Installing Lenovo XClarity One Hub on ThinkEdge SE100 with Proxmox VE

This paper describes how to install and configure Proxmox VE on Lenovo ThinkEdge SE100 and then how to install XClarity One Hub on Proxmox VE. We show step-by-step procedure to facilitate the adoption of such solution. Other than the specific Proxmox VE installation instructions for the ThinkEdge SE100, this procedure can also be applied for any other XClarity One Hub deployment on Proxmox VE.

Lenovo XClarity One is a versatile, unified management platform designed to simplify the administration of Lenovo servers. Available to be implemented as Hybrid cloud-based or on-premises local VM versions, this solution offers a consistent, user-friendly interface for monitoring, managing, and optimizing data center resources. With advanced automation capabilities, XClarity One centralizes and streamlines routine tasks, reduces operational complexity, and enhances system performance.

Whether deployed in the cloud or on-premises, XClarity One provides scalability, flexibility, and remote access, ensuring high availability and reliability for IT infrastructure. Ideal for businesses of all sizes, XClarity One delivers the tools and insights needed to drive operational efficiency and support business growth.

Lenovo XClarity One Portal is the main interface for the XClarity One solution, the XClarity One Portal can be in the Cloud or implemented On-Premise, the XClarity One Portal monitors and manages devices through one or more lightweight device managers called XClarity One Hubs.

The XClarity One Hubs are installed as lightweight Virtual Appliances on premise in data centers across multiple sites, where devices to be managed are located. The XClarity One Hubs act as secure bridges between your devices and the XClarity One Portal. The XClarity One hub reduces your security risk through using only a single secure connection between the XClarity One Portal and on-premises/private cloud-managed devices.

The Lenovo ThinkEdge SE100 is a purpose-built server that is 1/3 width and significantly shorter than a traditional server, making it ideal for deployment in tight spaces. It can be mounted on a wall, desktop or mounted in a rack. The SE100 server is AI optimized with increased processing power, storage and network closer to where data is generated. For customers that want to install servers outside data center looking for reduced latency by processing at the edge.

Its compact form factor makes it ideal for hosting an XClarity One Hub outside the production environment, allowing you to manage other servers without disrupting the XClarity One workflow when upgrades or reboots occur.

Figure 1. ThinkEdge SE100

For more information about the SE100, see the ThinkEdge SE100 Product Guide.

The following table lists the configuration of the SE100 we used in our lab environment.

The GPU in this configuration is not useful for our purposes, and was disabled into the UEFI settings.

The installation of Proxmox Virtual Environment on ThinkEdge can be performed using the XClarity Controller as is possible on every ThinkSystem server.

The steps to install Proxmox VE are as follows:

1. Connect to the XClarity Controller of the SE100
2. Open the Remote Console
3. Mount the Proxmox ISO
4. Select the ISO in the first dropdown list and then select Restart server immediately from the second dropdown list, then click Apply.

   
   Figure 2. Sequence to start PVE installation

5. If you get a gray screen after selecting the Graphical Installation, you are probably landing in this error case (press CTRL+ALT+F2 to move to the error console):

   
   Figure 3. Possible error during first installation phase

   To avoid this error, you need to change boot options with the following instructions:

6. When the Proxmox Installation menu is displayed, press “e” to edit the first choice.

   
   Figure 4. Initial PVE screen, select "e" to edit the entry

7. At the end of the linux row, append “nomodeset” after splash=silent, then press CTRL+X (or F10) to start the installation.

   
   Figure 5. Change boot parameters adding "nomodeset" to linux line

   The installation procedure should continue with no other issues.

8. The standard text installation will work if you don’t need the graphical one.

   
   Figure 6. Final PVE screen after installation and reboot

In the rest of this document, we describe how to install Lenovo XClarity One Hub on the previously installed Proxmox VE 9 environment.

The standard installation procedure is described in the official Lenovo XClarity One Hub at the following URL: https://pubs.lenovo.com/lxc1/hub-install

Create a local directory on the available NVMe disk, and enable all supported content types for this storage to be able to use both as VM disk repository and as Import repository for the XClarity One Hub image.

1. In the Proxmox UI, select Datacenter > the host > Disks > Directory, then click Create Directory.
2. Choose the available disk, your preferred filesystem type, fill the “Name” field with a self-explaining name (e.g., local-nvme) and leave checked the checkmark Add storage (or select it in case it is unchecked).

   
   Figure 7. Local directory creation

3. From Datacenter menu, select Storage and then the just created directory.

   
   Figure 8. Edit local directory properties

4. Click Edit and enable the required content types.

   
   Figure 9. Enable content types

5. Ensure that (at least) “Disk image” and “Import” are enabled as content type, then click the OK button.

With this configuration we will be able to import the XClarity One Hub disk from GUI and import it to the VM.

Follow these steps to download the XClarity One Hub disk from the GUI.

