Proxmox VE

Proxmox VE (Proxmox Virtual Environment) is a free, open-source virtualization platform for sysadmins, MSPs and homelab builders who want to run virtual machines and Linux containers on their own hardware and manage them from a web browser. You install Proxmox on bare metal like an operating system; it is based on Debian and combines KVM/QEMU virtual machines, LXC containers, software-defined storage and networking, clustering and backup in one product.

It is a common replacement for VMware ESXi and Hyper-V in small and mid-sized environments. There are no feature-locked editions: the free install and the supported install run the same code. Paid support plans from the developer add the tested enterprise update repository and technical support.

Proxmox VE at a glance

What it does

• Runs full virtual machines (KVM/QEMU) for Windows, Linux and BSD guests, and lightweight LXC system containers; since 9.1 containers can also be created from OCI images pulled from a registry.
• Web interface on port 8006 plus a complete CLI and REST API (qm, pct, pvesm, pvecm, pvesh).
• Multi-node clusters with live migration, high availability and, in 9.2, dynamic load balancing of HA guests across nodes.
• Storage on local disks, LVM/LVM-thin, ZFS, NFS, SMB/CIFS, iSCSI and built-in Ceph (Squid 19.2 or Tentacle 20.2 in 9.2).
• Scheduled backups with vzdump to any storage, or incremental, deduplicated backups to Proxmox Backup Server.
• Built-in firewall at datacenter, node and guest level, and software-defined networking (VLAN, VXLAN, EVPN; WireGuard and BGP fabrics in 9.2).
• An import wizard that pulls VMs straight from a VMware ESXi host.

How sysadmins use it

Create a Windows Server or Windows 11 VM that performs well

1. Upload the Windows ISO and the VirtIO driver ISO (virtio-win, published by the Fedora project): select the node’s local storage > ISO Images > Upload or Download from URL.
2. Click Create VM, choose OS type Microsoft Windows with the matching version (11/2022/2025). For Windows 11 keep the suggested UEFI (OVMF) firmware, EFI disk and TPM state.
3. Use the VirtIO SCSI single controller and a VirtIO network card. Add the VirtIO ISO as a second CD drive.
4. During Windows setup, click Load driver and browse to the vioscsi folder so the disk appears.
5. After installation, run the virtio-win guest tools installer and enable QEMU Guest Agent in the VM options so shutdown, IP reporting and consistent backups work.

Schedule nightly backups

1. Add a backup target under Datacenter > Storage (NFS share, SMB share or Proxmox Backup Server).
2. Go to Datacenter > Backup > Add, pick the storage, schedule, guests, Snapshot mode and zstd compression, and set retention.
3. For a one-off backup from the shell:

vzdump 101 --storage nfs-backup --mode snapshot --compress zstd

Build a three-node cluster

1. Install all nodes with the same major version, unique hostnames and static IPs.
2. On the first node: pvecm create prod-cluster
3. On each other node: pvecm add 10.0.10.11 (IP of an existing member).
4. Check quorum with pvecm status. Use three nodes (or two plus an external QDevice) so the cluster keeps quorum when one node fails.

Migrate VMs off VMware ESXi

1. Under Datacenter > Storage > Add > ESXi, enter the ESXi host and credentials.
2. Browse the new storage, select a powered-off VM and click Import; adjust disk bus, network bridge and target storage.

Install and first run

Write the ISO to a USB stick (Etcher, Rufus in DD mode or dd) and boot from it. The installer asks for the target disk (ext4, xfs or ZFS), root password, e-mail and management network. When it finishes, open https://<server-ip>:8006 and log in as root with realm Linux PAM. Expect a self-signed certificate warning until you add your own certificate or use the built-in ACME (Let’s Encrypt) client.

Requirements: a 64-bit Intel/AMD CPU with VT-x/AMD-V (or 64-bit Armv9-A), at least 2 GB RAM for the host plus memory for guests, and roughly 1 GB extra RAM per TB of storage if you use ZFS or Ceph. Redundant gigabit NICs and SSDs are recommended for production.

Common gotchas:

• Enable virtualization (VT-x/AMD-V, and VT-d/IOMMU for passthrough) in the BIOS first.
• A fresh install points at the enterprise repository, which needs a paid key. Without one, switch to the free pve-no-subscription repository in Node > Updates > Repositories. On 9.x (Debian 13 “Trixie”) it lives in /etc/apt/sources.list.d/proxmox.sources:

Types: deb
URIs: http://download.proxmox.com/debian/pve
Suites: trixie
Components: pve-no-subscription
Signed-By: /usr/share/keyrings/proxmox-archive-keyring.gpg

• Update with apt update && apt full-upgrade; plain apt upgrade can leave a node half-updated.
• Firewall ports: 8006/tcp (web UI), 22/tcp (SSH, cluster actions), 3128/tcp (SPICE proxy), 5900–5999/tcp (VNC console), 5405–5412/udp (corosync) and 60000–60050/tcp (live migration).
• Community “helper scripts” run as root on your hypervisor; read them before running them.

Limitations

• It is a whole operating system, not an app: you cannot install Proxmox VE on top of Windows or macOS (except inside a nested VM for testing).
• The free repository gets packages before they reach the enterprise repository; test updates on one node before rolling them out.
• Clusters need low-latency networking for corosync, and Ceph needs at least three nodes and fast dedicated links to perform well.
• Not every vSphere feature or third-party integration has an equivalent; check that your backup and monitoring tools support Proxmox.

Proxmox VE vs alternatives

For a VM on your own workstation rather than a server, a desktop hypervisor such as VMware Workstation Pro is simpler.

FAQ

Is Proxmox VE free?

Yes. Proxmox VE is free and open source under the AGPL-3.0 with no feature limits. Paid plans only add the enterprise repository and vendor support; the notice about a missing licence key at login is informational.

Where do I get the Proxmox ISO download?

The installer ISO is free to download; check proxmox.com for the current release notes and documentation. The current release is 9.2 (ISO 9.2-1), with a separate ARM64 ISO.

Can I run Proxmox for Windows or for Mac?

Not as an application. Proxmox VE installs on a dedicated server or PC; you then manage it from a browser on Windows, macOS or Linux, and it can host Windows and Linux VMs.

Proxmox vs Hyper-V: which should I pick?

Hyper-V suits shops that already license Windows Server Datacenter and run mostly Windows guests. Proxmox suits mixed Linux/Windows workloads, containers, ZFS/Ceph storage, and budgets with no hypervisor licence cost.

How do I update Proxmox?

Configure a repository you are entitled to, then run apt update && apt full-upgrade or use Node > Updates in the web UI. Reboot when a new kernel is installed; in a cluster, migrate guests off the node first.

How do I upload an ISO to Proxmox?

Select the node’s storage that holds ISO images (usually local), open ISO Images and use Upload, or Download from URL to fetch it directly on the server.

Last checked against official sources: 30 September 2026 (developer website: proxmox.com). Versions and licence terms change — confirm on the developer's site before deploying in production.