The Best Free Alternative to Proxmox in 2024

What is Proxmox

Proxmox Virtual Environment, or Proxmox VE, is a powerful, open-source platform that combines two virtualization technologies, KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) for virtual machines (VMs) and LXC (Linux Containers) for lightweight containerization. Proxmox provides a web-based interface that simplifies the management of VMs, containers, storage, and networking. It also offers features like live migration, backup and restore, and high availability, making it a versatile choice for you.

Factors to consider when selecting an alternative to Proxmox

When contemplating a switch from Proxmox to an alternative solution, several critical factors should be considered:

❃Performance and Scalability: Ensure that the alternative platform can handle the workload and scale to meet your organization's growing needs. Assess factors like CPU and RAM utilization and evaluate how the platform manages resource allocation.

❃Ease of Use and User Interface: The user interface plays a crucial role in daily management tasks. Check if the alternative provides an intuitive, user-friendly interface that suits your team's preferences and experience.

❃Supported Virtualization Technologies: Different alternatives may support various virtualization technologies. Make sure the platform aligns with your requirements, whether you need support for KVM, Xen, VirtualBox, or others.

❃High Availability and Clustering: If your organization requires high availability and clustering, verify that the alternative offers robust solutions in this regard.

Best alternative to Proxmox

The best and free alternative to Proxmox depends on your specific requirements and preferences. Several server virtualization and container management platforms are strong contenders, each with its own set of features and strengths. Here are a few notable alternatives to Proxmox:

⚘ VMware vSphere

Key Features: VMware vSphere is a leading commercial virtualization platform known for its robust features, scalability, and reliability. It includes features like VMotion for live VM migration, High Availability (HA), and Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS).

Pros:
● Enterprise-grade features.
● Strong vendor support and ecosystem.
● Excellent performance and scalability.
Cons:
● Licensing costs can be higher for some organizations.

⚘ Microsoft Hyper-V

Key Features: Microsoft Hyper-V is Microsoft's virtualization solution that integrates well with Windows environments. It includes features like live migration, replication, and Hyper-V Manager for administration.

Pros:
● Seamless integration with Windows Server environments.
● Strong security features.
● Competitive pricing.
Cons:
● May not be as feature-rich as some alternatives for mixed OS environments.

Professional software to protect your VMware or Hyper-V environment

AOMEI Cyber Backup is designed with the primary objective of safeguarding your critical data in VMware or Hyper-V environments. Its user-friendly interface ensures that even those with limited IT expertise can efficiently manage their backup and recovery tasks.

AOMEI Cyber Backup offers not only the flexibility to create backups but also the confidence that you can recover your data swiftly in the event of data loss or system failures. Its support for multiple backup methods and automated scheduling empowers IT professionals to tailor their backup strategies to their organization's specific requirements.

The ability to perform bare-metal recovery and universal restore adds a layer of security, offering the following benefits for you:

❖Agentless Backup: Create complete and independent image-level backup for VMware ESXi and Hyper-V VMs without installing any agent.
❖Multiple VM Backup: Batch backup large numbers of VMs managed by vCenter Server, or multiple VMs on a standalone ESXi host.
❖Multiple Storage Destinations: Backup to a local drive, or network destinations like NAS.
❖Automated Execution: Create backup schedules to automate backups daily, weekly, or monthly.
❖Restore Entire VM: Restore instant available VMs from any selected restore points to an original or new location.

It supports VMware ESXi (6.0 and above), and Hyper-V (in Windows 8/8.1/10/11, Windows Server/Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2012 R2 and later versions) from a centralized console and click the button below to try the 30-day free trial:

*You can choose to install this VM backup software on either Windows or Linux system.

Steps to back up and restore your VMware VMs

Next, I will demonstrate how to backup and restore VMware virtual machines with AOMEI Cyber Backup for example. You can take similar steps in Hyper-V.

Step 1. Access to AOMEI Cyber Backup web client, select Source Device, click VMware >> +Add VMware Device >> Add vCenter or Standalone ESXi. And then click … to Confirm.

Step 2. Create Backup Task: Navigate to Backup Task >> Create New Task. Then select VMware ESXi Backup for Backup Type. After that, set the Task Name, Device, Target, Schedule and Cleanup according to your need.

• Task Name: Specify your task name as you want.
• Device Type: Select the VM on the host that you want to back up.
• Target storage: Select to back up to a local path or a network path.
• Schedule Type: Choose to perform full backup/differential backup/incremental backup, and automate execution daily/weekly/monthly.
• Backup Cleanup (Free Trial): Set up a retention policy to remove old backup files automatically, which saves your costs and efforts.
• Email Notification (Free Trial): Restore to new location: You can choose to restore the backup from any history version, and create an identical new VM in the same or another datastore/host.

Step 3. Click Start Backup and choose Add the schedule and start backup now or Add the schedule only.

Step 4. After your backup processes are finished, it becomes straightforward to recover whole virtual machines to an alternative location in the event of a disaster. You can access the Start Restore feature, where you have the option to modify the restoration destination, allowing you to either create a new VM or restore virtual machines to a different datastore or host.

• Restore to new location (Free Trial): You can choose to restore the backup from any history version, and create an identical new VM in the same or another datastore/host.

Conclusion

In conclusion, while Proxmox excels in virtualization and container management, it may not offer the advanced backup and recovery features required to protect VMware and Hyper-V environments adequately.

AOMEI Cyber Backup emerges as the ideal alternative for this purpose. With its comprehensive feature set, user-friendly interface, and budget-friendly options, it is a powerful ally for those seeking to safeguard their virtualized environments. When it comes to protecting your VMware or Hyper-V setup, AOMEI Cyber Backup is the professional software you can rely on.