What is our primary use case?
My company uses Proxmox VE for VDI, so we basically use it for Windows VDI, and a few of our Linux servers run on it.
How has it helped my organization?
My company has benefited from the use of Proxmox VE since it has helped us reduce our costs. Earlier in my company, we were using VMware. My organization's costs related to operations were on the higher side when we were using VMware, especially when it came to areas related to management and updates. With VMware, you need to have an active subscription to run a few basic VMs and other stuff, but on Proxmox VE, you don't need to pay for any overhead costs. You only need to pay for support from Proxmox VE, and otherwise, it is a completely free solution.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature of the solution stems from the fact that my company gets to use the open-source version of the product while also getting better features like clustering and redundancy. Compared to the other products in the market, Proxmox VE has an easier setup phase and can be easily managed.
What needs improvement?
Proxmox VE doesn't offer a good interface for monitoring. From an improvement perspective, Proxmox VE can offer a better interface for monitoring. Other products like Nutanix offer better monitoring capabilities than Proxmox VE. Proxmox VE doesn't have any other product integrated with it for storage. My company has to look for products from other vendors to take care of the storage part in Proxmox VE. Proxmox can offer its users a storage solution integrated with Proxmox VE.
Feature-wise, the console was the only place where my company saw an issue with Proxmox VE. The console provided by Proxmox VE is not much of a console meant for virtual machines. With Proxmox VE, once you have deployed the virtual machines, you realize that the initial console is not very good, because of which the graphics may seem boring. My company also finds many compatibility issues with the tools you need to install for the virtual machines to work in Proxmox VE, like the drivers and other stuff. My company has to look into many logs and other sources to resolve the compatibility issues related to Proxmox VE. In Proxmox VE, my company installs ISO when the setup phase of a virtual machine is carried out. One of the problems my company faced with Proxmox VE was installing a server with MySQL since it didn't function as an out-of-the-box product, because of which we had to shut down the machine and go through a configuration process. The default processor provided by Proxmox doesn't work.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Proxmox VE for a year.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is a stable solution. My company does face some performance-related issues with Proxmox VE, but I feel that such issues are mostly related to hardware and not the solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
My company hasn't used the scalability options provided by the solution because our hardware is currently fixed. My company operates on an on-premises model, and I don't know how we can avail of the scalability options if we plan to move to a higher version of the hardware.
My company has only two servers running for Proxmox, but we have about a hundred VDIs or virtual machines that run on Proxmox.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have experience with VMware. We had VMware in our company, which is only for service and not for the VDI part. We did not continue with VMware in our company because it was not an open-source platform. My company mostly prefers to stay on open-source platforms over paid tools.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup of Proxmox VE was very easy. With Proxmox VE, the installation, clustering, and configuration parts are easy.
The solution is deployed on an on-premises model. My company plans to deploy the solution on the cloud in the future.
For the deployment process of Proxmox VE, since my company migrated from VMware to Proxmox VE, we rely on our own hardware. The deployment process didn't require much effort. In our company, we were able to handle the workload related to the deployment process easily.
The migration process from VMware to Proxmox VE was completed in a period of 15 to 20 days. In my company, we had very little workload on VMware. To work on the VDI part in Proxmox VE, my company had to do a fresh setup, meaning we had to start from scratch since we weren't using it with VMware. After looking at the solutions available in the market, my company decided to go ahead with Proxmox VE.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It is an open-source platform.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
As a part of my company's evaluation process, we tested VMware.
What other advice do I have?
The solution's maintenance part was very easy.
I recommend Proxmox VE to others considering the online community support and because it is available as an open-source product.
I rate the overall tool an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.