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Proxmox VE is a platform to run virtual machines and containers. It is based on Debian Linux, and completely open source. For maximum flexibility, we implemented two virtualization technologies - Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM) and container-based virtualization (LXC).
One main design goal was to make administration as easy as possible. You can use Proxmox VE on a single node, or assemble a cluster of many nodes. All management tasks can be done using our web-based management interface, and even a novice user can setup and install Proxmox VE within minutes.
While many people start with a single node, Proxmox VE can scale out to a large set of clustered nodes. The cluster stack is fully integrated and ships with the default installation.
Proxmox VE uses the unique Proxmox Cluster file system (pmxcfs), a database-driven file system for storing configuration files. This enables you to store the configuration of thousands of virtual machines. By using corosync, these files are replicated in real time on all cluster nodes. The file system stores all data inside a persistent database on disk, nonetheless, a copy of the data resides in RAM which provides a maximum storage size of 30MB - more than enough for thousands of VMs.
Proxmox VE is the only virtualization platform using this unique cluster file system.
The Proxmox VE storage model is very flexible. Virtual machine images can either be stored on one or several local storages or on shared storage like NFS and on SAN. There are no limits, you may configure as many storage definitions as you like. You can use all storage technologies available for Debian Linux.
One major benefit of storing VMs on shared storage is the ability to live-migrate running machines without any downtime, as all nodes in the cluster have direct access to VM disk images.
We currently support the following Network storage types:
Local storage types supported are:
The integrated backup tool (vzdump{.literal}) creates consistent
snapshots of running Containers and KVM guests. It basically creates an
archive of the VM or CT data which includes the VM/CT configuration
files.
KVM live backup works for all storage types including VM images on NFS, CIFS, iSCSI LUN, Ceph RBD. The new backup format is optimized for storing VM backups fast and effective (sparse files, out of order data, minimized I/O).
A multi-node Proxmox VE HA Cluster enables the definition of highly available virtual servers. The Proxmox VE HA Cluster is based on proven Linux HA technologies, providing stable and reliable HA services.
Proxmox VE uses a bridged networking model. All VMs can share one bridge as if virtual network cables from each guest were all plugged into the same switch. For connecting VMs to the outside world, bridges are attached to physical network cards and assigned a TCP/IP configuration.
For further flexibility, VLANs (IEEE 802.1q) and network bonding/aggregation are possible. In this way it is possible to build complex, flexible virtual networks for the Proxmox VE hosts, leveraging the full power of the Linux network stack.
The integrated firewall allows you to filter network packets on any VM or Container interface. Common sets of firewall rules can be grouped into “security groups”.
Proxmox VE is a virtualization platform that tightly integrates compute, storage and networking resources, manages highly available clusters, backup/restore as well as disaster recovery. All components are software-defined and compatible with one another.
Therefore it is possible to administrate them like a single system via the centralized web management interface. These capabilities make Proxmox VE an ideal choice to deploy and manage an open source hyper-converged infrastructure{.ulink}.
A hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI) is especially useful for deployments in which a high infrastructure demand meets a low administration budget, for distributed setups such as remote and branch office environments or for virtual private and public clouds.
HCI provides the following advantages:
Proxmox VE has tightly integrated support for deploying a hyper-converged storage infrastructure. You can, for example, deploy and manage the following two storage technologies by using the web interface only:
reliable and highly scalable storage system. Checkout [how to manage Ceph services on Proxmox VE nodes]
Besides above, Proxmox VE has support to integrate a wide range of additional storage technologies. You can find out about them in the Storage Manager chapter{.link}.
Proxmox VE uses a Linux kernel and is based on the Debian GNU/Linux Distribution. The source code of Proxmox VE is released under the GNU Affero General Public License, version 3{.ulink}. This means that you are free to inspect the source code at any time or contribute to the project yourself.
At Proxmox we are committed to use open source software whenever possible. Using open source software guarantees full access to all functionalities - as well as high security and reliability. We think that everybody should have the right to access the source code of a software to run it, build on it, or submit changes back to the project. Everybody is encouraged to contribute while Proxmox ensures the product always meets professional quality criteria.
