Proxmox VE is an open-source server virtualization management solution that enables users to handle virtual machines (VMs), including Windows and Linux machines, as well as Linux containers. It runs on the Debian Linux distribution and brings together two reliable virtualization technologies: KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) and LXC (Linux Containers), managed via an intuitive web interface. The Proxmox platform optimizes efficiency and simplifies management tasks within virtual environments, facilitating the deployment, administration, and monitoring of VMs, containers, network settings, storage systems, and more, all from a unified and integrated platform.
Proxmox also offers advanced features such as seamless live migrations of VMs without downtime, high availability, and automated backups, making it a reliable choice for managing virtual environments in small businesses and large enterprises alike. Its open-source environment encourages community involvement and offers an affordable virtualization solution.
If you want to learn more about Proxmox VE, Proxmox VE 8: A Comprehensive Virtualization Course 2024 will help you understand it and completely walk through the product.
New Features in Proxmox VE 8
Proxmox VE 8 is unveiling new features. Let us now explore the remarkable features introduced in Proxmox VE 8:
- Enhanced Base: Proxmox 8.0 is based on Debian 12, incorporating an upgraded Linux kernel 6.2, ensuring a solid foundation for enhanced performance and compatibility.
- Virtualization Stack: Proxmox 8.0 incorporates QEMU 8.0.2, LXC 5.0.2, and ZFS 2.1.12 in its virtualization stack, providing advanced capabilities and improved functionality.
- Support for Ceph Server: The default Ceph Server version is Ceph Quincy 17.2, accompanied by ongoing support.
- Enterprise repository access for subscribers: Subscribers of Proxmox VE gain access to an enterprise repository for Ceph, offering enhanced stability for production systems.
- Installer and Access Enhancements: The installer ISO now includes an additional Text-based User Interface (TUI), simplifying the installation process.
- Improved system for virtual guests: The Proxmox VE ACL system now integrates host network bridge and VNet access, enabling streamlined configuration for virtual guests.
- Access Realm Sync Jobs: Proxmox 8.0 introduces automated synchronization of users and groups from an LDAP/AD server through access realm sync jobs, ensuring efficient user and group management.
- Improved Virtual Machine Features: The default CPU type for VMs has been set to x86-64-v2-AES.
- Resource mappings facilitate the connection between PCI(e) or USB devices and nodes within a Proxmox VE cluster.
- Several enhancements have been made to both the graphical user interface (GUI) and application programming interface (API), improving usability and functionality.
Enhanced Network Management
IT administrators are now able to effectively synchronize users and groups from an LDAP/AD server with the introduction of Proxmox VE 8.0’s significant network management enhancements. This enables improved user access management, which leads to a more protected environment. Integration of the host network bridge and VNet access into the ACL system simplifies the administration of network resources.
Improvements in the Web UI
Proxmox VE 8.0 brings a host of enhancements to its web interface, delivering an improved user experience:
- The GUI now considers the complete Proxmox VE 8.0 and brings a host of enhancements to its web interface, delivering an improved user experience:
- The GUI now considers the complete Proxmox VE cluster subscription status when selecting the Ceph repository. This intelligent design ensures your cluster’s optimal performance.
- Based on user feedback, the dark color scheme introduced in Proxmox VE 7.4 has been refined. This visually appealing and straightforward interface improves usability.
- The Markdown parser has been improved, providing better rendering of formatted text within the web interface.
- Privilege checks have been aligned more accurately, ensuring proper authorization for various actions.
- Localization of size units and language selection has been implemented, catering to users across different regions and languages.
Proxmox VE 8 Introduced New Features for VMs
Proxmox VE 8.0 introduces substantial enhancements for virtual machines, enhancing their functionality and performance:
- Version 8.0 of QEMU introduces significant enhancements, such as initial support for NetBSD and OpenBSD. The adoption of Rust-based implementation for the virtiofsd codebase further enhances performance and reliability.
- Issues with volume size information, Nvidia grid drivers, and SMBIOS UUID for Nvidia vGPU passthrough have been resolved, ensuring that VMs operate and perform without interruption.
Container Improvements in Proxmox VE 8.0
Proxmox VE 8.0 not only focuses on VMw but also offers significant improvements for containers:
- The handling of /etc/machine-id on clone operations has been fine-tuned, ensuring the proper functioning of containers.
- The cgroup limit has been set to 99.6% of configured memory, providing an effective safeguard against Out-of-Memory (OOM) conditions and optimizing memory utilization.
Virtual Guests Improvements in Proxmox 8
Proxmox VE 8.0 features several enhancements to enhance the experience for virtual guests:
- The validation of the provided name of the clone now occurs in the frontend, enhancing the user experience by identifying invalid names at an early stage.
- Config files in /etc/pve/mapping and Mapping.* privileges have been added, enabling cluster-wide mapping of PCI/USB devices.
- Various improvements have been made to cloud-init options, providing enhanced flexibility and customization for virtual guest configurations.
