# Installing Proxmox Backup Server (PBS) on Ubuntu 22.04 Laptop

*Part of the* ***Proxmox Baremetal Journey*** *series*

I broke my install more times than I'd like to admit, but by the end I learned a ton about how PBS works under the hood. This post documents everything I learned while setting up Proxmox Backup Server to help others avoid my mistakes and establish production-level workflows.

Think of this as both a **how-to guide** and a **"don't make my mistakes"** story.

## 🔧 What Went Wrong (And How I Fixed It)

PBS is **very strict** about ownership and permissions. If they're wrong, nothing works. Here are the main traps I fell into:

**Permission Issue #1** → The `proxmox-backup` directory was owned by `root:root`. PBS needs it owned by `backup:backup`.

**Permission Issue #2** → I used `755` for the config directory. PBS requires `700`.

**Permission Issue #3** → My datastore subdirectories weren't owned by `backup:backup`. That blocked PBS from creating the crucial `.chunks` directory.

## 🛠 Clean Installation Guide

### 1\. Update & Prepare System

```bash
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
sudo apt install curl wget gnupg lsb-release apt-transport-https -y
```

### 2\. Add the Proxmox Repository

```bash
echo "deb http://download.proxmox.com/debian/pbs bookworm pbs-no-subscription" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pbs.list
wget -qO- http://download.proxmox.com/debian/proxmox-release-bookworm.gpg | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/proxmox-release-bookworm.gpg
```

### 3\. Fix GPG Key Issues (if needed)

```bash
sudo apt-key adv --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv-keys 1140AF8F639E0C39
sudo apt update
```

### 4\. Remove Old Packages (for a fresh reinstall)

```bash
sudo apt-get purge proxmox-backup proxmox-backup-client proxmox-backup-docs proxmox-backup-server -y
sudo apt-get purge proxmox-kernel-* proxmox-default-kernel -y
sudo rm -rf /etc/proxmox-backup /etc/systemd/system/proxmox-backup*
sudo rm -rf /mnt/pbs_backup/*
```

### 5\. Install PBS

```bash
sudo apt install proxmox-backup-server -y
```

### 6\. Create Datastore Directory

```bash
sudo mkdir -p /mnt/pbs_backup/datastore1
```

### 7\. Fix Permissions

```bash
# Datastore ownership
sudo chown -R backup:backup /mnt/pbs_backup/datastore1

# Create and secure PBS config directory 
sudo mkdir -p /etc/proxmox-backup
sudo chown -R backup:backup /etc/proxmox-backup
sudo chmod 700 /etc/proxmox-backup

# Manually create .chunks directory (if PBS doesn't create it automatically)
sudo -u backup mkdir -p /mnt/pbs_backup/datastore1/.chunks
```

### 8\. Start PBS Services

```bash
sudo systemctl start proxmox-backup
sudo systemctl enable proxmox-backup
sudo systemctl start proxmox-backup-proxy
sudo systemctl enable proxmox-backup-proxy
```

## 📘 Key Takeaways

**Permissions are critical:**

* `/etc/proxmox-backup` → must be `backup:backup` with `700`
* Datastores → must be `backup:backup` so PBS can create `.chunks`
    

**Two services must run:**

* `proxmox-backup` → API server
* `proxmox-backup-proxy` → Web interface
    

![](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1757343260208/26fc6072-09e6-4a4f-957b-0b4b88a44153.png align="center")

## Troubleshooting Tips

If you encounter issues, check these common points:

1. Verify service status: `sudo systemctl status proxmox-backup proxmox-backup-proxy`
    
2. Check permissions: `ls -la /etc/proxmox-backup` and `ls -la /mnt/pbs_backup/datastore1`
    
3. Review logs: `sudo journalctl -u proxmox-backup -f`
    

Remember: when in doubt, proper permissions are usually the answer with PBS.