Build a Proxmox Host on a Minisforum MS-01

Published by bobo on May 5, 2025

If you’re looking to create a compact yet beastly Proxmox server, the Minisforum MS-01 is a perfect candidate. In this post, I’ll show you how to turn one into a full-featured Proxmox VE host with:

✅ 96 GB of RAM

✅ 20-core CPU

✅ 1TB NVMe SSD dedicated to Proxmox

✅ Bonded 2.5GbE ports with a static IP

✅ LACP teaming for performance + redundancy

Table of Contents

🔧 What You’ll Need

Minisforum MS-01 (or similar with dual NICs)
Proxmox VE ISO → Download it here
USB flash drive (2GB+)
Monitor + keyboard for first boot
Static IP address: 10.0.0.5
Your router/switch must support 802.3ad (LACP) for bonding

📥 Step 1: Flash the Proxmox ISO

Download the latest Proxmox VE ISO.
Use balenaEtcher or Rufus to flash the ISO to your USB.
Safely eject the drive when done.

🖥 Step 2: Install Proxmox on the MS-01

Plug the USB drive into your MS-01 and boot it.
Enter BIOS (DEL or F11) and boot from USB.
Choose Install Proxmox VE.
Select the 1TB NVMe as the install target.
- Use ext4 or ZFS RAID0 (if you’ll add more drives later).
Set your root password and email.
Skip static IP for now — we’ll handle that post-install.
Finish the install, then reboot and remove the USB.

🌐 Step 3: Bond the Dual 2.5GbE NICs + Set Static IP

We’ll configure LACP (802.3ad) bonding to combine your two NICs into a single, fault-tolerant link with increased throughput.

1. Log into the Proxmox Web UI

Visit: https://your-proxmox-ip:8006

(Log in with root and the password you set.)

If you don’t know the IP, check it via console:

ip a

2. Create a Bond Interface

Go to Datacenter > your-node > System > Network.
Click Create > Linux Bond.
- Name: bond0
- Slaves: enp1s0, enp2s0 (check ip a for your NIC names)
- Mode: 802.3ad (LACP)
- Hash Policy: layer2+3
- Autostart: ✅

Click Create.

3. Create a Linux Bridge for VMs/Containers

Click Create > Linux Bridge.
- Name: vmbr0
- Bridge Ports: bond0
- IPv4: Static
  - IP: 10.0.0.5/24
  - Gateway: 10.0.0.1 (your router)
- IPv6: None
- Autostart: ✅

Click Create and then Apply Configuration.

⚠️ Note: This will temporarily disconnect your Web UI session if done remotely.

🛠 Step 4: Update Proxmox & Switch to Community Repos

By default, Proxmox uses a subscription-only repo. Let’s switch it out and update everything.

SSH into your host or use the web terminal.
Add the community (no-subscription) repo:

echo "deb http://download.proxmox.com/debian/pve bookworm pve-no-subscription" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pve-no-sub.list

Disable the enterprise repo:

sed -i 's/^deb/#deb/' /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pve-enterprise.list

Update and upgrade:

apt update && apt full-upgrade -y

Reboot if prompted:

reboot

🧰 Step 5: Run the Proxmox Helper Post-Install Script

Save time and automate cleanup with the Proxmox Helper Script by tteck on GitHub.

Run this in the terminal:

curl -sL https://github.com/tteck/Proxmox/raw/main/misc/post-pve-install.sh | bash

From the menu, you can:

✅ Remove enterprise repo
✅ Add no-subscription repo
✅ Disable the nag screen
✅ Apply common performance tweaks

Follow the prompts and let the script handle the rest.

💡 Step 6: Enable QEMU Guest Agent by Default

This lets your VMs talk back to Proxmox — for things like IP display, shutdowns, and backups.

In the Proxmox UI, go to:Datacenter > Options > QEMU Guest Agent
Set Default: Yes

💤 Step 7: Optional – Enable Wake-on-LAN (WOL)

If you want to power on your Proxmox box remotely:

Enable WOL for each NIC:

ethtool -s enp1s0 wol g
ethtool -s enp2s0 wol g

Make it persistent:

Edit /etc/network/interfaces and add:

post-up ethtool -s enp1s0 wol g
post-up ethtool -s enp2s0 wol g

✅ Step 8: Final Touches

Install some handy tools:

apt install htop nvme-cli smartmontools -y

Set up your first backup, add NFS/SMB shares, or start deploying VMs and containers.

🧾 Summary

You now have a clean, powerful Proxmox node built on a tiny PC:

Component	Configuration
CPU	20 cores (Intel i9 / Xeon variant)
RAM	96 GB DDR5
Storage	1TB NVMe (Proxmox OS & local-lvm)
Network	Dual 2.5GbE bonded via LACP
IP Address	Static 10.0.0.5
OS	Proxmox VE latest (no-sub repo)
Tweaks	Post-install script, guest agent, updates ✅

Let me know in the comments or by DM if you’d like a follow-up post on:

Creating a TrueNAS VM with NVMe passthrough
Hosting VMs and LXCs on a ZFS pool
Installing a pfSense or OPNsense firewall VM

Happy homelabbing! 🧪🧑‍💻

Would you like me to generate a diagram for this setup too?