Nested Virtualization in Proxmox
1. Curiosity Meets Capability
Home labs are playgrounds for innovation, offering a controlled space to explore networking, self-hosting, virtualization, and containerization.
2. Proxmox: The Undisputed Home Lab Champion
As the go-to platform for virtualization enthusiasts, Proxmox VE empowers you to build, test, and break things—without worrying about real-world consequences.
3. Taking Virtualization to the Next Level
What if you could run a miniature home lab within your Proxmox environment? Imagine creating virtual machines inside other VMs—essentially virtualization inception.
4. The Power of Nested Virtualization
Proxmox’s support for nested virtualization lets you stack VMs on top of VMs, opening doors for advanced setups, multi-layered testing, and resource simulations—all within one environment.
5. Why It’s a Game-Changer
Whether you’re learning cloud deployments, experimenting with Kubernetes, or testing hypervisors like ESXi or Hyper-V, nested virtualization brings unparalleled flexibility to your Proxmox home lab.
6. Ready to Unlock New Possibilities?
If this sounds exciting, here’s everything you need to know about setting up and harnessing nested virtualization in Proxmox VE—from basics to advanced configurations.
What’s nested virtualization?
Understanding Nested Virtualization: A Game-Changer for Home Labs
1. Virtualization Simplified
Virtualization allows you to split your host machine’s CPU, RAM, and storage to create virtual machines (VMs), giving you isolated systems for testing and experimentation.
2. What is Nested Virtualization?
Nested virtualization takes it further by enabling virtual machines to run their own VMs. In essence, you can create VMs inside other VMs, stacking virtualization layers.
3. Why is Nested Virtualization Useful?
- Preserve Your Current Setup: You can run a nested virtual lab without disturbing your existing Proxmox configuration.
- Test Other Hypervisors: Enable nested virtualization to experiment with Type-1 (e.g., ESXi, Hyper-V) or Type-2 hypervisors inside a Proxmox VM.
- Safely Break Things: Try out ways to “break” Proxmox or other platforms without risking your primary Proxmox server.
4. Unleash Your Creativity
With nested virtualization, you gain a safe environment to test, learn, and innovate—whether you’re deploying new hypervisors, running simulations, or troubleshooting complex setups.
5. Embrace Controlled Chaos
By enabling nested virtualization, you can experiment freely without exposing your core Proxmox environment to failure or misconfiguration.
6. Ready to Dive In?
Start exploring how to set up and use nested virtualization in Proxmox, and unlock endless possibilities for your home lab adventures.
Enabling nested virtualization in Proxmox
Once you’re ready to enter the wacky and exciting world of nested virtualization, you can follow these steps to set up this facility for your Proxmox VMs:
- Head to the Shell section of your primary Proxmox node.
- On Intel CPUs, run this command to confirm whether nested virtualization is enabled.
cat /sys/module/kvm_intel/parameters/nested
For owners of AMD processors, the command is slightly different:
cat /sys/module/kvm_amd/parameters/nested
If the console shows Y (on Intel CPUs) or 1 (on AMD systems), feel free to skip to step 6.
3. Should the console display N or 0, you’ll have to run the following command to enable nested virtualization on your server:
echo "options kvm-intel nested=Y" > /etc/modprobe.d/kvm-intel.conf
Again, AMD-powered systems require a different command:
echo "options kvm-amd nested=1" > /etc/modprobe.d/kvm-amd.conf
4. Reboot your Proxmox server.
5. Once the system restarts, head back to the Shell tab.
6. Paste the following command into the terminal.
qm set vm_id --cpu host
Be sure to replace the vm_id parameter with the numerical ID of the virtual machine where you want to enable nested virtualization.
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