Proxmox VE is one of the best choices you can make for this setup. It’s a free, enterprise-grade Linux-based virtualisation platform — perfect for running your Sage 50 Windows VM securely and efficiently. Here’s everything you need to know to get started.

⸻

What Is Proxmox VE?

•   A Debian-based hypervisor platform (bare-metal OS) for hosting virtual machines and containers.
•   Provides a web interface, ZFS file system support, backups, snapshots, and remote access.
•   Ideal for home offices or small businesses needing reliable virtual infrastructure.

⸻

Why Proxmox for Your Sage 50 Setup?

Benefit Why It Matters

Free and Open Source No licensing cost (you can ignore the enterprise repo warning)

Web GUI Manage everything from your browser

Windows VM Support Runs Windows 10/11/Server VMs with full RDP capability

Snapshots and Backups Restore your entire Sage 50 system in one click

Cloudflare Tunnel Ready SSH or direct install of cloudflared on host

Headless Operation No need for a monitor once installed

⸻

Basic System Requirements for Proxmox

Component Minimum Recommended

CPU 64-bit, VT-x/AMD-V Quad-core i5/i7 or Xeon

RAM 8 GB 16–32 GB (especially for VMs)

Disk 64 GB SSD 250 GB+ SSD/NVMe

NIC Gigabit Ethernet Intel chipsets work best

You can run it on:

•   A repurposed desktop or small server
•   Intel NUC
•   HP Microserver or Dell T-series
•   Mini PC with 2.5” SSD + extra RAM

⸻

Installation Steps

1. Download and Flash Proxmox VE
   • Get the ISO: https://www.proxmox.com/en/downloads
   • Flash it to USB with Balena Etcher or Rufus.

2. Install on Bare Metal
   • Boot the target machine from USB
   • Choose default install, use entire disk (ZFS or ext4)
   • Set root password, hostname, IP address

3. Access the Web Interface
   • From another device on same network:

https://your.proxmox.ip.address:8006

•   Login as root with your chosen password

⸻

4. Create Your Windows VM for Sage 50

   1. Upload Windows ISO to local storage in Proxmox
   2. Click Create VM
   3. Assign:

   • CPU: 4 cores
   • RAM: 8–16 GB
   • Disk: 100–250 GB (SATA or SCSI, not IDE)

   4. Add VirtIO drivers if needed for Windows setup
   5. After install, enable Remote Desktop in Windows
   6. Install Sage 50, and create user accounts
   7. Optional: Take a snapshot once Sage is set up

⸻

5. Set Up Remote Access via Cloudflare Tunnel

Install cloudflared on the Proxmox host (or inside the VM):

•   Use it to expose RDP port (3389) of the Windows VM
•   Or tunnel to the Proxmox web UI itself for remote admin

⸻

6. Backup Strategy
   • Use built-in Proxmox backup to make VM snapshots
   • Store backups locally or to an external USB/NAS
   • You can also back up Sage data from inside Windows

⸻

Licensing Note

•   You’ll see a “No subscription” warning in the web UI — safe to ignore.
•   You can remove it with a one-liner (I can provide if desired).

⸻

What I Can Help With Next

•   A visual diagram of this Proxmox-based system
•   Full cloudflared config for exposing the Windows VM securely
•   Proxmox post-install setup script (timezone, NTP, backup config, etc.)
•   A shopping list for recommended hardware (Mini PC or home server)

Would you like to move forward with any of those?

May 25, 2025

---

Previous post

WAL Sage strategy Server with thin clients using RAS https://alphalogix.co.uk/accounts-software/sage-50/sage-50-hosting/

Next post

WAL Proxmox hardware Here’s a shopping list of recommended hardware to run Proxmox VE with a Windows VM for Sage 50 (5 users). I’ve listed three tiers — Budget,