Proxmox Virtual Environment 8.4 has been released, based on Debian 12.10 "Bookworm" and featuring the Linux kernel 6.8.12 as the stable default. A newer 6.14 kernel is also available as an opt-in option. If you are currently running older Proxmox versions (E.g. Proxmox 7.4), it is time to upgrade to the latest version. In this step-by-step tutorial, I will explain the steps to upgrade to Proxmox VE 8.4 from Proxmox VE 7.
This guide will cover essential tasks like backing up your data and updating system repositories. We'll also highlight potential considerations and troubleshooting tips to ensure a smooth transition.
Table of Contents
Proxmox VE 8.4 Highlights
Upgrading Proxmox 7.x to Proxmox 8.4 brings several advantages, including:
- Virtiofs directory passthrough for sharing files between the host and VMs more efficiently.
- Updates to core components like QEMU 9.2.0, LXC 6.0.0, ZFS 2.2.7, and Ceph Squid 19.2.1 as the stable Ceph option. Ceph Quincy 17.2 is now end-of-life.
- Significant enhancements to the web interface (GUI), such as a consent banner, improved sorting, consistent proxy usage for downloads, and better task list discoverability.
- Improvements in access control with OpenID Connect, including support for groups.
- Updates and fixes in firewall and software-defined networking (SDN), including TLS certificate validation for external IPAM/DNS plugins and improvements to the Netbox and PowerDNS plugins.
- Enhancements to cluster and node management, such as increased POST request size for pveproxy, improved API error handling, and notification system updates. The
pve-nvidia-vgpu-helpertool has been introduced to simplify NVIDIA vGPU driver setup. - Various improvements to the installation ISO, including a stronger minimum root password length and better handling of network configuration.
- Official support for NVIDIA vGPU Software starting with version 18.
- Known issues and breaking changes to be aware of, such as PXE boot requiring a VirtIO RNG device for OVMF VMs, potential crashes with Ceph Squid, changes in proxy behaviour for "Download from URL", and potential configuration updates needed for SDN IPAM/DNS plugins.
In summary, Proxmox VE 8.4 focuses on enhanced virtual machine management, improved integration with external backup solutions, and increased stability and security.
For the full details, check out the official release notes or grab the installation ISO images from the project's website.
Steps to Upgrade to Proxmox 8.4 from Proxmox 7
1. Log in to your Proxmox VE 7 host system and update it using commands:
sudo apt update
sudo apt full-upgrade
2. Once the update is complete, restart the system to apply the updates.
sudo reboot
Check the current Proxmox version:
pveversion
Sample Output:
pve-manager/7.4-17/513c62be (running kernel: 5.15.143-1-pve)
As you see in the output above, currently we are on Proxmox 7.4.
3. If you installed Proxmox VE on a plain Debian Bullseye system (without using the Proxmox VE ISO installer), you may have installed the linux-image-amd64 package. This package conflicts with current Proxmox 7.x setups. To fix this, you need to remove the package before upgrading to the new version. Use this command to remove the package:
sudo apt remove linux-image-amd64
After removing the aforementioned package, reboot your system.
4. Next, you need to run a small checklist program called pve7to8. This program is included in the latest Proxmox VE 7.4 software packages. The program will give you hints and warnings about potential issues before, during, and after the upgrade process.
To run the pve7to8 program, execute the following command:
sudo pve7to8
To run it with all checks enabled, execute:
sudo pve7to8 --full
Make sure to run the full checks from the pve7to8 program at least once before upgrading.
This script only checks and reports potential issues. By default, it does not make any actual changes or fixes to your system. You should be aware that Proxmox VE systems can be heavily customized, so the script may not recognize every possible problem with your particular setup!
5. It is recommended to re-run the pve7to8 script after attempting to fix each issue it identifies. Re-running it ensures that the actions you took successfully fixed the respective warning.
6. Check if there are any additional or third-party repositories enabled and remove them. For instance, you might have enabled Backports or Testing repositories. Make sure you disabled them to avoid conflicts.
Update Debian Base Repositories to Bookworm
7. You need to update all Debian and Proxmox VE repository entries to the new Debian 12 Bookworm version. To do so, run:
sudo sed -i 's/bullseye/bookworm/g' /etc/apt/sources.list
Make sure there are no remaining repositories listed for the old Debian Bullseye version. If there are any, you can comment them out by adding a # symbol at the start of those lines.
Also check the /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pve-enterprise.list if you have Proxmox license, and /etc/apt/sources.list files.
Refer to the Package_Repositories guide for the correct Proxmox VE 8 / Debian Bookworm repositories to use.
