Moving to Proxmox: Why It Matters and How We Do It
by Vladimir Menshikov
Why Teams Keep Leaving VMware
Broadcom’s VMware licensing changes pushed a lot of companies to look again at what they actually pay for. Renewals went up. The product set got less flexible. Keeping the same VMs started to cost more than running them.
Proxmox VE is where most companies look. It gives you KVM virtual machines, LXC containers, clustering, high availability, and backups in one platform. We have done this migration more than once. It is not magic. It is a short, repeatable process if you prepare.
What Makes the Move Worth the Effort
Cost starts the discussion. Control finishes it.
You can buy Proxmox support if you want it. You do not need a new license tier just to use HA, backups, or live migration. Windows and Linux VMs can sit next to containers on the same cluster. For many mid-size environments, that is the whole point.
How We Run a Migration
We do not move everything on day one. We set up the new side first, move a low-risk VM, then follow a short checklist for the rest.
Prepare the landing zone and the source VMs
Stand up Proxmox on hardware that can hold the first wave of disks and RAM. Configure networking and storage before you import anything. ZFS or LVM-thin both work. Pick one and stay consistent.
On the VMware side, take a real backup. Remove snapshots. Eject ISO media. Document IP addresses, VLANs, and disk layout. For Windows guests, install VirtIO drivers while the VM is still on ESXi if you can. Uninstall VMware Tools before the first boot on Proxmox, or plan to do it immediately after. Leave the source VM powered off for the import unless you have a specific reason to use live import.
Import, boot, and clean up the guest
The usual path now is the built-in ESXi import. In Proxmox, add the ESXi host as storage under Datacenter, then Storage, then Add, then ESXi. Point it at the host, not vCenter, if you want the import to run faster. Pick the VM, choose target storage, and import. qcow2 is a safe default when you want snapshots. raw is fine on ZFS when you want simpler disks.
After import, boot the guest on Proxmox with the original VM still off. Check that it starts, that the network comes up, and that the application still answers. Then switch the disk controller toward VirtIO SCSI and the NIC toward VirtIO. Install the QEMU Guest Agent. Fix any Windows NIC that shows up as new hardware and wants a new IP. Only then retire the old VM.
What You Gain
Less license pressure: You are not paying VMware prices just to keep existing VMs
One platform to operate: VMs, containers, backups, and HA in the same place
A checklist you can reuse: The second VM is easier than the first
A safe first step: Move a lab box or file server before the business systems
Start Small, Then Repeat
Do not schedule a full cutover on the first weekend. Import one VM, fix drivers and network, and write down what broke.
If a VMware renewal is forcing the question, Proxmox is ready for production. The import is the easy part. Preparation and guest cleanup are the parts that decide whether the move stays calm.