HA Manager Improvements in Proxmox VE 8.0
The HA Manager in Proxmox VE 8.0 has undergone stability improvements, particularly in manual maintenance mode. The following enhancements have been implemented:
- A fix has been implemented to prevent the loss of a maintenance mode request if the node rebooted is the active Cluster Resource Manager (CRM) at the moment.
- Safeguards have been implemented to prevent a node in maintenance mode from exiting prematurely or self-fencing if a shutdown policy other than’migrate’ is in place.
- The ha-rebalance-on-start utility has been enhanced to ignore running services, preventing unnecessary shutdowns and migrations..
Improved Cluster Management in Proxmox VE 8
Managing Proxmox VE clusters has never been easier with the following improvements:
The rsync invocation used when joining nodes via ssh has been adapted to align with changes in rsync CLI argument parsing in Bookworm. This ensures seamless node joining, providing a more efficient and effective management experience.
Backup and Restore Improvements in Proxmox VE 8.0
Proxmox VE 8.0 brings performance improvements to backup processes and enhances the backup and restore experience:
- The performance of zstd backups on fast disks has been improved by removing the –rsyncable flag during invocation, leading to faster backup operations and reduced data protection time.
- The “storing login ticket failed” error message, which caused confusion during backups to Proxmox Backup Server, has been suppressed to avoid unnecessary confusion.
- During web interface restores, VM/CT name validation now occurs on the client-side before API requests, helping to identify invalid names at an early stage.
- Backup sorting in the web UI is now based on date, with the addition of the VMID as an extra column for users who prefer the previous sorting by VMID followed by date.
- An issue where the backup job editor window did not always display the selected guests has been resolved.
- The web UI now allows adjustment of the fs-freeze-on-backup option of the QEMU guest agent, providing control over whether the filesystem should be frozen for backups.
- The permission model for backup jobs has been improved, requiring the Datastore.Allocate privilege on the target storage for backup job edits and root privileges for editing backup jobs with dumpdir.
- The description of the ionice setting has been clarified for better understanding.
ACL System Improvements in Proxmox VE 8
Proxmox VE’s ACL system has received several notable improvements, enhancing performance and usability:
- The ACL computation has been refactored, resulting in a significant performance improvement, particularly in setups with a large number of entries.
- In the GUI, it is now possible to override the remove-vanished settings for a realm when actively syncing it.
- When setting up an LDAP realm, quoted values in LDAP DN attributes are now allowed, providing more flexibility in realm configuration.
Conclusion
Proxmox Virtual Environment (VE) 8.0 represents a major milestone in open-source virtualization software. Built on the solid foundation of Debian Bookworm, this release establishes new standards of stability, making Proxmox VE a trusted solution for complex virtualization requirements in both home labs and production environments. With its integration of KVM and LXC virtualization technologies, Proxmox VE provides a powerful platform for deploying, managing, and monitoring virtual machines and containers.
Proxmox VE 8.0 introduces a range of enhanced features, including an upgraded Linux kernel, updated versions of QEMU, LXC, and ZFS, and improved support for Ceph Server. The addition of an enterprise repository for Ceph further enhances the stability of production systems. Notable improvements in network management, web interface, virtual machine management, high availability, backup and restore processes, and the ACL system contribute to an enhanced user experience and streamlined operations.
As Proxmox VE continues to evolve, it solidifies its position as a leading solution for virtual environments. The active community involvement and open-source nature of Proxmox VE ensure ongoing development and cost-effective virtualization solutions. Proxmox VE 8.0 marks a significant step forward, enabling organizations to leverage the power of virtualization with confidence and efficiency.
FAQs
What are the new features of Proxmox VE 8?
Proxmox VE 8 includes several new features, including:
- Enhanced web interface: The web interface has been redesigned to be more user-friendly and intuitive.
- Improved storage management: Storage management has been improved with the introduction of new features such as thin provisioning and storage quotas.
- Enhanced security features: Security has been enhanced with the introduction of new features such as role-based access control and two-factor authentication.
- Support for new hardware: Proxmox VE 8 now supports a wider range of hardware, including newer generation CPUs and GPUs.
- Improved performance: Performance has been improved across the board, with a particular focus on storage and networking.
What are the system requirements for Proxmox VE 8?
The system requirements for Proxmox VE 8 are as follows:
- CPU: 64-bit x86 or x86-64 processor
- Memory: 1GB RAM
- Disk space: 10GB storage
- Network: 1Gbps Ethernet
How can I upgrade to Proxmox VE 8?
If you are already running Proxmox VE 7, you can upgrade from Proxmox VE 7 to 8.
What are the benefits of upgrading to Proxmox VE 8?
There are several benefits to upgrading to Proxmox VE 8, including:
- Access to new features and functionality
- Improved performance and stability
- Enhanced security
- Support for newer hardware
If I have any questions, where can I get help?
If you have any questions about Proxmox VE 8, you can get help from the following resources:
- Proxmox VE documentation: The Proxmox VE documentation is a comprehensive resource for learning about all aspects of Proxmox VE.
- Proxmox VE forums: The Proxmox VE forums are a great place to ask questions and get help from other Proxmox VE users.
- Proxmox VE support: Proxmox VE offers paid or subscription support if you need help with your installation or configuration.