Introduction to Proxmox VE

Proxmox VE is an enterprise-grade virtualization platform that integrates both Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM) and Linux Containers (LXC) virtualization technologies. It supports software-defined storage and virtual networking. Through a web-based management interface, users can easily manage and configure virtual machines, containers, high-availability clusters, software-defined storage, virtual networks, and backups.

The main advantages of Proxmox VE lie in its ease of installation and use, with a feature-rich web interface that simplifies enterprise virtualization and private cloud deployments.

Since version 5.x, Proxmox VE has integrated the Ceph distributed file system, further enhancing storage capabilities and allowing for a hyper-converged solution that integrates computing, networking, and storage.

Key features of Proxmox VE include decentralization, hyper-convergence, high availability, open-source cost efficiency, and ease of management.

Comparison Between Proxmox VE, ZStack, VMware, and OpenStack

1. Openness

Proxmox VE: Developed by Proxmox Server Solutions as an open-source product. The software and community support are free, while enterprise users can obtain paid support via subscription. A downside is the relatively small ecosystem, maintained solely by the official team.

ZStack: ZStack offers both commercial and open-source versions, though the open-source version does not support high availability. The ecosystem is also relatively small, maintained by the company.

VMware: No open-source version is available. Although VMware’s commercial products are powerful, they come with a high price tag, with modules and maintenance being separately charged.

OpenStack: A global open-source cloud computing project offering both private and public cloud solutions. It has a broad ecosystem and allows free usage by users.

2. Installation and Deployment

Proxmox VE: Very easy to install with an ISO image, and the entire installation process can be completed in less than 10 minutes. Whether for single-node or cluster deployment, only one Proxmox VE suite needs to be installed.

ZStack: Relatively easy to install, but requires the installation of multiple product suites.

VMware: Installation is relatively complex, with core components ESXi and vCenter requiring separate installations.

OpenStack: Architecturally complex with many components, making installation and configuration challenging, often requiring expert support.

3. Virtual Computing

Proxmox VE: Only supports KVM virtualization technology and lacks the ability to manage heterogeneous virtualization platforms, such as VMware.

ZStack: Supports KVM and ESXi virtualization technologies, allowing it to manage VMware environments.

VMware: Only supports its proprietary ESXi virtualization technology.

OpenStack: Supports multiple virtualization technologies, including KVM, Xen, Hyper-V, and ESXi.

4. Virtual Storage

Proxmox VE: Supports a variety of storage technologies, including LVM, ZFS, NFS, SAN, CIFS, and Ceph distributed storage.

ZStack: Supports local storage, NFS, SAN, and distributed block storage, such as Ceph.

VMware: Supports local storage (LVM, VMFS), NAS, SAN, and vSAN distributed storage.

OpenStack: Offers a variety of storage solutions, including Cinder (block storage), Swift (object storage), and Manila (shared file systems).

5. Virtual Networking

Proxmox VE: Supports VLAN and VXLAN but is relatively weak in virtual networking capabilities, limiting its scalability in large-scale network virtualization scenarios.

ZStack: Supports VLAN, VXLAN, and has capabilities for public cloud-level network virtualization.

VMware: Through NSX, VMware offers rich virtual network services, including virtual switches, routers, and load balancers.

OpenStack: Offers a comprehensive virtual network infrastructure via Neutron, supporting advanced networking services.

6. Bare Metal

Proxmox VE: Does not currently support bare-metal management.

ZStack: Supports bare-metal management, allowing physical servers to be managed via PXE boot.

VMware: It’s unclear if VMware supports bare-metal management.

OpenStack: Supports bare-metal management through its Ironic component.

7. GPU Support

Proxmox VE: Supports GPU passthrough and GPU virtualization, though virtualization requires purchasing licenses from hardware vendors.

ZStack: Supports GPU passthrough and vGPU virtualization, compatible with NVIDIA and AMD cards.

VMware: Supports multiple GPU modes, including vSGA, vGPU, and vDGA.

OpenStack: Also supports GPU passthrough and virtualization.

8. High Availability

Proxmox VE: Provides high availability for virtual machines through multi-replica storage with Ceph.

ZStack: Supports Ceph, zero-downtime fault tolerance (FT), and live migration.

VMware: Supports multi-replica storage, FT, and live migration.

OpenStack: Offers high-availability solutions and multi-replica storage support.

9. Container Support

Proxmox VE: Supports LXC containers, having transitioned to LXC technology since version 4.0.

ZStack: Supports Docker and Kubernetes.

VMware: Supports running Docker and Kubernetes on vSphere.

OpenStack: Also supports Docker and Kubernetes.

10. Disaster Recovery

Proxmox VE: Comes with the built-in vzdump backup tool, supporting snapshot backups and cold/hot migration of virtual machines and containers.

ZStack: Provides local, off-site, and public cloud disaster recovery solutions, supporting cold and hot migration.

VMware: Implements disaster recovery through Site Recovery Manager (SRM), enabling cross-site backups and disaster recovery failover.

OpenStack: Disaster recovery solutions are more complex and require in-depth study.

11. Multi-Cloud Management

Proxmox VE: Only supports single-cluster management, with no capability for multi-cloud management.

ZStack: Provides multi-cloud management via ZStack CMP, supporting integration with various public and private cloud environments.

VMware: Offers single-cluster management through vCenter, though it’s unclear if it supports multi-cluster management.

OpenStack: Supports multi-cloud management, and many OpenStack cloud product vendors have developed multi-cloud management platforms.

12. Suitable Scenarios

Proxmox VE: Primarily aimed at small to medium-scale virtualization and private cloud scenarios, supporting up to 32 physical nodes and about 1,000 virtual machines.

ZStack: Suitable for virtualization, private cloud, public cloud, and hybrid cloud scenarios.

VMware: Suitable for virtualization and private cloud across small, medium, and large scales. The advanced version of vCenter can manage up to 3,000 ESXi physical nodes.

OpenStack: Designed for large and ultra-large private and public cloud scenarios, theoretically capable of managing an unlimited number of physical nodes.