Proxmox VE with a Single IP

Your dedicated server comes with Proxmox VE 9 pre-installed and one public IPv4 address. This section explains how the network is set up, how to create virtual machines (VMs), and how to make services inside your VMs reachable from the internet.

:::tip Quick start

1. Read the Network Rules. They take two minutes and keep your server online.
2. Create your first VM.
3. Make it reachable with Port Forwarding, or use the OPNsense router if you want to manage everything in a web GUI. :::

How it works

Your server has one public IP, and the Proxmox host itself uses it. Your VMs live on a private network behind the host and share that public IP using NAT, much like the devices on a home router.

                    Internet
                       │
          ┌────────────┴────────────┐
          │   YOUR-PUBLIC-IP        │   vmbr0  (public bridge)
          │   Proxmox VE host       │   - Web UI   :8006
          │                         │   - SSH      :22
          │   NAT / port forwards   │
          │   10.10.10.1            │   vmbr1  (private VM bridge)
          └────────────┬────────────┘
                       │  10.10.10.0/24
        ┌──────────────┼──────────────┐
   ┌────┴────┐    ┌────┴────┐    ┌────┴────┐
   │  VM 1   │    │  VM 2   │    │  VM 3   │
   │10.10.10.│    │10.10.10.│    │10.10.10.│
   │   10    │    │   11    │    │   12    │
   └─────────┘    └─────────┘    └─────────┘

• Outbound (VM → internet) works automatically. Traffic leaves with the host's public IP.
• Inbound (internet → VM) needs a port forward, e.g. port 8080 on the public IP → port 80 on VM 10.10.10.10.

Your network at a glance

	Value	Purpose
Public IP	YOUR-PUBLIC-IP (bridge vmbr0)	The Proxmox host. Web UI at https://YOUR-PUBLIC-IP:8006
Private VM network	10.10.10.0/24 (bridge vmbr1)	All your VMs
VM gateway	10.10.10.1	The host's address on the private network
Usable VM addresses	10.10.10.2 – 10.10.10.254	Assign one per VM
DNS for VMs	1.1.1.1, 8.8.8.8	Or any public resolver you prefer

Your exact public IP is in your welcome email and in the client area.

What is pre-configured

Component	Setup
Proxmox VE	Version 9 on Debian 13 "Trixie", no-subscription update repository
vmbr0	Public bridge on the physical network port, holding your public IP
vmbr1	Private bridge 10.10.10.1/24 with outbound NAT for your VMs
local-lvm	LVM-thin storage for VM and container disks (fast, supports snapshots)
local	Directory storage for ISO images, container templates, backups and snippets

In this section

Page	What you'll learn
Network Rules	What you must and must not change, and why
Creating a VM	Uploading ISOs, the Create VM wizard, setting a static IP in Linux and Windows
Automatic IPs with DHCP	Let Proxmox hand out VM addresses automatically
Port Forwarding	Make a VM service reachable from the internet (command line)
OPNsense Router (GUI)	Manage port forwards, DHCP and firewall in a web interface
Hosting Websites	Run several websites on one IP with a reverse proxy
Securing Your Server	Passwords, 2FA, firewall, updates
Troubleshooting & FAQ	Common problems and how to fix them

:::info Need more public IPs? If several VMs need their own public address, contact our support team. Additional IPs are routed to your server by us. Do not configure additional public IPs yourself. See Network Rules. :::