Open source software also helps to keep your costs low and makes your core infrastructure independent from a single vendor.
The primary source of information is the [Proxmox VE Wiki]. It combines the reference documentation with user contributed content.
Proxmox VE itself is fully open source, so we always encourage our users to discuss and share their knowledge using the [Proxmox VE Community Forum]. The forum is moderated by the Proxmox support team, and has a large user base from all around the world. Needless to say, such a large forum is a great place to get information.
This is a fast way to communicate with the Proxmox VE community via email.
Proxmox VE is fully open source and contributions are welcome! The primary communication channel for developers is the:
Proxmox Server Solutions GmbH also offers enterprise support available as Proxmox VE Subscription Service Plans{.ulink}. All users with a subscription get access to the Proxmox VE Enterprise Repository{.link}, and—with a Basic, Standard or Premium subscription—also to the Proxmox Customer Portal. The customer portal provides help and support with guaranteed response times from the Proxmox VE developers.
For volume discounts, or more information in general, please contact [sales@proxmox.com]
Proxmox runs a public bug tracker at [https://bugzilla.proxmox.com]. If an issue appears, file your report there. An issue can be a bug as well as a request for a new feature or enhancement. The bug tracker helps to keep track of the issue and will send a notification once it has been solved.
The project started in 2007, followed by a first stable version in 2008. At the time we used OpenVZ for containers, and QEMU with KVM for virtual machines. The clustering features were limited, and the user interface was simple (server generated web page).
But we quickly developed new features using the [Corosync] cluster stack, and the introduction of the new Proxmox cluster file system (pmxcfs) was a big step forward, because it completely hides the cluster complexity from the user. Managing a cluster of 16 nodes is as simple as managing a single node.
The introduction of our new REST API, with a complete declarative specification written in JSON-Schema, enabled other people to integrate Proxmox VE into their infrastructure, and made it easy to provide additional services.
Also, the new REST API made it possible to replace the original user interface with a modern client side single-page application using JavaScript. We also replaced the old Java based VNC console code with [noVNC]. So you only need a web browser to manage your VMs.
The support for various storage types is another big task. Notably, Proxmox VE was the first distribution to ship [ZFS on Linux] by default in 2014. Another milestone was the ability to run and manage [Ceph] storage on the hypervisor nodes. Such setups are extremely cost effective.
When our project started we were among the first companies providing commercial support for KVM. The KVM project itself continuously evolved, and is now a widely used hypervisor. New features arrive with each release. We developed the KVM live backup feature, which makes it possible to create snapshot backups on any storage type.
The most notable change with version 4.0 was the move from OpenVZ to [LXC]. Containers are now deeply integrated, and they can use the same storage and network features as virtual machines. At the same time we introduced the easy-to-use [High Availability (HA) manager], simplifying the configuration and management of highly available setups.
During the development of Proxmox VE 5 the asynchronous [storage replication] as well as automated [certificate management] using ACME/Let’s Encrypt were introduced, among many other features.
The [Software Defined Network (SDN)] stack was developed in cooperation with our community. It was integrated into the web interface as an experimental feature in version 6.2, simplifying the management of sophisticated network configurations. Since version 8.1, the SDN integration is fully supported and installed by default.
2020 marked the release of a new project, the [Proxmox Backup Server], written in the Rust programming language. Proxmox Backup Server is deeply integrated with Proxmox VE and significantly improves backup capabilities by implementing incremental backups, deduplication, and much more.
Another new tool, the [Proxmox Offline Mirror], was released in 2022, enabling subscriptions for systems which have no connection to the public internet.
The highly requested dark theme for the web interface was introduced in
Automated and unattended installation for the official [ISO installer] was introduced in version 8.2, significantly simplifying large deployments of Proxmox VE.
With the [import wizard], equally introduced in version 8.2, users can easily and efficiently migrate guests directly from other hypervisors like VMware ESXi [^[1]^]. Additionally, archives in Open Virtualization Format (OVF/OVA) can now be directly imported from file-based storages in the web interface.