--- /dev/null
+Introduction
+============
+
+{pve} is a platform to run virtual machines and containers. It is
+based on Debian Linux, and completely open source. For maximum
+flexibility, we implemented two virtualization technologies -
+Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM) and container-based virtualization
+(LXC).
+
+One main design goal was to make administration as easy as
+possible. You can use {pve} on a single node, or assemble a cluster of
+many nodes. All management task can be done using our web-based
+management interface, and even a novice user can setup and install
+{pve} within minutes.
+
+image::images/pve-software-stack.svg["Proxmox Software Stack",align="center"]
+
+
+Central Management
+------------------
+
+While many people start with a single node, {pve} can scale out to a
+large set of clustered nodes. The cluster stack is fully integrated
+and ships with the default installation.
+
+.Unique Multi-master Design
+
+The integrated web-based management interface gives you a clean
+overview of all your KVM guests and Linux containers and even of your
+whole cluster. You can easily manage your VMs and containers, storage
+or cluster from the GUI. There is no need to install a separate,
+complex, and pricy management server.
+
+.Proxmox Cluster File System (pmxcfs)
+
+Proxmox VE uses the unique Proxmox Cluster file system (pmxcfs), a
+database-driven file system for storing configuration files. This
+enables you to store the configuration of thousands of virtual
+machines. By using corosync, these files are replicated in real time
+on all cluster nodes. The file system stores all data inside a
+persistent database on disk, nonetheless, a copy of the data resides
+in RAM which provides a maximum storage size is 30MB - more than
+enough for thousands of VMs.
+
+Proxmox VE is the only virtualization platform using this unique
+cluster file system.
+
+.Web-based Management Interface
+
+Proxmox VE is simple to use. Management tasks can be done via the
+included web based managment interface - there is no need to install a
+separate management tool or any additional management node with huge
+databases. The multi-master tool allows you to manage your whole
+cluster from any node of your cluster. The central web-based
+management - based on the JavaScript Framework (ExtJS) - empowers
+you to control all functionalities from the GUI and overview history
+and syslogs of each single node. This includes running backup or
+restore jobs, live-migration or HA triggered activities.
+
+.Command Line
+
+For advanced users who are used to the comfort of the Unix shell or
+Windows Powershell, Proxmox VE provides a command line interface to
+manage all the components of your virtual environment. This command
+line interface has intelligent tab completion and full documentation
+in the form of UNIX man pages.
+
+.REST API
+
+Proxmox VE uses a RESTful API. We choose JSON as primary data format,
+and the whole API is formally defined using JSON Schema. This enables
+fast and easy integration for third party management tools like custom
+hosting environments.
+
+.Role-based Administration
+
+You can define granular access for all objects (like VM´s, storages,
+nodes, etc.) by using the role based user- and permission
+management. This allows you to define privileges and helps you to
+control access to objects. This concept is also known as access
+control lists: Each permission specifies a subject (a user or group)
+and a role (set of privileges) on a specific path.
+
+.Authentication Realms
+
+Proxmox VE supports multiple authentication sources like Microsoft
+Active Directory, LDAP, Linux PAM standard authentication or the
+built-in Proxmox VE authentication server.
+
+
+Flexible Storage
+----------------
+
+The Proxmox VE storage model is very flexible. Virtual machine images
+can either be stored on one or several local storages or on shared
+storage like NFS and on SAN. There are no limits, you may configure as
+many storage definitions as you like. You can use all storage
+technologies available for Debian Linux.
+
+One major benefit of storing VMs on shared storage is the ability to
+live-migrate running machines without any downtime, as all nodes in
+the cluster have direct access to VM disk images.
+
+We currently support the following Network storage types:
+
+* LVM Group (network backing with iSCSI targets)
+* iSCSI target
+* NFS Share
+* Ceph RBD
+* Directly use iSCSI LUNs
+* GlusterFS
+
+Local storage types supported are:
+
+* LVM Group (local backing devices like block devices, FC devices, DRBD, etc.)
+* Directory (storage on existing filesystem)
+* ZFS
+
+Integrated Backup and Restore
+-----------------------------
+
+The integrated backup tool (vzdump) creates consistent snapshots of
+running Containers and KVM guests. It basically creates an archive of
+the VM or CT data which includes the VM/CT configuration files.