Add the Proxmox VE 8 Package Repository
8. If you have a valid Proxmox subscription, add the Proxmox VE version 8 enterprise repository using command:
echo "deb https://enterprise.proxmox.com/debian/pve bookworm pve-enterprise" > sudo tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pve-enterprise.list
9. Next, you need to change all instances of bullseye to bookworm in the Proxmox VE APT repository file.
To add/update the Proxmox VE version 8 No-Subscription repository, run:
sudo sed -i -e 's/bullseye/bookworm/g' /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pve-install-repo.list
This command will effectively switches the repo from Debian 11 (Proxmox VE 7.x) to Debian 12 (Proxmox VE 8.x).
Start Proxmox VE 8 Upgrade
10. After updating the repositories, run the following commands to start Proxmox 8 upgrade task:
sudo apt update
sudo apt dist-upgrade
sudo apt full-upgrade
During the Proxmox Upgrade process, you may be asked to approve changes to some configuration files. This happens when the default configuration has been updated by the respective software package.
It is recommended that you check the difference between the old and new versions of each file you are asked about. Then choose the answer that is most appropriate for your particular server setup.
Here are some common files and the recommended choices:
/etc/issue- Proxmox VE will automatically generate this file at boot time. It only affects the cosmetic login console screen. Choosing "No" (keep your current version) is safe./etc/lvm/lvm.conf- Changes relevant for Proxmox VE will be updated here. A newer version may be useful. If you did not customize this file yourself, it is suggested to choose "Yes" (install the package maintainer's version)./etc/ssh/sshd_config- If unchanged, the only differences should be replacing "ChallengeResponseAuthentication no" with "KbdInteractiveAuthentication no" and some comment changes. Both options are safe, but installing the maintainer's version moves away from the deprecated setting. If other changes exist, inspect them closely./etc/default/grub- Be careful with this one, as it's normally only asked about if you manually changed it, like adding kernel options. Check closely for any relevant changes you made. Ignore comment changes. If unsure, choose "No" (keep your version).
The recommended choice tries to keep any custom configurations you made while allowing beneficial package updates.
11. During the upgrade process, some services need to be restarted when certain libraries like libpam, libc, and libssl are upgraded. Restarting these services may briefly interrupt them. Normally, you would be prompted during each upgrade to choose which services to restart.
However, you can select an option to avoid being prompted. With this option enabled, all necessary service restarts will happen automatically during the upgrade, without you having to make choices each time. This allows the upgrade to proceed without interrupting you with questions about restarting services when libraries are updated.
Choose "Yes" to restart services during package upgrades without asking and hit ENTER to continue.
If the dist-upgrade command completes successfully, you can run the pve7to8 checker script again. Then, reboot the system. This will allow you to start using the new Proxmox VE kernel after the upgrade.
Even if you were previously using the 6.x kernel on Proxmox VE 7 through an optional package, you should still reboot after the upgrade. Rebooting is required to ensure the best compatibility between the new kernel and the rest of the upgraded Proxmox VE 8 system.
The updated 6.x kernel was rebuilt specifically for Proxmox VE 8, using the new compiler and ABI versions. So rebooting guarantees everything works together properly after the major version upgrade.
12. Once the upgrade is completed, reboot your system:
sudo reboot
13. After logging in to the newly upgraded system, ensure your Proxmox version with command:
pveversion
Sample Output:
pve-manager/8.4.0/ec58e45e1bcdf2ac (running kernel: 6.14.0-1-pve)
For detailed output, add -v flag:
pveversion -v
This will print the detailed output of Proxmox VE version.
To check which Debian version your Proxmox VE is based on, run:
lsb_release -a
Sample Output:
No LSB modules are available.
Distributor ID: Debian
Description: Debian GNU/Linux 12 (bookworm)
Release: 12
Codename: bookworm
You can also use this command to directly check the Debian version:
cat /etc/os-release
Sample Output:
PRETTY_NAME="Debian GNU/Linux 12 (bookworm)"
NAME="Debian GNU/Linux"
VERSION_ID="12"
VERSION="12 (bookworm)"
VERSION_CODENAME=bookworm
ID=debian
HOME_URL="https://www.debian.org/"
SUPPORT_URL="https://www.debian.org/support"
BUG_REPORT_URL="https://bugs.debian.org/"
Congratulations! You have successfully upgraded Proxmox 7.4 to Proxmox 8.4.
Import all the VMs and containers from the backup and check everything is working as usual. If you have backed up your VMs and Containers to Proxmox Backup Server, refer the following guide to learn how to restore them.
Conclusion
In this guide, we discussed the steps to upgrade your Proxmox server from version 7.4 to 8.4.
Test all systems and applications thoroughly on the new version before moving production workloads. Verify backups completed properly in case issues arise. Monitor resource usage during the transition.
Upgrading maintains all previous configurations and virtual machines. However, new features may require adjustments to maximize benefits. Consult the official documentation for utilizing Proxmox 8.4's capabilities fully.
