Heres My Attempt At A Dashboard To Show Ha And Proxmox Data

Posted Aug 8, 2025

By Usman Masood Ashraf

views 7 min read

Here’s My Attempt At A Dashboard To Show HA And Proxmox Data

INTRODUCTION

In the realm of self-hosted infrastructure and homelab environments, visibility is power. The modern DevOps engineer juggles multiple systems: Proxmox hypervisors managing virtual machines and LXC containers, Home Assistant automating smart homes, and various services requiring constant monitoring. Yet most dashboards demand full-powered displays, constant network chatter, and significant power consumption - exactly what I aimed to solve with my e-paper dashboard project.

This technical deep dive documents my implementation of a low-power, always-on dashboard displaying critical Home Assistant (HA) metrics and Proxmox VE resource utilization on a 7.5” e-paper display. Built around the Seeed Studio XIAO ESP32-C3-powered ePaper panel (£46/$60), this solution combines ESPHome firmware customization with API integrations to create an infrastructure monitoring device that sips power while providing at-a-glance system health data.

Why This Matters for DevOps Professionals:

Resource Efficiency: 0.3W power draw vs 15-30W for LCD alternatives
Unobtrusive Monitoring: Always-visible physical display without screen burn-in
Hybrid Infrastructure Visibility: Unified view of smart home and virtualization platforms
Cost-Effective Homelab Tooling: Sub-$100 hardware with enterprise-grade monitoring principles

Through this 3000+ word guide, you’ll learn:

Hardware selection criteria for low-power dashboards
ESPHome configuration for e-paper displays
Proxmox API integration for resource monitoring
Home Assistant sensor data extraction
Secure authentication patterns for API communications
Dashboard layout optimization techniques

Whether you’re managing a personal homelab or enterprise virtualization infrastructure, these principles apply to any scenario requiring silent, persistent monitoring without the overhead of traditional solutions.

UNDERSTANDING THE TECHNOLOGY STACK

Core Components Breakdown

1. Seeed Studio XIAO 7.5” ePaper Display (BW Version)

Display Tech: 7.5” 800×480 e-paper with partial refresh support
Controller: ESP32-C3 RISC-V @ 160MHz with 4MB flash
Connectivity: WiFi 5 (802.11 b/g/n) + Bluetooth 5 LE
Refresh Rate: ~15 seconds (full) / ~2 seconds (partial)
Power Consumption: 0.3W active, 0.02W sleep

2. Proxmox VE API

RESTful interface for cluster/node/VM/LXC management
Metrics endpoints for CPU, memory, disk, and network usage
Token-based authentication (API tokens with expiration)

3. Home Assistant REST API

Entity state retrieval via HTTP GET requests
Long-lived access tokens for authentication
Sensor data in JSON format

4. ESPHome Firmware

YAML-based configuration for ESP devices
Native e-paper display component support
Integrated WiFi manager and OTA updates

Architectural Comparison: Alternative Dashboard Solutions

Solution	Power Draw	Refresh Rate	Visibility	Integration Depth	Cost
Grafana + LCD Monitor	15-30W	1-5s	Excellent	High	$100+
Tablet Dashboard	2-5W	1-5s	Good	Medium	$50-$300
e-Paper Custom	0.02-0.3W	2-15s	Sunlight OK	Custom	$40-$100
SSH Terminal	<0.1W	Manual	Poor	Low	$0

Why e-Paper Wins for Niche Monitoring:

Always-On: Persistent image without power draw
Sunlight Readable: Reflective display technology
Homelab Friendly: No dedicated monitor required
Low Maintenance: Weeks of operation on battery backup

Real-World Use Cases

Hypervisor Health Monitoring: Real-time CPU/memory usage across Proxmox nodes
Service Status Dashboard: HA entity states (sensors, switches, binary sensors)
Environmental Tracking: Temperature/humidity graphs from HA-connected sensors
Security Overview: VPN status, intrusion detection alerts
Resource Allocation: LXC container memory usage at a glance

