Proxmox VE Clusters - Ankra Platform

Ankra supports provisioning fully managed Kubernetes clusters on Proxmox VE. You bring your own Proxmox nodes and can use existing storage and network bridges. Ankra fills in safe defaults when they are absent, creates the VMs, installs Kubernetes, and manages the full cluster lifecycle: node groups, scaling, upgrades, and deprovisioning.

Prerequisites

Before creating a Proxmox VE cluster, you need two credentials:

Proxmox VE API Credential

The Proxmox API URL and an API token with VM management privileges. If Ankra needs to initialize storage or networking, the token also needs Datastore.Allocate, Sys.Modify, and SDN.Use. See Proxmox VE Credentials.

SSH Key Credential

An SSH public key for VM access. You can provide your own or let Ankra generate one. See SSH Key Credentials.

Your Proxmox environment must also provide:

A cloud-init VM template. If no template exists on a node, Ankra creates one automatically during credential setup: it downloads the Ubuntu 24.04 cloud image and registers it as the ankra-ubuntu-24-04 template. You can also bring your own template and pin it with the template option — see Creating a cloud-init template.
A network bridge. You can provide an existing active Linux bridge. If none exists, Ankra converts the single active management Ethernet or bond interface (static or manual-method) to vmbr0. Ankra also creates a private NAT network ankra (10.20.0.0/16) through Proxmox SDN — see Networking.
The dnsmasq package on each node for the private network’s DHCP (apt install dnsmasq && systemctl disable --now dnsmasq), and /etc/network/interfaces must contain source /etc/network/interfaces.d/* (present by default on standard Proxmox installs).
Local free disk space or existing VM storage. If no active storage supports VM images, Ankra enables images and rootdir on the local directory storage, or creates it at /var/lib/vz. The import content type is enabled on local for cloud-image downloads.
API reachability. The Proxmox API must use HTTPS and be reachable from Ankra either directly or through an SSH jumphost.

Hybrid Connectivity (SSH Jumphost)

Many Proxmox environments are not directly reachable from the internet. If the Proxmox API and the VM network cannot be reached from Ankra, attach an SSH jumphost (host, port, username, and private key) to your Proxmox VE credential. Ankra then tunnels both the Proxmox API calls and the SSH connections to your cluster nodes through the jumphost. If your Proxmox API uses a self-signed certificate, enable the TLS insecure toggle (tls_insecure) on the credential. Both options are configured on the credential - see Proxmox VE Credentials.

Creating a Proxmox VE Cluster

Via the Platform UI

Navigate to Clusters

Go to Clusters in the Ankra dashboard and click Create Cluster.

Select Proxmox VE

Choose Proxmox VE as the provider.

Select Credentials

Pick your Proxmox VE API credential and SSH key credential from the dropdowns. You can also create new credentials directly from the wizard.

Choose Placement

Pick Single host or Host spread placement. With single host, select the Proxmox node that hosts all cluster VMs. With host spread, select two or more compatible hosts and Ankra distributes the Kubernetes VMs across them - see Host-Spread Placement. In both modes, select the storage for VM disks and the network the VMs attach to. Pick the ankra private network (created during credential setup) unless you operate your own DHCP-served bridge.

Configure Nodes

Set your cluster topology:

Bastion - Instance size for the SSH bastion VM (e.g., px-small)
Control Plane - Count (1, 3, or 5) and size (e.g., px-medium)
Workers - Count and size (e.g., 2× px-medium)

The wizard shows vCPUs, memory, and disk for each size. Proxmox has no list pricing, so no cost estimate is shown.

Choose Distribution

Pick the Kubernetes distribution: kubeadm Vanilla upstream Kubernetes bootstrapped with kubeadm and containerd (preselected). kubeadm clusters always use Cilium CNI and optionally support an external etcd topology with dedicated etcd VMs. k3s Lightweight Kubernetes with a user-selectable CNI (Flannel default, Calico, or Cilium).See Kubernetes Distribution for details.

