# Proxmox Proxmox Virtual Environment (PVE, or simply Proxmox) is an open-source virtualization platform designed for provisioning hyper-converged infrastructure. It allows deployment and management of virtual machines and containers through a web-based interface. Developed by Proxmox Server Solutions GmbH (Austria), first released in April 2008. ## Key Features ### Virtualization Technologies - **KVM** (Kernel-based Virtual Machine): Full virtualization for VMs - **[[Linux Containers (LXC)]]** (Linux Containers): Lightweight container-based virtualization - Both managed through a single web-based interface ### Platform - Based on [[Debian]] GNU/Linux - Uses a modified [[Ubuntu]] LTS kernel - Written in Perl and Rust - Licensed under GNU Affero General Public License (AGPL v3) ### Management - **Web GUI**: Full-featured administration interface - **Mobile app**: Control PVE environments on the go - **API**: REST API for automation - **CLI tools**: Command-line management ### High Availability - **Clustering**: Multiple server nodes with shared configuration - **Live migration**: Move running VMs between nodes without interruption - **HA Manager**: Automatic failover when nodes become unavailable - **Corosync**: Communication stack for cluster coordination - **Ceph**: Distributed storage for shared guest machine storage ### Storage Options - Local storage (LVM, ZFS, directories) - Network storage (NFS, iSCSI, Ceph, GlusterFS) - Software-defined storage - ZFS with snapshots and replication ### Networking - Software-Defined Network (SDN) stack (since PVE 8.1) - Linux bridge, Open vSwitch - VLAN support - Firewall integration ### Backup & Recovery - **vzdump**: Built-in backup tool - **Proxmox Backup Server (PBS)**: Dedicated backup solution - Snapshot-based backups - Incremental backups with deduplication ### Authentication - Internal database, PAM, LDAP, Active Directory, OIDC - Multi-factor authentication (TOTP, WebAuthn, YubiKey) - Role-based access control ## Products ### Proxmox VE (Virtual Environment) The main virtualization platform for VMs and containers. ### Proxmox Backup Server (PBS) Enterprise backup solution with deduplication, encryption, and incremental backups. ### Proxmox Mail Gateway Email security solution with spam/virus filtering. ### Proxmox Datacenter Manager Multi-cluster management (announced late 2024). ## Use Cases - Home labs and self-hosting - Small to medium business virtualization - Enterprise data centers - Development and testing environments - Edge computing License: AGPL v3 (Free and open source) ## References - Official Website: https://www.proxmox.com/ - Documentation: https://pve.proxmox.com/wiki/ - Source code: https://git.proxmox.com/ - Forum: https://forum.proxmox.com/ - Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proxmox_Virtual_Environment ## Related - [[Linux Containers (LXC)]] - [[Debian]] - [[Hyper-V]] — Microsoft's equivalent on Windows; Proxmox is the cross-platform / Linux-first alternative