NexusSec designs and deploys Proxmox VE — clustering, high availability, ZFS and Ceph storage, and Proxmox Backup Server — for businesses across India. Since VMware moved to per-core subscriptions, Proxmox has become our most requested virtualization platform, and it is a genuinely production-grade choice rather than a budget compromise.
Why Proxmox is now a mainstream choice
Proxmox VE is free and open source under AGPLv3, with no feature gating: clustering, high availability, live migration, the integrated firewall, ZFS and Ceph storage are all available without a licence. A paid subscription buys enterprise repository access and support, not unlocked features.
Combined with the licensing changes that followed Broadcom's acquisition of VMware, this has moved Proxmox from "the open-source option" to a default consideration for small and mid-sized deployments. See Proxmox vs VMware.
What our deployment includes
| Area | What we do |
|---|
| Hardware sizing | CPU, RAM, storage and network specification against your actual workload |
| Cluster design | Node count, quorum, corosync network separation — a dedicated cluster network matters |
| Storage | ZFS local, shared storage or Ceph, chosen deliberately because changing later is disruptive |
| High availability | HA groups and fencing configured and tested by deliberately failing nodes |
| Networking | Bridges, VLANs, bonding and segmentation between VM tiers |
| Backup | Proxmox Backup Server with deduplication, retention policy and verified restores |
| Hardening | Management interface isolation, MFA, firewall rules, update process |
Migrating from VMware
Proxmox includes an import tool for VMware VMs, and the conversion itself is straightforward. The work that matters is elsewhere: replacing backup tooling, redesigning networking, choosing storage architecture, swapping VMware Tools for the QEMU guest agent, and installing VirtIO drivers in Windows guests before conversion.
Our migration rule: never move everything at once. We migrate a non-critical workload first, run it for a few weeks, prove backup and restore end to end, then migrate in waves with a documented rollback. A backup you have not restored from is a hypothesis, not a backup.
Storage decisions
- ZFS local storage — excellent integrity and snapshots, simple, but VMs are tied to a node without replication
- Shared storage (NFS/iSCSI) — enables live migration and HA, simpler than Ceph
- Ceph — distributed and resilient, no single storage point of failure, but needs a minimum of three nodes and proper network design
We choose based on node count, budget, performance needs and how much operational complexity your team can carry.
Frequently asked questions
Is Proxmox suitable for production use?
Yes. Proxmox VE is used in production worldwide and provides clustering, high availability, live migration, an integrated firewall and enterprise storage options without licence fees. It is a genuine production hypervisor rather than a budget compromise, though it does expect a team comfortable with Linux.
How many nodes do we need for a Proxmox cluster?
Three is the practical minimum for high availability, because quorum requires a majority and three nodes tolerate one failure. Two-node clusters are possible with a quorum device but are more fragile. Ceph distributed storage also expects at least three nodes to function properly.
Can you migrate our VMware environment to Proxmox?
Yes. Proxmox includes an import tool for VMware virtual machines. The larger work is replacing backup tooling, redesigning networking, choosing a storage architecture, replacing VMware Tools with the QEMU guest agent, and installing VirtIO drivers in Windows guests. We migrate in waves with proven restores and a rollback plan.
What storage should we use with Proxmox?
ZFS local storage offers excellent data integrity and snapshots but ties VMs to a node unless replicated. Shared storage such as NFS or iSCSI enables live migration and HA with less complexity. Ceph provides distributed resilience with no single point of failure but requires at least three nodes and careful network design. We choose based on your node count, budget and team capability.
Is Proxmox really free?
Yes. Proxmox VE is licensed under AGPLv3 and can be used in production at no cost with all features available, including clustering, HA and live migration. A paid subscription provides access to the enterprise repository and vendor support but does not unlock additional functionality.
NexusSec.