Create & Track Progress

Click Create to start provisioning. A live progress view tracks credential setup, SSH key deployment, bastion provisioning, VM creation, Kubernetes installation (k3s or kubeadm), and Ankra Agent setup. The cluster appears with an offline state until provisioning completes, then transitions to online.

Via the API

Create the Proxmox VE credential and SSH key credential from the portal first. Prefer the terminal? The ankra CLI covers the same lifecycle - see ankra cluster proxmox for create, stop, start, nodes, hosts, storages, and templates.

curl -X POST https://platform.ankra.app/api/v1/clusters/proxmox \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ANKRA_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "my-cluster",
    "credential_id": "<proxmox-credential-id>",
    "ssh_key_credential_id": "<ssh-key-credential-id>",
    "node": "pve01",
    "storage": "local-lvm",
    "bridge": "ankra",
    "control_plane_count": 1,
    "control_plane_instance_type": "px-medium",
    "node_groups": [
      {"name": "default", "instance_type": "px-medium", "count": 2}
    ],
    "distribution": "k3s"
  }'

Cluster Configuration Options

Parameter	Default	Description
`name`	required	Unique cluster name
`credential_id`	required	Proxmox VE API credential ID
`ssh_key_credential_id`	required	SSH key credential ID
`node`	required	Proxmox node that hosts the cluster VMs (and the bastion in host-spread mode)
`placement_nodes`		Two or more Proxmox nodes to spread the Kubernetes VMs across (see Host-Spread Placement). Omit for single-host placement
`bridge`	required	Network the VMs attach to: the `ankra` private SDN network (created during credential setup) or a DHCP-served Linux bridge
`storage`	auto-picked	Active Proxmox storage for VM disks. Prefers `local-lvm`, then `local`
`template`	auto-picked	Cloud-init template to clone, by VMID or name. Defaults to the first template on the node
`bastion_instance_type`	`px-small`	Instance size for the bastion VM
`control_plane_count`	`1`	Number of control plane nodes (1, 3, or 5)
`control_plane_instance_type`	`px-medium`	Instance size for control planes
`worker_count`	`1`	Number of worker nodes (legacy, use `node_groups` instead)
`worker_instance_type`	`px-medium`	Instance size for workers (legacy, use `node_groups` instead)
`node_groups`		Array of node group definitions (see Node Groups)
`distribution`	`k3s`	Kubernetes distribution (`k3s` or `kubeadm`). The create wizard preselects `kubeadm`
`kubernetes_version`	latest stable	Kubernetes version (optional)
`cni`	`flannel` (k3s)	CNI plugin (`flannel`, `calico`, or `cilium`). kubeadm clusters always use `cilium`
`etcd_topology`	`stacked`	kubeadm only. `stacked` (etcd on control planes) or `external` (dedicated etcd VMs)
`etcd_node_count`	`3`	kubeadm `external` topology only. Number of dedicated etcd VMs (3 or 5)
`etcd_instance_type`	`px-medium`	kubeadm `external` topology only. Instance size for dedicated etcd nodes

Instance Sizes

Proxmox VE clusters use fixed instance size presets:

Size	vCPUs	RAM	Disk	Typical use
`px-small`	2	4 GB	40 GB	Bastion
`px-medium`	4	8 GB	80 GB	Control plane, general workers
`px-large`	8	16 GB	160 GB	Larger workloads
`px-xlarge`	16	32 GB	320 GB	Heavy workloads

Proxmox VE has no list pricing, so Ankra does not show cost estimates for Proxmox clusters - neither in the creation wizard nor in Cloud Cost.

