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Preparation

Before beginning the TAPPaaS installation, complete these preparation steps to ensure a smooth deployment.

Prerequisites Checklist

  • Hardware acquired and assembled
  • Network connectivity established
  • Domain name registered
  • DNS access configured
  • Admin email account prepared

Network Preparation

Internet Connectivity

Ensure you have:

  • Reliable wired internet connection
  • Public IP address (static preferred)
  • Ports 80 and 443 available for inbound traffic

Domain Name

You will need:

  • A registered domain name
  • Access to DNS management
  • Ability to create A records and subdomains

Example DNS records you'll create:

tappaas.yourdomain.com    → Your public IP
*.tappaas.yourdomain.com  → Your public IP (wildcard)

Bootstrap IP

for the bootstrap of the first node of the TAPPaaS cluster we have to give it a local IP address.

It is assumed that your public IP is hitting a NAT router so you would have say a 192.168.0.0/24 or /16 network available. For instance 192.168.1.234

note down a free IP number from this range, you will need it in the bootstrap phase. We call it tmp-local-ip

also note down you gateway ip number. Likely 192.168.0.1 and a dns server. you can use 1.1.1.1. it will only be used during bootstrap

Email Account Preparation

Prepare a dedicated email account for system administration notifications. This email will be used for:

  • Let's Encrypt certificate notifications
  • System alerts and monitoring
  • Backup status reports
  • Security notifications

Recommendation

Use a dedicated admin email address (e.g., [email protected]) rather than a personal email to ensure notifications are not missed and can be monitored by multiple team members if needed.

Software Preparation

Download Proxmox VE

  1. Visit proxmox.com/downloads
  2. Download the latest Proxmox VE ISO
  3. Create bootable USB media using:
  4. Windows: Rufus
  5. macOS: balenaEtcher
  6. Linux: dd command

Verify Downloads

Always verify ISO checksums:

sha256sum proxmox-ve_*.iso

Compare with the official checksums from the Proxmox download page.

Hardware Preparation

BIOS/UEFI Settings

Configure your hardware:

  • Enable virtualization (VT-x/AMD-V)
  • Enable IOMMU if available
  • Set boot order to USB first
  • Disable Secure Boot (optional, for compatibility)

Documentation

Keep records of:

Item Value
Public IP
Domain name
Root password
Admin email

Next Steps

Once preparation is complete:

  1. Begin with Foundation Installation
  2. Start with the Cluster setup