Overview

Unlike Hyper-V or VMware, Proxmox doesn’t have an easy virtual disk import system. This is mainly because of the flexible storage model used by KVM systems. Often, storage does not use virtual disk image files but leverages ZFS volumes directly, as an example. Because of this, the simplest and most universal recovery method for these platforms is Bare Metal recovery.

Despite the name, Bare Metal Recovery refers to the direct recovery of a system from backup to the recovery machine. Whether this machine is truly bare metal hardware or a virtual hardware machine doesn’t matter. Boot the virtual machine from the Bare Metal Recovery ISO to perform the recovery.

Proxmox Environment Setup

To set up a Proxmox environment, upload the Bare Metal Recovery ISO to the Proxmox ISO store.

1. Download the Bare Metal Recovery ISO from the Appliance or Vault downloads page, or directly from the x360Recover downloads page on our website. After you download the ISO, upload it to Proxmox to make it available to virtual machines.
   
    
2. In Proxmox, select your ISO storage bin and click Upload. If you haven’t created an ISO storage bin yet, refer to the Proxmox documentation for instructions on configuring storage.
   
    
3. Select the file and click Upload. 
   
    

Create a New Virtual Machine

To create a virtual machine in Proxmox: 

1. Click the Create VM button. Ensure that the new virtual machine has disks that match (or exceed) the size of the original protected system disks. 
   
    
2. Enter a unique VM ID and a friendly system Name and click Next.
   
    
3. Select the Bare Metal Recovery ISO image and the Guest OS Type and Version for the protected system. Click Next.
   
    
4. To configure system settings for the new VM, select the video options based on your preference. 
5. Select the machine hardware model:
   • q35 is recommended for modern systems.
   • If your hardware is Legacy BIOS, select Sea Bios.
   • If your hardware is EFI, select OVMF (UEFI) mode.
6. We recommend selecting Qemu Agent. Install the Qemu utilities on the system after recovery if they are absent.
   
   
   Note: If your original system is not configured for Proxmox, you may not have Virtio drivers present. In this case, you may need to select another SCSI Controller type.
    
7. If your system uses a modern EFI BIOS, an additional EFI boot disk is required. Select a storage pool location for the disk and leave the remaining options at their default values.
   
   
   Note: Proxmox defaults to Secure Boot enabled for EFI systems. If you need to disable Secure Boot, press a key when booting and change the setting in the virtual BIOS of the machine.
    
8. Click Next to configure disk settings. 
   
   Important: Configuring the disk settings is the most critical component for a successful recovery. 
    
9. Select a disk type that is supported by the existing system. If you are unsure, an IDE is a safe choice that all platforms should support. 
10. Set the disk size to be the same as or larger than the original system. For this example, we are only creating Disk 0. If you need additional disks, add them after the virtual machine has been created. 
11. If your storage bin is file-based (NFS or SMB share, Btrfs, etc.), select the desired virtual disk format.
12. Select a disk caching mode (writeback is recommended).
    
     
13. Click Next to configure virtual CPU settings.
    
    
    Note: If you are recovering a Hyper-V host or other system that supports virtualization, you must select a CPU type of Host to allow for nested virtualization under Proxmox.
     
14. Click Next.
15. Set the memory and click Next.
    
     
16. Configure network adapter properties and click Next.
    
    
    Note: Virtio is recommended for best performance. If Virtio drivers are not installed on the original system, you can install them after recovery. BMR ISO supports Virtio natively during the recovery process. If you cannot use Virtio, E1000 is the next best option. The Realtek driver only provides 10/100 speeds.
     
17. Confirm your selections and click Finish.
    
     

Boot the Virtual Machine from Bare Metal Recovery ISO

1. Verify that the Bare Metal Recovery ISO is selected by the virtual CD/DVD disk and click Start to boot the virtual machine.
   
    
2. After the system boots, click Console to open the terminal window and proceed with the machine's Bare Metal Recovery.
   
    

Perform Bare Metal Recovery

1. After the virtual machine has booted from the ISO, continue with Bare Metal Recovery to restore the system to the Proxmox host.
2. Presuming that your system is currently running as a virtual machine on either an Appliance or in the x360Recover Virtual Office, the recommended process is to proceed using an Incremental Bare Metal Recovery process to allow your current disaster recovery failover system to continue running while you are performing the recovery back to Proxmox. Follow the instructions here: BMR Using Incremental Recovery.

Boot the Recovery System on Proxmox

When you are ready to finish the recovery and fail back to your Proxmox host, follow these steps:

1. Take a final backup of the running DR virtual system on the Appliance or Virtual Office.
2. Shut down the DR virtual machine.
3. Perform a final Incremental Bare Metal Recovery pass and finish the BMR wizard.
4. Shut down the Proxmox VM running the Recovery ISO.
5. Remove the BMR ISO from the Proxmox VM.
6. Boot the recovered system on Proxmox.