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Proxmox VE is a free and open-source virtualization platform built on Debian. It supports KVM virtual machines, LXC containers, ZFS storage, clustering, backups, live migration, and high-availability features. For home labs, the big advantage is flexibility. You can run a Windows VM, a Linux server, Home Assistant, Docker, Pi-hole, Plex, Jellyfin, TrueNAS, or even pfSense on the same physical system. For small businesses or more advanced users, Proxmox can scale into multi-node clusters with shared storage and centralized management. The main tradeoff is that Proxmox is infrastructure software

If you’re still comparing virtualization platforms, these guides are the best place to start: Proxmox vs ESXi Proxmox vs KVM Proxmox vs Hyper-V XCP-ng vs Proxmox Unraid vs Proxmox if you’re deciding between a NAS-focused OS and a hypervisor In general, I’d choose Proxmox if your main goal is virtualization. I’d choose Unraid or TrueNAS if your main goal is NAS storage, and virtualization is secondary. Proxmox can do storage, and NAS operating systems can run VMs, but picking the tool that matches your main use case usually leads to a better setup.

There are a lot of places you can run Docker, and I’ve run it just about everywhere. The “best” option depends on what hardware or platform you already use. How to Configure Docker in Proxmox How to Use Docker on a Synology NAS How to Use Docker on TrueNAS Scale How to Use Docker on OpenMediaVault How to Install Docker and Portainer on Ubuntu How to Install Docker and Portainer on Debian For most people using Proxmox, I like running Docker inside a Linux VM. You get the benefits of Proxmox snapshots, backups, and VM isolation, while still using Docker Compose for the actual applications.

Docker containers are portable, lightweight, and self-contained. Instead of installing every application directly on the host operating system, you run each service inside its own container with its own configuration, ports, and persistent storage. The biggest advantage is portability. If you have your Docker Compose file and the data stored in your volumes or bind mounts, you can usually move the container to a different server without rebuilding everything from scratch. That is why I like Docker so much for home labs. You can run a lot of services without creating a full virtual machine for