Networking

When you save a Proxmox VE credential, Ankra initializes two networks when they do not already exist:

Network	Purpose	Address
`vmbr0` (Linux bridge)	Management — carries the host’s public or provider-assigned IP	Inherited from the physical interface
`ankra` (SDN vnet)	Private compute — isolated from the management interface	10.20.0.1/16 (SNAT to the public interface)

vmbr0 (management bridge). If no active bridge exists, Ankra converts the single active Ethernet or bond management interface to vmbr0. A statically addressed interface’s address and gateway move to the bridge; a manual-method interface (common on dedicated-server providers such as Scaleway) converts to an address-less bridge. The physical interface becomes the bridge’s uplink. DHCP-managed management interfaces cannot be converted through the Proxmox API — create the bridge manually in that case. Ankra refuses the conversion when the management interface is ambiguous, has custom options, or another network change is pending. ankra (private SDN network). Ankra creates a Proxmox SDN simple zone named ankra with a vnet of the same name and the subnet 10.20.0.0/16 (gateway 10.20.0.1). The subnet has SNAT enabled, so Proxmox masquerades outbound VM traffic through the host’s public interface, and DHCP served by dnsmasq (range 10.20.1.1–10.20.254.254) backed by the built-in PVE IPAM. Because addresses are registered in the IPAM the moment a VM’s NIC attaches, Ankra reads VM addresses without requiring the QEMU guest agent in the image. Recommended setup. Place cluster VMs on the ankra network — it appears alongside Linux bridges in the cluster creation wizard. This keeps Kubernetes traffic off the management bridge and gives VMs internet access through NAT without exposing them publicly. Because the VMs are private, attach the Proxmox host itself (or another host with a route into 10.20.0.0/16) as the SSH jumphost on the credential so Ankra can reach the bastion.

Creating a cloud-init template

Ankra clones a cloud-init VM template for every cluster VM. Nodes without any template get one automatically: during credential setup Ankra downloads the Ubuntu 24.04 cloud image and registers it as the ankra-ubuntu-24-04 template. Nodes that already carry a template are left untouched, so a custom template always wins. Create your own template when you need a different distribution, a hardened image, or pre-installed packages. The steps below use Ubuntu 24.04. Adjust the image URL and VM ID for your environment.

# On the Proxmox node (as root)

# 1. Download the Ubuntu 24.04 cloud image
wget https://cloud-images.ubuntu.com/noble/current/noble-server-cloudimg-amd64.img \
  -O /var/lib/vz/images/ubuntu-2404-cloud.img

# 2. Create a VM to use as the template (VM ID 9000, adjust as needed)
qm create 9000 \
  --name ubuntu-2404-cloudinit \
  --memory 2048 --cores 2 \
  --net0 virtio,bridge=ankra \
  --ostype l26

# 3. Import the cloud image as the primary disk
qm importdisk 9000 /var/lib/vz/images/ubuntu-2404-cloud.img local-lvm

# 4. Attach the disk, enable SCSI, and configure boot
qm set 9000 \
  --scsihw virtio-scsi-pci \
  --scsi0 local-lvm:vm-9000-disk-0,discard=on \
  --boot c --bootdisk scsi0

# 5. Add a cloud-init drive and serial console
qm set 9000 --ide2 local-lvm:cloudinit
qm set 9000 --serial0 socket --vga serial0

# 6. Enable the QEMU guest agent (required for Ankra to read VM IPs on
#    networks other than the Ankra-managed SDN network)
qm set 9000 --agent enabled=1

# 7. Convert the VM to a template
qm template 9000

The template VM ID (9000 in this example) must be unique on your node. Ankra auto-picks the template with the lowest VMID unless you pin one with the template option at cluster creation time.

For host-spread placement, create the same-named template on every selected node before provisioning the cluster.

Host-Spread Placement

When your Proxmox VE cluster has multiple nodes, you can spread the Kubernetes VMs across them so a single host failure does not take down the whole Kubernetes cluster. Host spread is opt-in: pass placement_nodes with two or more nodes via the API, or pick Host spread in the creation wizard.

curl -X POST https://platform.ankra.app/api/v1/clusters/proxmox \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ANKRA_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "my-cluster",
    "credential_id": "<proxmox-credential-id>",
    "ssh_key_credential_id": "<ssh-key-credential-id>",
    "node": "pve01",
    "placement_nodes": ["pve01", "pve02", "pve03"],
    "storage": "local-lvm",
    "bridge": "ankra",
    "control_plane_count": 3,
    "control_plane_instance_type": "px-medium",
    "node_groups": [
      {"name": "default", "instance_type": "px-medium", "count": 3}
    ],
    "distribution": "k3s"
  }'

Prerequisites

Every selected host must be online and provide the same-named resources, because VMs are cloned locally on each host:

Active storage with the selected name that allows VM images (e.g., local-lvm on every host).
An active bridge with the selected name (e.g., vmbr0 on every host), all attached to the same DHCP network.
A cloud-init template with the same name on every host. Ankra resolves each host’s own template VMID and clones locally - shared-storage cross-node cloning is not used.