1. Select the local directory, click “Import” from the middle menu, then “Download from URL”.

   
   Figure 10. Download Lenovo XClarity One Hub full image

2. Go to https://support.lenovo.com/us/en/solutions/ht516467-lenovo-xclarity-management-hub-20
3. Choose the Full Image for KVM and copy the link

   
   Figure 11. Full Image for KVM

4. Paste the link in the “URL” field, then choose the Hash algorithm and copy and paste the relative checksum, then click the Query URL button.

   
   Figure 12. Download & verify

5. If no errors are displayed, click the Download button.

At the end, the file will be stored in the “Import” section (i.e., into /mnt/pve/local-nvme/import directory on the local disk).

Figure 13. List saved images

Figure 14. Local directory content for downloaded images

1. Select the server then press the “Create VM” button.

   
   Figure 15. Create a new VM

2. Give the VM a name and enable Start at boot (so it restarts automatically after a power loss). Click Next.

   
   Figure 16. VM name

3. Select “Do not use any media” in the “OS” tab because we will import the full image disk later, then press the “Next” button.

   
   Figure 17. No need to choose external media to install the VM

4. In the System tab, enable Qemu Agent and click Next.

   
   Figure 18. VM system parameters

5. In the “Disk” tab, remove the default disk and then click “Import”.

   
   Figure 19. Delete default disk

6. Select the previously created “local-nvme” as “Import storage”, select the image file previously downloaded and choose the right target storage (in our case “local-nvme”), then press the “Next” button.

   
   Figure 20. Import disk

7. In the CPU tab, allocate at least two cores (four cores are recommended) and set CPU type to host. Click Next.

   
   Figure 21. CPU selection

8. In the Memory tab, allocate at least 8 GB (8192 MiB). Click Next.

   
   Figure 22. Memory parameter

9. Choose the right network parameters for your environment, then press the “Next” button.

   
   Figure 23. Network parameter

10. Review the information provided and press “Finish” button if all values are OK.

    
    Figure 24. Review provided values

Once the creation process is completed, we will start and configure the VM:

1. Select the VM and press the Start” button (or press the “Console” button and then start it from the “Start Now” button inside the window)
2. Wait for the following menu to appear:

   
   Figure 25. Initial menu

3. Choose 1 to set a static IP or 2 for DHCP, then press X to exit.
4. Wait some minutes then open a web browser and point to the IP address shown in the console (e.g., https://192.168.54.4 in our case).
5. Accept the self‑signed certificate warning (you can replace it later with a trusted cert) and wait for the initialization phase to finish.

   
   Figure 26. Loading program

6. Creating a new user

   
   Figure 27. Create new user

7. Accept the License terms and conditions.
8. Add a Service Support Recovery Password (store it securely)

   
   Figure 28. Service Support recovery password

9. Set your time zone and preferred NTP server, then click Apply changes.

   
   Figure 29. Date and time parameters

10. Configure IPv4 & DNS (if needed)

    
    Figure 30. IPv4 and DNS configuration

Follow these steps to register the hub:

1. Access the XClarity One Hub
2. In the “Connection” section, click the Connect to a portal button.

   
   Figure 31. Connecting the hub to a portal

3. Copy the Registration Key to the clipboard.
4. Access the XClarity One Portal
5. From the “Organization management” section, click the Add hub button.

   
   Figure 32. Add new hub

6. Fill the form with a name for the hub, the country and paste the registration key previously copied, then click Next.
7. Copy to the clipboard the registration key from the portal, then click Next.

   
   Figure 33. Hub registration key

8. Go back to the Hub web interface and paste the portal registration key, then click the Connect button.

   
   Figure 34. Portal registration key

9. Verify that all green checks are present.

   
   Figure 35. Hub successfully connected

10. Verify on XClarity One portal the presence of the just added hub.

    
    Figure 36. Hub listed in the management hub section

11. Add to the hub your devices to manage.

    
    Figure 37. Manage server from the Hub

12. At the end, the server will be listed in the Managed devices section.

    
    Figure 38. XClarity One Hub view from the XClarity One portal

13. You can take a look at the server status, metrics and details.

    
    Figure 39. Global server status

    
    Figure 40. Server alerts

Mario Sebastiani is part of the Lenovo ISG Technical Sales team in Italy, where he focuses on HPC/AI and SMB businesses. He’s a Linux enthusiast with over 30 years of IT experience, most of which was spent on IBM delivery services and developing solution architectures, with a focus on security in recent years. Mario joined Lenovo in 2022 and has recently been deepening his knowledge of AI solutions.

Gianfranco Bauco is part of the Lenovo ISG Technical Sales team in Italy and focuses primarily on relationship management with customers. He has 30 years of IT experience, starting with IBM and continuing with Lenovo after the System x acquisition. Currently, he is focusing particularly on AI-optimized solutions. Gianfranco’s professional journey includes several manufacturing roles, as well as EMEA L3 Technical Support. He then transitioned to a technical role for the x86 business.