pmg-docs/pmg-installation.adoc

Installation
============

{pmg} is based on Debian and comes with an installation CD-ROM
which includes a complete Debian ("buster" for version 6.x) system as
well as all necessary {pmg} packages.

The installer asks you a few questions, then partitions the local
disk(s), installs all required packages, and configures the system
including a basic network setup. You can get a fully functional system
within a few minutes. This is the preferred and recommended
installation method.

Alternatively, {pmg} can be installed on top of an existing Debian
system.  This option is only recommended for advanced users since
it requires more detailed knowledge about {pmg} and Debian.

include::pmg-installation-media.adoc[]

[[pmg_install_iso]]
Using the {pmg} Installation CD-ROM
-----------------------------------

The installer ISO image includes the following:

* Complete operating system (Debian Linux, 64-bit)

* The {pmg} installer, which partitions the hard drive(s) with ext4,
  ext3, xfs or ZFS and installs the operating system.

* Linux kernel

* Postfix MTA, ClamAV, Spamassassin and the {pmg} toolset

* Web-based management interface for using the toolset



Please insert the xref:installation_prepare_media[prepared installation media]
(for example, USB flash drive or CD-ROM) and boot from it.

TIP: Make sure that booting from the installation medium (for example, USB) is
enabled in your servers firmware settings.

After choosing the correct entry (e.g. Boot from USB) the {pmg} menu will be
displayed and one of the following options can be selected:

image::images/installer/pmg-grub-menu.png[]

Install {pmg}::

Start normal installation.

Install {pmg} (Debug mode)::

Start installation in debug mode. It opens a shell console at several
installation steps, so that you can debug things if something goes
wrong. You can press `CTRL-D` to exit those debug consoles and continue
installation. This option is mostly for developers and not meant for
general use.

Rescue Boot::

This option allows you to boot an existing installation. It searches
all attached hard disks and, if it finds an existing installation,
boots directly into that disk using the existing Linux kernel. This
can be useful if there are problems with the boot block (grub), or the
BIOS is unable to read the boot block from the disk.

Test Memory::

Runs `memtest86+`. This is useful to check if your memory is
functional and error free.

You normally select *Install {pmg}* to start the installation.

image::images/installer/pmg-select-target-disk.png[]

First step ist to read our EULA (End User License Agreement). After
that you get prompted to select the target hard disk(s).

CAUTION: By default, the whole server is used and all existing data is removed.
Make sure there is no important data on the server before proceeding with the
installation.

The `Options` button lets you select the target file system, which
defaults to `ext4`. The installer uses LVM if you select `ext3`,
`ext4` or `xfs` as file system, and offers additional option to
restrict LVM space (see <<advanced_lvm_options,below>>)

If you have more than one disk, you can also use ZFS as file system.
ZFS supports several software RAID levels, so this is specially useful
if you do not have a hardware RAID controller. The `Options` button
lets you select the ZFS RAID level, and you can choose disks there.

image::images/installer/pmg-select-location.png[]

The next page asks for basic configuration options like your
location, the timezone and keyboard layout. The location is used to
select a download server near you to speed up updates. The installer is
usually able to auto-detect those settings, so you only need to change
them in rare situations when auto-detection fails, or when you want to
use a keyboard layout not commonly used in your country.

image::images/installer/pmg-set-password.png[]

You then need to specify an email address and the superuser (root)
password. The password must have at least 5 characters, but we highly
recommend to use stronger passwords - here are some guidelines:

- Use a minimum password length of 12 to 14 characters.

- Include lowercase and uppercase alphabetic characters, numbers and symbols.

- Avoid character repetition, keyboard patterns, dictionary words, letter or
  number sequences, usernames, relative or pet names, romantic links (current
  or past) and biographical information (e.g., ID numbers, ancestors' names or
  dates).

It is sometimes necessary to send notification to the system administrator, for
example:

- Information about available package updates.

- Error messages from periodic CRON jobs.

