Pre-install checklist

Why this matters in production

The 30 minutes before the install determines whether the next 3 years are smooth or frustrating. Forgotten firmware setting, wrong NTP source, ambiguous hostname — these become outages later.

Mental model

Install preparation has three categories:

1. Hardware readiness — firmware settings, disk layout, OOB access.
2. Network readiness — IP plan, DNS, NTP, out-of-band access.
3. Identity readiness — hostname plan, NTP source, certificate source.

flowchart LR
  HW[Hardware] --> INSTALL[Installer]
  NET[Network] --> INSTALL
  ID[Identity] --> INSTALL
  INSTALL --> PROD[Production cluster]

Hardware checklist

• Firmware updated to vendor-recommended version.
• Intel VT-x / AMD-V enabled.
• Intel VT-d / AMD-Vi enabled if passthrough is planned.
• SR-IOV enabled if virtual functions are planned.
• Above 4G Decoding enabled if large GPUs will be used.
• Boot mode set to UEFI (not legacy) unless BIOS is intentional.
• Secure Boot policy decided: enabled with enrolled keys, or disabled.
• Boot order configured to allow USB or virtual media boot for the installer.
• All disks visible in firmware inventory.
• OOB management (iDRAC/iLO/IPMI) reachable from the management network.
• Redundant PSUs verified to draw balanced power.

Network checklist

• Management IP allocated (static, not DHCP).
• Gateway, subnet, and DNS servers documented.
• Reverse DNS (PTR) for the management IP created.
• Hostname registered in DNS as an A record (not just a CNAME).
• NTP server reachable from the management network.
• Switch port configuration known (access VLAN, trunk configuration).
• Jumbo frames decision made (and configured end-to-end if used).
• MTU consistent across management, cluster, storage, and VM networks.

Identity checklist

• Hostname follows a naming convention (e.g., pve-<site>-<nn>).
• Hostname is FQDN or resolvable via search domain.
• Time zone decided (UTC is conventional for servers).
• NTP source identified (local NTP appliance, public pool, or both).
• Subscription key (or no-subscription repository) decision documented.

Hands-on lab (Mode C)

For the host you intend to install on:

1. Open the firmware setup. Note the CPU virtualisation settings, IOMMU, and boot mode. Record before/after values.
2. Confirm the host’s intended management IP is free (ping <ip> should not respond).
3. Confirm reverse DNS: from any other host, run dig -x <ip> and verify the answer matches the intended hostname.
4. Confirm NTP reachability: ntpdate -q <ntp-server> or chronyc tracking against your NTP source.
5. Document the OOB management IP and confirm you can reach the web UI of iDRAC/iLO/IPMI.

Production considerations

Common mistakes

• Installing without confirming reverse DNS — the cluster refuses to form.
• Skipping firmware update — mysterious issues later.
• Picking an IP that conflicts with DHCP range — IP conflict outages later.
• Forgetting to enable IOMMU before the install — passthrough will need a re-install or boot-time change anyway; get it right now.

Key takeaways

• Three categories of preparation: hardware, network, identity.
• DNS must work before the cluster forms.
• Document the decisions so future-you can find them.

Knowledge check