Creation is rejected if any selected host is missing one of these. node stays required and must be one of the placement_nodes; the bastion always runs there.

How VMs are distributed

Ankra assigns control planes, dedicated etcd members, and each worker group deterministically: the host with the fewest members of the same role or group wins, ties break by fewest total Kubernetes VMs, then by your selected-node order. Every Kubernetes node is labeled with topology.kubernetes.io/zone=<proxmox-node> so you can use standard topology spread constraints and pod anti-affinity against the physical failure domain. Later scaling keeps the policy: adding node groups, scaling them up, and adding control planes all place new VMs on the least-represented eligible host. Restart, resize, upgrade, and delete operations stay pinned to each VM’s recorded host.

Requirements and limitations

At least 3 control planes. Host-spread clusters must be created with 3 or 5 control plane nodes so the Kubernetes control plane keeps quorum when one host fails.
Two hosts give reduced resilience. With only two hosts, losing the host that carries the control-plane majority still takes the Kubernetes API down. Three or more hosts are recommended.
The bastion is not spread. It runs on the primary node; if that host fails, Ankra’s SSH path to the cluster is unavailable until the host returns, while workloads keep running.
No Proxmox HA-manager integration. Ankra does not enroll VMs in Proxmox HA groups and never live-migrates or recreates VMs on another host after a failure. Resilience comes from Kubernetes replication across hosts, so run workloads with multiple replicas spread over zones.

Workload guidance

For a workload to survive a host outage, run at least two replicas and spread them across zones:

topologySpreadConstraints:
  - maxSkew: 1
    topologyKey: topology.kubernetes.io/zone
    whenUnsatisfiable: ScheduleAnyway
    labelSelector:
      matchLabels:
        app: my-app

Kubernetes Distribution

Proxmox VE clusters can be provisioned with either kubeadm (preselected in the create wizard) or k3s (the API and CLI default when distribution is omitted).

	k3s	kubeadm
Kubernetes	Lightweight, single-binary distribution	Vanilla upstream Kubernetes
CNI	User-selectable (Flannel default, Calico, or Cilium)	Cilium (fixed, cannot be changed after creation)
etcd	Embedded	`stacked` (on control planes) or `external` (dedicated VMs)
Version format	`v1.35.1+k3s1`	`v1.31.0` (plain upstream tag)

kubeadm clusters always use Cilium CNI (eBPF-based networking, L7 policies, Hubble observability). The CNI cannot be changed after creation.

External etcd topology (kubeadm)

By default kubeadm runs etcd stacked on the control plane nodes. For larger clusters you can run etcd on dedicated VMs by setting etcd_topology to external:

curl -X POST https://platform.ankra.app/api/v1/clusters/proxmox \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ANKRA_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "my-cluster",
    "credential_id": "<proxmox-credential-id>",
    "ssh_key_credential_id": "<ssh-key-credential-id>",
    "node": "pve01",
    "storage": "local-lvm",
    "bridge": "ankra",
    "control_plane_count": 3,
    "control_plane_instance_type": "px-medium",
    "node_groups": [
      {"name": "default", "instance_type": "px-medium", "count": 2}
    ],
    "distribution": "kubeadm",
    "etcd_topology": "external",
    "etcd_node_count": 3,
    "etcd_instance_type": "px-medium"
  }'

Node Groups

Node groups let you organize worker nodes into logical groups with independent instance sizes, counts, labels, and taints. Each group can be scaled, resized, and configured independently. Node groups are managed from the portal or the API.