All those notification mails will be sent to the specified email address.

image::images/installer/pmg-setup-network.png[]

The next step is the network configuration. Please note that you can use either
IPv4 or IPv6 here, but not both. If you want to configure a dual stack node,
you can easily do that after installation.

image::images/installer/pmg-summary.png[]

When you press `Next`, you will see an overview of your entered configuration.
Please re-check every setting, you can still use the `Previous` button to go
back and edit any settings.

After pressing `Install`, the installer starts to format disks, and copies
packages to the target disk(s).

image::images/installer/pmg-installation.png[]

Copying the packages usually takes a few minutes. Please wait until that is
finished, and reboot the server.

Further configuration is done via the Proxmox web interface.

[thumbnail="pmg-gui-login-window.png"]

Just point your browser to the IP address given during installation
(https://youripaddress:8006).

. Login and upload subscription key.
+
NOTE: Default login is "root" and the password is chosen during the
installation.

. Check the IP configuration and hostname.

. Check and save the timezone.

. Check your xref:firewall_settings[Firewall settings].

. Configure {pmg} to forward the incoming SMTP traffic to your Mail
server ('Configuration/Mail Proxy/Default Relay') - 'Default
Relay' is your e-mail server.

. Configure your e-mail server to send all outgoing messages through
your {pmg} ('Smart Host', port 26 by default).

For detailed deployment scenarios see chapter
xref:chapter_deployment[Planning for Deployment].

After the installation you have to route all your incoming and
outgoing e-mail traffic to the {pmg}. For incoming traffic you
have to configure your firewall and/or DNS settings. For outgoing
traffic you need to change the existing e-mail server configuration.


[[advanced_lvm_options]]
Advanced LVM Configuration Options
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The installer creates a Volume Group (VG) called `pmg`, and additional
Logical Volumes (LVs) called `root` and `swap`. The size of
those volumes can be controlled with:

`hdsize`::

Defines the total disk size to be used. This way you can save free
space on the disk for further partitioning (i.e. for an additional PV
and VG on the same disk that can be used for LVM storage).

`swapsize`::

Defines the size of the `swap` volume. The default is the size of the
installed memory, minimum 4 GB and maximum 8 GB. The resulting value cannot
be greater than `hdsize/8`.

`minfree`::

Defines the amount of free space left in LVM volume group `pmg`.
With more than 128GB storage available the default is 16GB, else `hdsize/8`
will be used.
+
NOTE: LVM requires free space in the VG for snapshot creation (not
required for lvmthin snapshots).


ZFS Performance Tips
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ZFS uses a lot of memory, so it is best to add additional RAM if you
want to use ZFS. A good calculation is 4GB plus 1GB RAM for each TB
RAW disk space.

ZFS also provides the feature to use a fast SSD drive as write cache. The
write cache is called the ZFS Intent Log (ZIL). You can add that after
the installation using the following command:

 zpool add <pool-name> log </dev/path_to_fast_ssd>


[[pmg_install_on_debian]]
Install {pmg} on Debian
-----------------------

{pmg} ships as a set of Debian packages, so you can install it
on top of a normal Debian installation. After configuring the
xref:pmg_package_repositories[Package repositories], you need to run:

[source,bash]
----
apt update
apt install proxmox-mailgateway
----

Installing on top of an existing Debian installation looks easy, but
it assumes that you have correctly installed the base system, and you
know how you want to configure and use the local storage. Network
configuration is also completely up to you.

NOTE: In general, this is not trivial, especially when you use LVM or
ZFS.


[[pmg_install_on_debian_container]]
Install {pmg} as Linux Container Appliance
------------------------------------------

The full functionality of {pmg} can also run on top of a Debian-based LXC
instance. In order to keep the set of installed software, and thus the
necessary updates minimal, you can use the `proxmox-mailgateway-container`
meta-package. It does not depend on any Linux Kernel, firmware, or components
used for booting from bare-metal, like grub2.

A ready-to-use appliance template is available through the
https://www.proxmox.com/proxmox-ve[Proxmox VE] appliance manager in the `mail`
section, so if you already use Proxmox VE you can setup a {pmg} instance in a
minute.

NOTE: It's recommended to use a static network configuration. If DHCP should be
used ensure that the container always leases the same IP, for example, by
reserving one with the containers network MAC address.

