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Sylve - A Proxmox alike Web UI for bhyve Virtualization on FreeBSD including Cluster Management

(2025-09-05):
Let me spoiler, it's the best I've seen so far for bhyve and FreeBSD! When Stefano told me about Sylve , I just had a quick look at the GitHub project and thought, "okay, just another of thousands jail manager just with a better web ui, similar to the Proxmox one" and I got completely wrong while giving it a try! When looking at virtualization and container management on FreeBSD, you quickly notice that while there are many tools around, most of them either feel outdated or are missing important features. Some work well in the background but fail when it comes to usability and modern interfaces. This is exactly where Sylve caught my interest. Sylve is an open-source project that tries to make virtualization on FreeBSD simple and user friendly. It uses Bhyve for virtual machines, Jails for containers and takes advantage of ZFS for storage. The backend is .... [read more]

Creating a stretched Layer 2 network for VMs on bhyve and FreeBSD

(2025-09-04):
In today's globalized IT landscape the term "cloud" dominates conversations about infrastructure, applications, and deployment strategies. Public cloud providers promise scalability, flexibility, and resilience but yet many organizations still operate their own infrastructure for reasons of control, cost, and compliance... In these environments, FreeBSD continues to play an important role as a robust, secure, and versatile operating system. One of the powerful tools in the FreeBSD ecosystem is CBSD ( github ). CBSD acts as a management layer that simplifies the handling of FreeBSD jails, bhyve virtual machines, and other system resources. Instead of manually working through complex configuration steps, administrators can rely on CBSD’s unified command-line and TUI interfaces to create, configure, and maintain VMs and containers with ease. In particular, CBSD makes bhyve—the native FreeBSD hypervisor—far more accessible, allowing administrators to spin up virtual machines quickly and efficiently. While virtualization is an essential building block, networking remains equally .... [read more]

Kanidm with Proxmox and OIDC - The Full Setup

(2025-09-01):
In this HowTo we install and configure Kanidm on Linux Debian Trixie and use it for authentication with Proxmox by OIDC (OpenID Connect). In previous articles, I’ve shown how to integrate Proxmox VE with external identity providers such as Authentik and Keycloak, using them as realms to centralize authentication. Both of these solutions are powerful in their own right, but sometimes you might be looking for something that is more lightweight, simple to deploy, and secure by default—without sacrificing the features you’d expect from a modern identity management system. This is where Kanidm comes in. Kanidm is a modern, secure, and easy-to-use identity management platform built with a strong focus on simplicity and security. Its primary goal is to be a complete identity provider—meaning you shouldn’t need to run additional components like Keycloak to cover your use cases. With Kanidm, you already get everything you need in one place. Some .... [read more]

Proxmox VE in an Air-Gapped Environment - Creating a Local Repository Mirror

(2025-08-26):
Running your own package mirror (such as for Proxmox products) may seem like an advanced setup, but it addresses challenges that are increasingly relevant in modern infrastructures. At its core, a mirror is simply a local copy of selected repositories, yet the advantages extend far beyond faster downloads. By keeping a local mirror, organizations can reduce external bandwidth usage because every server pulls packages from the same local source rather than repeatedly accessing the internet. This also ensures consistency across nodes, avoiding scenarios where some machines install slightly newer or different packages than others, which can lead to unpredictable behavior. Additionally, relying on a local mirror provides controlled availability; even if an external repository is temporarily down, your systems remain unaffected. Security and compliance also benefit from a local mirror. Administrators can control which repositories and signing keys are trusted, reducing exposure to tampered or malicious sources. Snapshots of the .... [read more]

Debian 13 (Trixie) LXC Container Image for Proxmox 8 and Proxmox 9

(2025-08-24):
It’s now been several weeks since the release of Debian 13 (Trixie), but there is still no official LXC container template for it from Proxmox. Back when Debian 13 was in its final freeze stage, I had already created an early template ( debian-13-standard_13.x-beta_lxc_proxmox_amd64.tar.gz ) so I and also you could start testing. Since then, I’ve prepared a proper final version to share with the community, as many of you guys asked me to create one. This image is based on the official Proxmox Debian 12 (Bookworm) container template, which I upgraded to Debian 13 (Trixie). The result is a clean, ready-to-use LXC template that behaves just like the official ones and works on both Proxmox 8 and 9. If you want to get started with Debian 13 inside containers, simply place the template in your Proxmox storage and create a new container as usual. This saves the time and .... [read more]

Introducing Storage Management for Proxmox Nodes and Clusters with the new Ansible Module proxmox_storage

(2025-08-13):
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]

Building Modern Proxmox Infrastructures in 2025: Automated, Scalable, and Open for Everyone

(2025-08-11):
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]

Debian 13 (Trixie) Beta LXC Container Image for Proxmox 8 and Proxmox 9

(2025-07-31):
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]

ProxLB at The Dutch Proxmox Day 2025

(2025-07-29):
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 9 (PVE) Beta 1 - A First Look

(2025-07-19):
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]

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