Via the Platform UI

Navigate to cluster Settings > Nodes to manage node groups. From this tab you can:

View all node groups with their instance size, count, labels, and taints
Add new node groups with a name, instance size, count, and optional labels/taints
Scale individual groups up or down (0–100 nodes)
Upgrade the instance size (upgrade only - see Instance Size Changes)
Edit labels and taints per group
Delete a node group and all its VMs

List Node Groups

curl https://platform.ankra.app/api/v1/clusters/proxmox/<cluster_id>/node-groups \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ANKRA_API_TOKEN"

Response:

{
  "node_groups": [
    {
      "name": "default",
      "instance_type": "px-medium",
      "count": 2,
      "min": 0,
      "max": 100,
      "labels": {},
      "taints": []
    }
  ]
}

Add a Node Group

curl -X POST https://platform.ankra.app/api/v1/clusters/proxmox/<cluster_id>/node-groups \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ANKRA_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "workers-large",
    "instance_type": "px-large",
    "count": 2,
    "labels": {"tier": "backend"},
    "taints": [{"key": "dedicated", "value": "backend", "effect": "NoSchedule"}]
  }'

On host-spread clusters, new VMs are placed on the least-represented eligible host automatically.

Scale a Node Group

curl -X PUT https://platform.ankra.app/api/v1/clusters/proxmox/<cluster_id>/node-groups/default/scale \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ANKRA_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"count": 4}'

Node groups can be scaled to 0 nodes. This keeps the group definition but removes all VMs.

Instance Size Changes

Instance size upgrades are one-way - you cannot downgrade a node group to a smaller size. To use a smaller size, create a new node group with the desired size and delete the old one.

curl -X PUT https://platform.ankra.app/api/v1/clusters/proxmox/<cluster_id>/node-groups/default/instance-type \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ANKRA_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"instance_type": "px-large"}'

Each node is powered off, resized, and powered back on. This causes brief downtime for workloads on those nodes.

Update Labels and Taints

# Update labels
curl -X PUT https://platform.ankra.app/api/v1/clusters/proxmox/<cluster_id>/node-groups/default/labels \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ANKRA_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"labels": {"env": "production", "tier": "backend"}}'

# Update taints
curl -X PUT https://platform.ankra.app/api/v1/clusters/proxmox/<cluster_id>/node-groups/default/taints \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ANKRA_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"taints": [{"key": "dedicated", "value": "ml", "effect": "NoSchedule"}]}'

Delete a Node Group

curl -X DELETE https://platform.ankra.app/api/v1/clusters/proxmox/<cluster_id>/node-groups/workers-large \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ANKRA_API_TOKEN"

Deleting a node group removes all its VMs. Workloads running on those nodes will be evicted.

Node Group API Reference

Endpoint	Method	Description
`/api/v1/clusters/proxmox/{id}/node-groups`	GET	List all node groups
`/api/v1/clusters/proxmox/{id}/node-groups`	POST	Add a node group
`/api/v1/clusters/proxmox/{id}/node-groups/{name}/scale`	PUT	Scale a node group (0-100)
`/api/v1/clusters/proxmox/{id}/node-groups/{name}/instance-type`	PUT	Change instance size
`/api/v1/clusters/proxmox/{id}/node-groups/{name}/labels`	PUT	Update labels
`/api/v1/clusters/proxmox/{id}/node-groups/{name}/taints`	PUT	Update taints
`/api/v1/clusters/proxmox/{id}/node-groups/{name}`	DELETE	Delete a node group

Restarting a Node

Restart any node - a control plane node, a worker, or the bastion - as a tracked operation, from cluster Settings > Nodes in the dashboard, via the CLI or API, or by asking the Ankra AI assistant (e.g. “restart the bastion on my-cluster”).

ankra cluster proxmox nodes list <cluster_id>
ankra cluster proxmox nodes restart <cluster_id> <node_id>

curl -X POST https://platform.ankra.app/api/v1/clusters/proxmox/<cluster_id>/nodes/<node_id>/restart \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ANKRA_API_TOKEN"

See Restarting a Node for the full walkthrough, response shape, and state requirements - identical across providers.