+
+KVM live backup works for all storage types including VM images on
+NFS, iSCSI LUN, Ceph RBD or Sheepdog. The new backup format is
+optimized for storing VM backups fast and effective (sparse files, out
+of order data, minimized I/O).
+
+High Availability Cluster
+-------------------------
+
+A multi-node Proxmox VE HA Cluster enables the definition of highly
+available virtual servers. The Proxmox VE HA Cluster is based on
+proven Linux HA technologies, providing stable and reliable HA
+services.
+
+Flexible Networking
+-------------------
+
+Proxmox VE uses a bridged networking model. All VMs can share one
+bridge as if virtual network cables from each guest were all plugged
+into the same switch. For connecting VMs to the outside world, bridges
+are attached to physical network cards assigned a TCP/IP
+configuration.
+
+For further flexibility, VLANs (IEEE 802.1q) and network
+bonding/aggregation are possible. In this way it is possible to build
+complex, flexible virtual networks for the Proxmox VE hosts,
+leveraging the full power of the Linux network stack.
+
+Integrated Firewall
+-------------------
+
+The intergrated firewall allows you to filter network packets on
+any VM or Container interface. Common sets of firewall rules can be grouped into 'security groups'.
+
+Why Open Source
+---------------
+
+Proxmox VE uses a Linux kernel and is based on the Debian GNU/Linux
+Distribution. The source code of Proxmox VE is released under the
+http://www.gnu.org/licenses/agpl-3.0.html[GNU Affero General Public
+License, version 3]. This means that you are free to inspect the
+source code at any time or contribute to the project yourself.
+
+At Proxmox we are committed to use open source software whenever
+possible. Using open source software guarantees full access to all
+functionalities - as well as high security and reliability. We think
+that everybody should have the right to access the source code of a
+software to run it, build on it, or submit changes back to the
+project. Everybody is encouraged to contribute while Proxmox ensures
+the product always meets professional quality criteria.
+
+Open source software also helps to keep your costs low and makes your
+core infrastructure independent from a single vendor.
+
+Your benefit with {pve}
+-----------------------
+
+* Open source software
+* No vendor lock-in
+* Linux kernel
+* Fast installation and easy-to-use
+* Web-based management interface
+* REST API
+* Huge active community
+* Low administration costs and simple deployment
+
+Project History
+---------------
+
+The project started in 2007, followed by a first stable version in
+2008. By that time we used OpenVZ for containers, and KVM for virtual
+machines. The clustering features were limited, and the user interface
+was simple (server generated web page).
+
+But we quickly developed new features using the
+http://corosync.github.io/corosync/[Corosync] cluster stack, and the
+introduction of the new Proxmox cluster file system (pmxcfs) was a big
+step forward, because it completely hides the cluster complexity from
+the user. Managing a cluster of 16 nodes is as simple as managing a
+single node.
+
+We also introduced a new REST API, with a complete declarative
+spezification written in JSON-Schema. This enabled other people to
+integrate {pve} into their infrastructur, and made it easy provide
+additional services.
+
+Also, the new REST API made it possible to replace the original user
+interface with a modern HTML5 application using JavaScript. We also
+replaced the old Java based VNC console code with
+https://kanaka.github.io/noVNC/[noVNC]. So you only need a web browser
+to manage your VMs.
+
+The support for various storage types is another big task. Notably,
+{pve} was the first distribution to ship ZFS on Linux by default in
+2014. Another milestone was the ability to run and manage
+http://ceph.com/[Ceph] storage on the hypervisor nodes. Such setups
+are extremely cost effective.
+
+When we started we were among the first companies providing
+commercial support for KVM. The KVM project itself continuously
+evolved, and is now a widely used hypervisor. New features arrives
+with each release. We developed the KVM live backup feature, which
+makes it possible to create snapshot backups on any storage type.
+
+The most notable change with version 4.0 was the move from OpenVZ to
+https://linuxcontainers.org/[LXC]. Containers are now deeply
+integrated, and they can use the same storage and network features
+as virtual machines.
projects / pve-docs.git / commitdiff