Proxmox VE

Proxmox Virtual Environment is a Debian-based bare-metal platform that runs KVM virtual machines and LXC containers from one web interface. A cluster needs no central management server: every node runs the same stack, and the documentation states there is no explicit limit on node count.

The feature set maps the vSphere job directly — Cluster Manager, HA Manager with node and resource affinity rules, live and online migration, Ceph RBD and ZFS alongside iSCSI, NFS and LVM, integrated backup, software-defined networking, role-based access control and a built-in firewall. Version 9.2, released 21 May 2026, added dynamic load balancing through the Cluster Resource Scheduler, which migrates HA-managed guests automatically to even out node imbalance. Proxmox Datacenter Manager reached 1.0 and gives a single view across clusters, though it still hands off to each cluster’s own interface for complex work.

Everything is AGPLv3 and free, including clustering and HA. The subscription buys the tested Enterprise Repository and support, priced per occupied CPU socket per year: Basic 370 euro, Standard 550 euro, Premium 1,100 euro, bought self-service from the Proxmox shop.

Proxmox Server Solutions GmbH is based at Bräuhausgasse 37, 1050 Vienna, and was founded in 2005 by brothers Martin and Dietmar Maurer. It publishes Proxmox Virtual Environment, Proxmox Backup Server and Proxmox Mail Gateway, all under the AGPLv3, and sells optional support subscriptions rather than licences.

The company has taken no venture capital. Its own company page states that Proxmox “is an independent and profitable company, with our customers and supporters as our only investors”, and the Austrian commercial register shows no corporate shareholder above it. Subscription terms name the Vienna entity as the contracting party and vest exclusive jurisdiction in the competent court at its Vienna seat.