Managing Proxmox storage resources at scale has traditionally been a cumbersome task. In clustered environments where consistency, reliability, and speed are critical, manually adding or removing storage definitions on each node wastes valuable time and introduces the risk of human error. Imagine configuring NFS shares, CephFS mounts, iSCSI targets or Proxmox Backup Server repositories across dozens or even hundreds of nodes, each in different locations, and having to repeat the same steps manually or with ad-hoc scripts. It slows down operations, disrupts automation pipelines, and often leads to inconsistencies between nodes. Until now, there was no clean, supported, and API-driven way to manage storage across Proxmox environments directly within Ansible. This is exactly the gap the new proxmox_storage module fills. Recently added to the upstream community.proxmox Ansible collection, this module introduces a structured and reliable approach to provisioning storage on single Proxmox VE nodes or entire clusters, fully aligned with .... [read more]
The Proxmox ecosystem has grown massively in recent months – and one of the key reasons behind this growth is the strong and active community that continues to push the project forward after the VMware aquisition by Broadcom. You can really feel the momentum. There is a lot happening around Proxmox, and the pace is only picking up. I see this every day in my own work. Proxmox has become one of the most important parts of my tech stack. It’s reliable, flexible, and can be used in so many different ways. Some use it in the classic ClickOps style through the UI. Others build semi-automated setups by using the tools Proxmox already provides. And then there are the fully automated deployments, which is where things really get interesting. That’s especially true if you’re moving away from other virtualization solutions. When you have multiple clusters, running in different locations and .... [read more]
With Proxmox 9 now officially released as the first beta version and based on Debian Trixie, and the final Debian 13 release just a few days away, it makes sense to start preparing and testing early. Especially in virtualized environments like Proxmox, it’s helpful to evaluate upcoming systems before they become the new stable default. I’ve noticed that there isn’t a widely available LXC container template for Debian Trixie yet. Since I wanted to begin testing some setups myself, I decided to create a Debian Trixie-based LXC template image that can be used on both Proxmox 8 and Proxmox 9 installations. This makes it easy to spin up containers running Debian 13 without having to build the template from scratch. If you’re curious about how your applications behave on the next major Debian release or if you’re planning future upgrades, this should save you some time and effort. To use .... [read more]
Oh, it’s that time of year again! On September 25th, 2025, we’re heading to Ede, Netherlands for the Dutch Proxmox Day 2025. The Dutch Proxmox Day is a yearly conference fully focused on everything around Proxmox. If you’re working with Proxmox VE or just curious about what’s possible, this is the event to be at. This event is organized by Tuxis B.V., a Dutch company deeply involved in the Proxmox community. Admission? Completely free, thanks to the amazing sponsors CT and KPN. What to Expect This year’s speaker lineup is packed with well-known names: o Tuxis B.V. o Proxmox GmbH o credativ GmbH o Veeam o European Space Agency (ESA) From technical deep-dives to real-world cluster challenges, you’ll hear firsthand how Proxmox is being used across industries – from data centers to satellites. A Sneak Peek: ProxLB – Smarter Clusters for Proxmox Okay, here’s something I’m personally excited about: this .... [read more]
Proxmox VE 9 Beta 1 has just been released and marks a significant milestone as it’s now based on the upcoming Debian 13 "Trixie." This major upgrade brings a modernized foundation while continuing the trusted stability and features of previous versions. One of the standout improvements in this release is the introduction of VM snapshot support for thick-provisioned LVM storage, a feature that’s now available as a technology preview. With a new storage property enabled, snapshots can persist the current disk state under a named volume and spin up a new one from that snapshot which is particularly useful for setups using shared LVM storage, such as LUNs provided via iSCSI or Fibre Channel. Upgrading from Proxmox VE 8.4 is designed to be seamless, allowing existing users to transition smoothly to the new version. Another powerful addition is the expansion of the software-defined networking (SDN) stack with the concept of .... [read more]