Additionally you can also install this on top of a container based Debian
installation. After configuring the
xref:pmg_package_repositories[Package repositories], you need to run:

[source,bash]
----
apt update
apt install proxmox-mailgateway-container
----

[[pmg_package_repositories]]
Package Repositories
--------------------

All {debian} based systems use
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Packaging_Tool[APT] as package
management tool. The list of repositories is defined in
`/etc/apt/sources.list` and `.list` files found inside
`/etc/apt/sources.d/`. Updates can be installed directly using
`apt`, or via the GUI.

Apt `sources.list` files list one package repository per line, with
the most preferred source listed first. Empty lines are ignored, and a
`#` character anywhere on a line marks the remainder of that line as a
comment. The information available from the configured sources is
acquired by `apt update`.

.File `/etc/apt/sources.list`
----
deb http://ftp.debian.org/debian buster main contrib

deb http://ftp.debian.org/debian buster-updates main contrib

# security updates
deb http://security.debian.org/debian-security buster/updates main contrib
----
// FIXME for 7.0: change security update suite to bullseye-security

In addition, {pmg} provides three different package repositories.


{pmg} Enterprise Repository
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is the default, stable and recommended repository, available for
all {pmg} subscription users. It contains the most stable packages,
and is suitable for production use. The `pmg-enterprise` repository is
enabled by default:

.File `/etc/apt/sources.list.d/pmg-enterprise.list`
----
deb https://enterprise.proxmox.com/debian/pmg buster pmg-enterprise
----

As soon as updates are available, the `root@pam` user is notified via
email about the available new packages. On the GUI, the change-log of
each package can be viewed (if available), showing all details of the
update. So you will never miss important security fixes.

Please note that and you need a valid subscription key to access this
repository. We offer different support levels, and you can find further
details at {pricing-url}.

NOTE: You can disable this repository by commenting out the above line
using a `#` (at the start of the line). This prevents error messages
if you do not have a subscription key. Please configure the
`pmg-no-subscription` repository in that case.


{pmg} No-Subscription Repository
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As the name suggests, you do not need a subscription key to access
this repository. It can be used for testing and non-production
use. Its not recommended to run on production servers, as these
packages are not always heavily tested and validated.

We recommend to configure this repository in `/etc/apt/sources.list`.

.File `/etc/apt/sources.list`
----
deb http://ftp.debian.org/debian buster main contrib

# PMG pmg-no-subscription repository provided by proxmox.com,
# NOT recommended for production use
deb http://download.proxmox.com/debian/pmg buster pmg-no-subscription

# security updates
deb http://security.debian.org/debian-security buster/updates main contrib
----


{pmg} Test Repository
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Finally, there is a repository called `pmgtest`. This one contains the
latest packages and is heavily used by developers to test new
features. As usual, you can configure this using
`/etc/apt/sources.list` by adding the following line:

.sources.list entry for `pmgtest`
----
deb http://download.proxmox.com/debian/pmg buster pmgtest
----

WARNING: the `pmgtest` repository should only be used
for testing new features or bug fixes.


SecureApt
~~~~~~~~~

We use GnuPG to sign the `Release` files inside those repositories,
and APT uses that signatures to verify that all packages are from a
trusted source.

The key used for verification is already installed if you install from
our installation CD. If you install by other means, you can manually
download the key with:

 # wget http://download.proxmox.com/debian/proxmox-ve-release-6.x.gpg -O /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/proxmox-ve-release-6.x.gpg

Please verify the checksum afterwards:

----
# sha512sum /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/proxmox-ve-release-6.x.gpg
acca6f416917e8e11490a08a1e2842d500b3a5d9f322c6319db0927b2901c3eae23cfb5cd5df6facf2b57399d3cfa52ad7769ebdd75d9b204549ca147da52626  /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/proxmox-ve-release-6.x.gpg
----

or

----
# md5sum /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/proxmox-ve-release-6.x.gpg
f3f6c5a3a67baf38ad178e5ff1ee270c  /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/proxmox-ve-release-6.x.gpg
----