🔍 What is Proxmox VE?
Proxmox Virtual Environment (Proxmox VE) is an open source server virtualization platform that integrates kernel-based virtual machine (KVM) and Linux container (LXC) technologies to allow you to run virtual machines (VMs) and containers simultaneously from a single management interface. It offers enterprise features for free and is built on Debian Linux for high reliability.
> Key Features. > – Unified web management interface (https://서버IP:8006) > – Multi-node management with clustering ⛓️ > – Built-in support for Ceph storage > – Live migration > – Backup/Recovery system
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⚙️ Architecture and Core Technologies
1. Redundant Virtualization Engine 1.
- KVM: Full virtualization of any OS (Windows, Linux, etc.) with minimal performance loss
- LXC**: Lightweight containers for ultra-fast execution (CPU/RAM overhead on the order of 1-2%)
# Example of creating an LXC container pct create 100 local:vztmpl/ubuntu-22.04-standard_22.04-1_amd64.tar.zst
2. Distributed Storage (Ceph) 2.
- Provides auto-replication when configuring 3 nodes or more
- Create Ceph pools with a few clicks in the GUI
3. **Clustering
- Group up to 32 nodes together and manage them as a single entity
- Add nodes with
pvecm add NODE_IPcommand - Quorum-based failure detection
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🛠️ Installation and Initial Setup Guide
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**Requirements
- 64-bit CPU (Intel VT-x / AMD-V support required)
- 4GB+ RAM (16GB or more recommended)
- Official ISO Download: Proxmox VE Download
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**Installation Process
1. boot from USB → select "Install Proxmox VE" 2. partition your disk (ZFS is recommended) 3. set up your network (Static IP assignment required!) 4. reboot and access https://IP:8006 -
Initial commands
# Add the repository pvesm add nfs NAS01 --server 192.168.1.10 --export /backup # Disable the subscription repository (for free use) sed -i 's/^deb/#deb/' /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pve-enterprise.list
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🖥️ VM/Container Creation Exercises
Create an Ubuntu VM (web interface)
- Go to
Node → Create VM. - OS: Upload Ubuntu 22.04 ISO
- hardware: CPU 2 cores, RAM 4GB, select VirtIO SCSI disk
- network: VirtIO (paravirtualization)
Docker Container in LXC
# Create an elevated privilege container
pct create 101 --features nesting=1 --storage local-lvm
# Install Docker inside the container
apt update && apt install docker.io—]
🔒 Configure High Availability (HA)
Set up baseline for a 3-node cluster: 1.
- Select VM from
Datacenter → HA → Add. - Set policy:
on-failover: Automatically move to another node in case of failure 3.max-restart: 3 retries in 5 minutes
- test: Stop the node with
systemctl stop pve-clusterto verify failover!
> ⚠️ Notes. > – Configure odd nodes to maintain quorum > – Shared storage (NFS/Ceph) required
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🔄 Backup/Recovery Strategy
Incremental backup (Vzdump) **Backup and recovery strategy
# Full backup every day at 2am
vzdump 100 --compress zstd --mode snapshot --storage NAS01 --mailto admin@company.com- Storage type:
Snapshot: backup without suspending VMs (requires QEMU agent installation)- Suspend`: Backup with memory state
**How to restore
Click Backup → Restore in the web interface → Select the target storage!
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👍 Analyze the pros and cons
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| ✅ Free and open source (with enterprise features) | ❌ Kernel updates may cause compatibility issues |
| ✅ Unified management (storage+network+virtualization) | ❌ Lack of official documentation for beginners |
| ✅ Built-in ZFS/Ceph for easy scale-out | ❌ Complicated to set up hardware passthroughs |
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🏢 Utilization Scenarios
- SMB Infrastructure: Dedicated virtualized servers for SMBs (VMware alternative)
- dev/test environment: container-based CI/CD pipeline
- Home lab: Raspberry Pi cluster with Proxmox Backup Server
- Edge Computing: Building an IoT gateway with lightweight LXC
> 💡 Success Story: German ISP company “Pyur” – running 15,000 VMs in a 500+ node cluster!
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📈 Conclusion: Why Proxmox VE?
“The only platform that is open source and offers VMware-level features“
- Zero upfront investment to get started
- Active community support (forum/gitHub)
- Modular architecture allows for flexible scaling
> 🚀 Startup Recommendations.
> 1. Install and test on an older PC
> 2. Update to pve-no-subscription repo
> 3. Integrate with PBS (Proxmox Backup Server) to build a backup system!
Proxmox VE is an infrastructure revolution made possible by the evolution of open source. Get started now! 💻🔥