Testing & Automating Proxmox Deployments Over the last few months, I’ve been asked quite a few times how I test my Ansible modules and ProxLB setup in an automated, reproducible way. Especially when working on new features or debugging something deeper, having a clean and quickly deployable Proxmox instance is incredibly useful. The same question often comes up in another form too: “How can I spin up Proxmox on a bare-metal machine without going through the ISO installer step by step?” or “Is there a Proxmox Cloud Image that I can just boot up like with Ubuntu or Debian?” Up until now, there hasn’t really been a good out-of-the-box solution for this: at least not one that is quick, reliable, and can be integrated easily into automation pipelines. That’s why I went ahead and built exactly that: a prebuilt, ready-to-use Proxmox 8.4 image for both bare-metal auto-installations and cloud environments .... [read more]
Managing Proxmox subscription licenses at scale has always been a challenge. Especially in enterprise environments, manual assignment of licenses across hundreds of nodes can be inefficient and error-prone. Until now, there wasn't a supported, API-driven way to integrate license management directly into Ansible workflows. The proxmox_node Module The new proxmox_node module (merged into the community.proxmox collection) allows you to manage Proxmox nodes programmatically. Key features include: o Bulk license import o Power state control (shutdown/start/WoL) o DNS configuration o SSL certificate management o Fully supports Ansible check_mode This module integrates seamlessly into your automation pipelines, making licensing, node configuration, and other administrative tasks fully API-driven and repeatable. Examples Add a Subscription License Adding a subscription license to a Proxmox VE node can be done like this: - name: Place a subscription license on a Proxmox VE Node community.proxmox.node: api_host: proxmoxhost api_user: root@pam api_password: password123 validate_certs: false node_name: de-cgn01-virt01 subscription: state: .... [read more]
When it comes to virtualization, many people still think that NFS isn’t suitable for serious workloads in their enterprise environment and that you need to rely on protocols like iSCSI or Fibre Channel to get proper performance. That mindset might have made sense years ago, but times have changed. Today, we have access to incredibly fast networks and not only in enterprise but even at home. It’s not uncommon to see 10 Gbit networking in home labs, and enterprises are already moving to 25, 40, 100, or even 400 Gbit infrastructure. So the bottleneck is no longer bandwidth rather than the protocol overhead and hardware interaction that really matters. NFS, despite being around for decades, is often underestimated. Many still think of it as a basic file-sharing protocol, not realizing how far it’s come and how capable it is when properly configured and used with the latest versions. Especially in .... [read more]
Running your own on-prem PKI (Public Key Infrastructure) can be a game-changer and it’s not just for enterprises, but also for advanced homelabs. Whether it’s about securing internal services, managing client certificates for S/MIME email encryption, or just having full control over certificate issuance, operating your own root CA brings a lot of flexibility and independence. There are many ways to set up a basic CA, even just using OpenSSL on the command line. But as soon as your setup grows, you’ll quickly run into limitations. Things like revoking certificates, publishing CRLs, using OCSP, or automating issuance via the ACME protocol become essential. And that’s where more powerful tools come in. Popular solutions like FreeIPA, HashiCorp Vault, or EJBCA offer robust PKI functionality, but they can be overkill for some environments or tricky to integrate with specific workflows. One tool that’s gained a lot of traction in recent years is .... [read more]
Until now, automating Proxmox cluster setups with Ansible often meant relying on hacky shell or command module usages within playbooks/roles and dealing with poor error handling. That changes with my new Ansible modules, proxmox_cluster and proxmox_cluster_info . If you're following me, you might have already found this as a sneak peek in my post about how BoxyBSD boosted the Proxmox ecosystem. These tools leverage the official Proxmox API, enabling direct and reliable cluster creation and joining. Already available in the upstream Ansible Community Proxmox collection, they include robust error handling and support for both user and token-based authentication. Usage Using these new modules is straightforward and simply requires one task for creating or joining a Proxmox cluster. Create a Proxmox VE Cluster - name: Create a Proxmox VE Cluster community.proxmox.proxmox_cluster: state: present api_host: proxmoxhost api_user: root@pam api_password: password123 api_ssl_verify: false link0: 10.10.1.1 link1: 10.10.2.1 cluster_name: "devcluster" Join a Proxmox VE .... [read more]
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