Proxmox in 2025: A Complete Overview of the Open-Source Virtualization Ecosystem

Good morning, everyone! Dimitri Bellini here, back on Quadrata, my channel dedicated to the world of open source and IT. It’s been a couple of years since I last did a deep dive on Proxmox, and so much has changed. With new releases, exciting features, and a brand-new product in its ecosystem, it's the perfect time for an update. Plus, with the ongoing conversations around VMware alternatives, Proxmox is more relevant than ever.

For those who might be new to it, Proxmox is a powerful, open-source virtualization platform. It allows you to run and manage virtual machines (VMs) and containers on a single physical server. It's a fantastic tool that I believe is a viable replacement for VMware for a significant number of businesses—perhaps even more than 60% of them. It’s robust, feature-rich, and completely open source.

The Core: Proxmox Virtual Environment (VE)

Proxmox VE is the heart of the ecosystem. It's a complete virtualization management solution that provides an intuitive web-based interface. It’s built on a solid foundation of proven technologies:


Proxmox VE is packed with enterprise-grade features right out of the box:


What's New in Proxmox VE?

The latest versions have brought some game-changing updates. One of the most exciting is the introduction of OCI container support. This means you can now pull and run container images directly from registries like Docker Hub within Proxmox. We'll dive into how that works in a moment! They've also made significant improvements to the Software-Defined Network (SDN) capabilities, adding another layer of powerful networking features.

Protect Your Data: Proxmox Backup Server

For any serious virtualization environment, a solid backup strategy is non-negotiable. Proxmox offers a dedicated, fully integrated solution for this: the Proxmox Backup Server. This isn't just a basic backup tool; it's a feature-rich appliance with very impressive enterprise capabilities:


The latest version has also introduced traffic limiting to prevent backups from congesting your network and, importantly, support for S3-compatible storage as a backend. This opens up a world of possibilities for offsite backups using various cloud storage providers.

The Big Picture: The NEW Proxmox Data Center Manager

This is the latest addition to the family and a true game-changer. If you manage multiple Proxmox clusters across different locations—say, for production, development, and various office sites—how do you keep an eye on everything? The Proxmox Data Center Manager is the answer. It’s a centralized management interface that gives you a single pane of glass to oversee your entire distributed Proxmox infrastructure.

From its modern, customizable dashboard, you can:


While it's still the first major release (1.0), it's a fantastic start and a clear sign that Proxmox is serious about capturing the enterprise market. The interface is also a step up, using a more modern and flexible graphical framework than the classic ExtJS-based one we're used to.

Tutorial: Running Docker Images as OCI Containers in Proxmox

Let's walk through the most exciting new feature in Proxmox VE: running OCI containers. I’ll show you how to launch a Grafana container.



  1. Pull the Image: In your Proxmox node's storage view, you'll see an "OCI Templates" section. Click "Download from URL" and in the "Image" field, type the name of the image from a public registry, like grafana/grafana. You can then query for available tags (e.g., latest) and pull the image.

  2. Create the Container: Once downloaded, click "Create CT" as you normally would. Give it a name and password. In the "Template" selection, you will now see your downloaded Grafana image.

  3. Configure Resources: Assign disk space, CPU cores, and memory. Proxmox manages these resources more like a VM, which can be an advantage for resource control. Configure the network (you can use DHCP or a static IP).

  4. Set Environment Variables: This is key. In the container's "Options" tab, you'll find a new "Environment" section. Here, you can add all the necessary environment variables your container needs to run, just like you would with a `docker run` command.

  5. Start and Access: Start your container! It will get an IP address on your network. The tricky part is that you can't remap ports. You have to access the application on its default port. For Grafana, that would be `http://:3000`.

The ability to snapshot and back up these containers using the Proxmox Backup Server is a massive advantage. While the feature is still new and lacks things like an easy image update process, it’s an incredibly promising development.

Final Thoughts

The Proxmox ecosystem has matured into a comprehensive and powerful platform that can handle a wide range of virtualization needs. From the core VE to the robust Backup Server and the new centralized Data Center Manager, it offers a complete, open-source solution that is more than ready for the enterprise.

I'm genuinely excited about the direction Proxmox is heading, especially with its integration of OCI containers. It cleverly blends the stability of a VM-centric management style with the flexibility of the container world.

But that's my take. What do you think? Are you using Proxmox in your lab or in production? What are your thoughts on these new features, especially the container management and the Data Center Manager? Let me know in the comments below!

That's all for today. Don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more content on open source and IT. See you next week!

A greeting from Dimitri, bye!


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