Resizing the Bastion

Resize the bastion without recreating the cluster - Ankra powers it off, resizes it, and powers it back on.

curl -X PUT https://platform.ankra.app/api/v1/clusters/proxmox/<cluster_id>/bastion/instance-type \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ANKRA_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"instance_type": "<instance-size>"}'

See Resizing the Bastion or Gateway for the accept/wait contract - identical across providers.

Legacy Worker Scaling

The legacy scale-workers and worker-count endpoints operate on all workers as a single pool.

curl https://platform.ankra.app/api/v1/clusters/proxmox/<cluster_id>/worker-count \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ANKRA_API_TOKEN"

curl -X POST https://platform.ankra.app/api/v1/clusters/proxmox/<cluster_id>/scale-workers \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ANKRA_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"worker_count": 4}'

Prefer using Node Groups for more granular control.

Upgrading Kubernetes Version

You can upgrade the Kubernetes version on all nodes in a Proxmox VE cluster. Upgrades are applied to control plane nodes first, then workers. Both k3s and kubeadm clusters are supported.

Both k3s and kubeadm clusters are supported for version upgrades, including kubeadm clusters with an external etcd topology: the dedicated etcd members are upgraded first, one at a time, each saving a pre-upgrade snapshot before its static pod rolls to the etcd image matching the target Kubernetes version.
Use the matching version format for the target: v1.35.1+k3s1 for k3s, or a plain v1.31.0 upstream tag for kubeadm.
Downgrades are not supported - downgrades require an etcd snapshot restore.
You can only upgrade one minor version at a time (e.g., v1.33.x to v1.34.x, not v1.33.x to v1.35.x).
The cluster must be online with no active operations.

Check Current Version

curl https://platform.ankra.app/api/v1/clusters/proxmox/<cluster_id>/k8s-version \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ANKRA_API_TOKEN"

Upgrade Version

curl -X POST https://platform.ankra.app/api/v1/clusters/proxmox/<cluster_id>/upgrade-k8s-version \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ANKRA_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"target_version": "v1.35.1+k3s1"}'

For a kubeadm cluster, use a plain upstream tag instead (for example "target_version": "v1.31.0").

Stopping and Starting a Cluster

You can stop a Proxmox VE cluster to release its compute (the cluster VMs on your Proxmox nodes) while keeping its configuration, stacks, and credentials in Ankra. Starting the cluster re-provisions the VMs and reconciles the cluster back to a running state. This is useful for freeing host capacity when a cluster is not needed. When starting, use scope=control_plane to bring up only the control plane first (for example to inspect or repair it), or scope=all (the default) to provision the whole cluster.

curl -X POST https://platform.ankra.app/api/v1/clusters/proxmox/<cluster_id>/stop \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ANKRA_API_TOKEN"

curl -X POST "https://platform.ankra.app/api/v1/clusters/proxmox/<cluster_id>/start?scope=all" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ANKRA_API_TOKEN"

Stop and start are background operations. A start returns 409 if a stop or terminate operation is still running. The cluster’s saved topology is preserved while stopped and re-provisioned on the next start. From the terminal, use ankra cluster proxmox stop and ankra cluster proxmox start.

Deprovisioning

Deprovisioning deletes all VMs Ankra created on your Proxmox nodes (bastion, control planes, workers, and dedicated etcd VMs if any) and removes the cluster from Ankra. Your Proxmox nodes, storage, and bridges are left untouched.

This action is irreversible. All data on the cluster will be permanently deleted.

curl -X DELETE https://platform.ankra.app/api/v1/clusters/proxmox/<cluster_id> \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ANKRA_API_TOKEN"

Architecture

A Proxmox VE cluster provisions the following infrastructure:

Component	Description
Bastion VM	Jump server for secure SSH access to cluster nodes
Control Plane(s)	Kubernetes control plane VMs (1, 3, or 5)
Worker(s)	Kubernetes worker VMs organized in node groups
etcd Node(s)	Dedicated etcd VMs, only for kubeadm clusters with an `external` etcd topology
SSH Keys	Deployed to all VMs for access

All VMs are QEMU virtual machines on the Proxmox node you selected, attached to the selected network. Ankra initializes vmbr0 (management) and the ankra private SDN network (10.20.0.0/16 with SNAT and DHCP) during credential setup when they do not already exist. Place cluster VMs on ankra — they receive DHCP addresses from the zone’s dnsmasq instance and reach the internet through the host’s public interface via SNAT. The bastion VM provides the only SSH access point Ankra uses to reach the cluster nodes - it carries no workload or egress traffic. When an SSH jumphost is configured, Ankra reaches both the Proxmox API and the bastion through the jumphost (without one, Ankra connects to the bastion directly).

