Open source hypervisor for servers
Proxmox Virtual Environment (Proxmox VE) is a specialised Linux distribution for server virtualisation, developed by Proxmox Server Solutions GmbH (Vienna) since 2008. Based on Debian, it integrates KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) for full virtual machines and LXC for Linux containers, with a single management web UI.
Version 6.0 released on 16 July 2019 based on Debian 10 “Buster” with Linux kernel 5.0, QEMU 4.0, LXC 3.1, integrated Ceph Nautilus 14.2. Licence AGPLv3.
Features
- KVM virtualisation — Linux, Windows, BSD VMs with VirtIO paravirtualisation
- LXC containers — OS-level containers, lighter than VMs
- Web UI (port 8006) — full browser-based management without dedicated clients
- CLI
qm,pct,pvesh— scripting and automation - Multi-node cluster — up to 32 nodes with Corosync (messaging) and pmxcfs (distributed config filesystem)
- High Availability — automatic VM failover on node fault
- Live migration — VM movement between nodes without downtime
- Ceph integration — native distributed storage, hyper-converged clusters
- Native backup — snapshots and dump with
vzdump, integration with Proxmox Backup Server - Replication — ZFS asynchronous replication between nodes
Storage
Supports many backends:
- Local (directory, LVM, LVM-thin, ZFS)
- Shared (NFS, CIFS, iSCSI, Fibre Channel)
- Distributed (Ceph RBD, Ceph FS, GlusterFS)
ZFS on Linux is fully supported with native installer: ZFS root boot with mirror/RAID-Z.
Business model
Proxmox VE is fully open source and free of charge. Proxmox Server Solutions sells:
- Subscription for access to the “enterprise” repository (tested updates)
- Commercial support on SLA
- Without subscription, identical features but access to the “no-subscription” repository (less tested updates)
Model reminiscent of Red Hat/CentOS or SUSE.
Italian adoption
Proxmox has very wide diffusion in Italy, especially among:
- SMEs looking for alternatives to VMware vSphere/ESXi
- MSPs and system integrators for client management
- Public bodies for internal server virtualisation
- Small and medium hosting providers
- Home-labs and enthusiasts
The combination of zero vendor lock-in, active community, clear documentation, usable web UI, and zero startup cost has made Proxmox the de facto standard of the “serious open source virtualisation” world in Italy.
In the 2019 landscape
Competitors:
- VMware vSphere/ESXi — enterprise-dominant, expensive, proprietary
- Microsoft Hyper-V — included in Windows Server
- Citrix Hypervisor (XenServer) — decline
- oVirt/RHV — Red Hat, complex
- OpenNebula, OpenStack — cloud-oriented, high overhead
Proxmox occupies the niche of mid-market simple virtualisation with excellent capability/complexity ratio.
Evolution
The 6.x series continues through 6.4 (2021). 7.0 (2021) based on Debian 11, 8.0 (2023) on Debian 12. The acquisition of VMware by Broadcom (November 2023) with dramatic price increases on the installed base pushed many Italian companies to evaluate Proxmox as a strategic replacement in the 2024-2026 period.
References: Proxmox VE 6.0 (16 July 2019). Proxmox Server Solutions GmbH, Vienna. Licence AGPLv3. Based on Debian 10 Buster. Integrated KVM, LXC, Ceph Nautilus. Multi-node cluster with Corosync and pmxcfs.