PREREQUISITES

Hardware Requirements

Seeed Studio XIAO 7.5” e-Paper Display (BW)
USB-C Power Supply (5V/1A minimum)
WiFi Network with 2.4GHz Support
Optional: 3D-Printed Enclosure or Wall Mount

Software Requirements

Proxmox VE: 7.4+ (API v2)
Home Assistant: 2023.8+ (REST API)
ESPHome: 2023.6.1+
Python 3.9+ (for ESPHome installation)

Network & Security Requirements

Dedicated VLAN for IoT devices
Firewall rules restricting ESP32 access to:
- Proxmox API (port 8006)
- Home Assistant API (port 8123)
- NTP (port 123 UDP)
- DNS (port 53 UDP)

API tokens with least-privilege access:

  
# Proxmox token creation example
pveum token add \
  --user root@pam \
  --privileges PVEAuditorRole \
  --expire 0 \
  "epaper-dashboard"

Pre-Installation Checklist

Enable Proxmox API token authentication
Create HA long-lived access token
Reserve DHCP IP for ESP32 device

Verify API endpoints are accessible:

  
curl -k -H "Authorization: PVEAPIToken=USER@REALM!TOKENID=UUID" \
  https://proxmox:8006/api2/json/nodes

INSTALLATION & SETUP

Step 1: ESPHome Initial Setup

  
# Create Python virtual environment
python3 -m venv ~/esphome
source ~/esphome/bin/activate

# Install ESPHome
pip install esphome

# Create device configuration
esphome wizard epaper-dashboard.yaml

Step 2: Base Configuration (epaper-dashboard.yaml)

  
substitutions:
  devicename: epaper_dashboard
  display_width: "800"
  display_height: "480"

esphome:
  name: $devicename
  platform: ESP32-C3
  board: seeed_xiao_esp32c3

wifi:
  ssid: !secret wifi_ssid
  password: !secret wifi_password
  ap:
    ssid: "$devicename Fallback"
    password: !secret ap_password

captive_portal:
api:
ota:

time:
  - platform: homeassistant
    id: homeassistant_time

# E-Paper display configuration
spi:
  clk_pin: GPIO10
  mosi_pin: GPIO11

display:
  - platform: waveshare_epaper
    model: 7.50in-bw
    cs_pin: GPIO9
    dc_pin: GPIO8
    busy_pin: GPIO7
    reset_pin: GPIO6
    full_update_every: 24
    rotation: 270
    lambda: |-
      // Display rendering logic will go here

Step 3: Proxmox API Integration

Create a custom sensor to fetch VM/LXC status:

  
sensor:
  - platform: rest
    name: "Proxmox Node Status"
    resource: "https://proxmox:8006/api2/json/nodes/NODE/status"
    headers:
      Authorization: "PVEAPIToken=root@pam!epaper-dashboard=TOKEN_SECRET"
    verify_ssl: false
    json_attributes_path: "$.data"
    json_attributes:
      - memory
      - cpu
      - rootfs
    update_interval: 60s

Step 4: Home Assistant Integration

  
api:
  password: !secret ha_api_password

sensor:
  - platform: homeassistant
    name: "Living Room Temperature"
    entity_id: sensor.living_room_temperature
    id: living_room_temp
    internal: true

Step 5: Dashboard Layout Lambda Function

Full display rendering script with multiple pages:

  
display:
  - platform: waveshare_epaper
    # ... existing config ...
    lambda: |-
      static int page = 0;
      static uint32_t last_page_change = 0;
      
      if (id(homeassistant_time).now().timestamp > last_page_change + 30) {
        page = (page + 1) % 3;
        last_page_change = id(homeassistant_time).now().timestamp;
      }
      
      switch(page) {
        case 0:
          // Proxmox monitoring page
          it.print(0, 0, id(font_large), "Proxmox Status");
          it.printf(0, 40, id(font_medium), "CPU: %.1f%%", 
                    id(proxmox_cpu_usage).state);
          break;
        case 1:
          // Home Assistant page
          it.print(0, 0, id(font_large), "Home Assistant");
          it.printf(0, 40, id(font_medium), "Temp: %.1f°C", 
                    id(living_room_temp).state);
          break;
        case 2:
          // System status page
          it.print(0, 0, id(font_large), "System Status");
          it.printf(0, 40, id(font_medium), "IP: %s", 
                    id(wifi_status).ip_address.c_str());
          break;
      }

