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 fabrics. These routed networks connect Proxmox nodes into OpenFabric or OSPF-based topologies. This new functionality lays the groundwork for building full-mesh Ceph clusters or serving as an efficient underlay for VPNs, giving administrators much more flexibility and control over complex networking setups. Also the HA manager will be extended for a dynamic load balancing service such like ProxLB within the roadmap. Therefore, let’s have a look at the current situation within the first beta version of Proxmox 9.

Block Storage & Snapshots

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SDN Fabrics

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Dynamic Load Balancing in HA

While native load balancing is still on the roadmap and not yet implemented in Proxmox VE 9, it’s a highly anticipated feature that many users are keeping an eye on. The Proxmox team has acknowledged the demand for intelligent workload distribution across clusters, but as of the Beta 1 release, load balancing remains a planned and yet an unconfirmed feature for the final release. It’s important to note that being on the roadmap does not guarantee it will make it into the Proxmox VE 9 stable version.

Fortunately, users don’t have to wait idly. There is already a promising and practical open-source alternative available: ProxLB. This community-driven project offers a load balancing solution that integrates well with current Proxmox environments, including both Proxmox VE 8 and the newly released VE 9 Beta. ProxLB enables administrators to automate the distribution of virtual machines based on configurable rules such as resource utilization, node load, and custom tags.

Because ProxLB works independently of the core Proxmox codebase, it’s expected to remain compatible with future versions; including the final release of Proxmox VE 9. This makes it a reliable option for anyone looking to implement load balancing functionality today without having to wait for native support from Proxmox.