DISCLAIMER: While running ARM64 architecture VMs on Proxmox works, the performance is not on par with what it would be on a baremetal ARM device. In this example I'll be installing Debian 11 AARCH64 in Proxmox running on Intel x64 based hardware.
Log into the ProxMox web UI Select a storage from the left navigation pane to download the .iso to Select ISO Images in the left sub-navigation pane If running ProxMox 6, download the Debian ARM64 iso Download and upload it to the ProxMox ISO image library If on ProxMox 7, click Download from URL and paste the download URL from above > Click Query URL > Click Download Right click the ProxMox node name > Create VM Type DebianARM64 in the name field set the VM ID to 164 (unless 164 is in use) > Next Set the Type to Linux, Version to 5.x - 2.6 Kernel and select Do not use any media > Next On the System tab set the BIOS for OVMF (UEFI), Uncheck the Add EFI Disk checkbox > Next On the Hard Disk tab, set the Storage device and Disk size to 16 (adjust as needed) > Next On the CPU tab, set the number Cores to 2 (adjust as needed) > Next On the Memory tab, set the Memory to 2048 (adjust as needed) > Next Leave the defaults on the Network tab > Next Verify the summary and click Finish Select the DebianARM64 VM in the left navigation pane Select Hardware from the left navigation sub-menu Click on the CD/DVD Drive to select it > Click Remove at the top of the main content area > Click Yes to confirm Click Add > Serial Port > Leave the Port Number 0 > Click Add Click Add > Select CD/DVD Drive > Set the Bus/Device to SCSI > Select the Storage device where the Debian ARM64 iso is uploaded > Select the uploaded Debian ARM64 iso > Click Create Double click Display to edit it > Set the Graphic card value to Serial terminal 0 > Click OK Select Options from the left navigation sub-menu Double click Boot order to edit it > Drag/drop the SCSI2 device (where the Debian iso is attached) to the top of the list > Click OK Right click the ProxMox node name > Console Run the following commands in the terminal
# edit the VM conf file, change 164 to the VM ID for the DebianARM64 VM nano /etc/pve/qemu-server/164.conf
Add the following line to the bottom of the .conf file:
arch: aarch64
Find the line starting with vmgenid: and comment it out by adding a # to the beginning of the line Press CTRL+O, Enter, CTRL+X to write the changes to the conf file Back in the Proxmox web UI, select the DebianARM64 VM from the left navigation menu Click console in the left sub-navigation menu Click Start at the top right of the screen to start the VM Wait a moment for the serial console to initialize Follow the prompts to complete the OS installation
NOTE: This will feel slower than normal, allow it time to complete After the installation completes, select the Shutdown dropdown at the top of the screen > Stop Select Hardware from the left sub-navigation menu Double click the CD/DVD Drive to edit it > Select Do not use any media > Click OK Go back to the VM console Click Start at the top right of the screen to start the VM again Enter the following commands to launch Debian from the EFI shell
fs0:\EFI\debian\grubaa64.efi
The GRUB menu should boot and start loading Debian Welcome to ARM64 based Debian running on Proxmox VE
Sources: https://rotelok.com/installing-arm64-debian-10-buster-in-a-virtual-machine/ ,https://www.reddit.com/r/Proxmox/comments/ed2ldo/installing_and_launching_an_arm_vm_from_proxmox/