | cloud.example.com | Nextcloud Port 80/443

Verification

  • [ ] VM 102 created with correct specs
  • [ ] Ubuntu 24.04 LTS installed
  • [ ] Console access working
  • [ ] IP address assigned
  • [ ] Internet connectivity verified
  • [ ] System packages updated
  • [ ] IP address documented

Optimization for Nextcloud

Create Additional Storage (Optional)

If you want to separate Nextcloud data:

  1. In Proxmox, add additional disk to VM 102:
  2. Hardware → Add → Hard Disk
  3. Storage: rpool
  4. Size: 100GB or more

  5. Format: qcow2

  6. In VM, format and mount: 

    # Find new disk (likely /dev/sdb)
lsblk

# Format
sudo mkfs.ext4 /dev/sdb

# Create mount point
sudo mkdir /mnt/nextcloud-data

# Mount
sudo mount /dev/sdb /mnt/nextcloud-data

# Add to fstab
echo '/dev/sdb /mnt/nextcloud-data ext4 defaults 0 2' | sudo tee -a /etc/fstab

Enable Swap (Optional)

For systems with limited RAM:

# Create 2GB swap file
sudo fallocate -l 2G /swapfile
sudo chmod 600 /swapfile
sudo mkswap /swapfile
sudo swapon /swapfile

# Add to fstab
echo '/swapfile none swap sw 0 0' | sudo tee -a /etc/fstab

Next Steps

Proceed to: - Nginx Proxy VM - VM-103 - Or continue with Nextcloud Installation