Proxmox VE clusters do not include a cloud controller manager or load balancer integration - external_cloud_provider is not supported. Kubernetes LoadBalancer services are not provisioned automatically; expose workloads with NodePort services, an ingress controller, or a load balancer solution you deploy yourself.

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Issue	Solution
Proxmox API unreachable from Ankra	Attach an SSH jumphost to the credential - Ankra tunnels API calls and node SSH through it
TLS certificate errors (self-signed)	Enable the TLS insecure toggle (`tls_insecure`) on the Proxmox VE credential
Nodes never get an IP address	On the `ankra` SDN network, verify the zone is healthy (`dnsmasq` installed, zone status available under Datacenter → SDN). On your own bridge, verify a DHCP server answers there
Provisioning fails waiting for a VM’s IP address	On the `ankra` SDN network, addresses come from the PVE IPAM automatically. On other bridges the cloned template must ship the QEMU guest agent - rebuild the template with `qemu-guest-agent` and retry
No VM templates found on the node	Re-save the Proxmox credential to run the automatic setup (it creates the `ankra-ubuntu-24-04` template), or create one yourself — see Creating a cloud-init template
Cluster stuck in provisioning	Check the API token privileges (see Proxmox VE Credentials) and free capacity on the selected node and storage
VM creation fails with a permission error	The API token is missing privileges (e.g., `VM.Allocate`, `Datastore.AllocateSpace`) on the selected node, storage, or bridge
LoadBalancer service stuck in `Pending`	Proxmox clusters have no cloud controller manager - use `NodePort`, ingress, or your own load balancer
No cost estimates shown	Expected - Proxmox has no list pricing, so cost estimation is not supported

​Prerequisites

Proxmox VE API Credential

SSH Key Credential

​Hybrid Connectivity (SSH Jumphost)

​Creating a Proxmox VE Cluster

​Via the Platform UI

​Via the API

​Cluster Configuration Options

​Instance Sizes

​Networking

​Creating a cloud-init template

​Host-Spread Placement

​Prerequisites

​How VMs are distributed

​Requirements and limitations

​Workload guidance

​Kubernetes Distribution

​External etcd topology (kubeadm)

​Node Groups

​Via the Platform UI

​List Node Groups

​Add a Node Group

​Scale a Node Group

​Instance Size Changes

​Update Labels and Taints

​Delete a Node Group

​Node Group API Reference

​Restarting a Node

​Resizing the Bastion

​Legacy Worker Scaling

​Upgrading Kubernetes Version

​Check Current Version

​Upgrade Version

​Stopping and Starting a Cluster

​Deprovisioning

​Architecture

​Troubleshooting

​Common Issues

Prerequisites

Hybrid Connectivity (SSH Jumphost)

Creating a Proxmox VE Cluster

Via the Platform UI

Via the API

Cluster Configuration Options

Instance Sizes

Networking

Creating a cloud-init template

Host-Spread Placement

Prerequisites

How VMs are distributed

Requirements and limitations

Workload guidance

Kubernetes Distribution

External etcd topology (kubeadm)

Node Groups

Via the Platform UI

List Node Groups

Add a Node Group

Scale a Node Group

Instance Size Changes

Update Labels and Taints

Delete a Node Group

Node Group API Reference

Restarting a Node

Resizing the Bastion

Legacy Worker Scaling

Upgrading Kubernetes Version

Check Current Version

Upgrade Version

Stopping and Starting a Cluster

Deprovisioning

Architecture

Troubleshooting

Common Issues