Step 6: Verification Process

Validate YAML configuration:

esphome compile epaper-dashboard.yaml

Flash device via USB:
1 esphome run epaper-dashboard.yaml

Confirm OTA updates work:

esphome upload --device epaper-dashboard.local epaper-dashboard.yaml

Common Installation Pitfalls:

API SSL Errors: Use verify_ssl: false temporarily for testing
Memory Overflows: Optimize font usage with id(font).use_rmtc = true
WiFi Disconnects: Increase update_interval to reduce network load
Partial Refresh Artifacts: Set full_update_every: 24 to clear ghosting

CONFIGURATION & OPTIMIZATION

Security Hardening Recommendations

API Token Restrictions:
- Proxmox: Read-only access with PVEAuditorRole
- Home Assistant: Scope-limited long-lived tokens

Network Segmentation:

  
# ESPHome firewall rules example
firewall:
  conntrack:
    max_entries: 128
  filter:
    - direction: OUTGOING
      action: ALLOW
      protocol: TCP
      remote_port: 8123 # HA API
    - direction: OUTGOING
      action: ALLOW
      protocol: TCP
      remote_port: 8006 # Proxmox API
    - direction: OUTGOING
      action: DENY

Secure Communication:
- Use HTTPS for all API endpoints
- Implement ESPHome’s ota_password feature
- Rotate API tokens quarterly

Performance Optimization

Partial Refresh Configuration: ```yaml display:
- platform: waveshare_epaper partial_updating: true full_update_every: 24 # Full refresh every 24 partial updates ```
Memory Management:
- Use PROGMEM for static assets
- Limit font glyph ranges: ```yaml font:
  - file: “fonts/Roboto-Medium.ttf” id: font_medium size: 24 glyphs: “0-9:%.°C “ ```
Network Efficiency:
- Batch API requests where possible
- Implement exponential backoff on failures
- Set conservative update intervals: ```yaml sensor:
  - platform: rest update_interval: 120s # Proxmox polling ```

Advanced Customization Options

Multi-Page Layouts:

  
// In lambda section
std::vector<std::function<void(DisplayBuffer&)>> pages = {
  [](DisplayBuffer &it) { /* Page 1 */ },
  [](DisplayBuffer &it) { /* Page 2 */ }
};
pages[current_page](it);

Conditional Rendering:

  
if (id(proxmox_cpu_usage).state > 90) {
  it.rectangle(0, 0, 800, 480);
  it.print(400, 240, id(font_large), "HIGH CPU!");
}

Historical Data Graphing: ```yaml sensor:
- platform: history_stats name: “HA Uptime 24h” entity_id: binary_sensor.ha_online state: “on” type: time start: “” end: “now” ```

USAGE & OPERATIONS

Common Operational Tasks

Dashboard Page Rotation Control: ```yaml switch:
- platform: template name: “Force Page Update” turn_on_action:
  - lambda: |- last_page_change = 0; // Triggers immediate page rotation ```

Manual Refresh Trigger:

  
# Force display update via ESPHome API
curl -X POST -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"state":"ON"}' \
  http://epaper-dashboard.local/switch/force_refresh

Log Monitoring:

# Tail ESPHome logs
esphome logs epaper-dashboard.yaml

Backup Strategy

Configuration Versioning:

  
# Sample backup script
TIMESTAMP=$(date +%Y%m%d)
cp epaper-dashboard.yaml epaper-dashboard_$TIMESTAMP.yaml
git add . && git commit -m "Config backup $TIMESTAMP"

**Secure Token Storage

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This post is licensed under CC BY 4.0 by the author.