Proxmox & KVM Virtualisation

On-Premises & Private Cloud Virtualisation

Not everything belongs in the public cloud. Proxmox and KVM give you the same clustering, high availability, and self-service provisioning you'd expect from a public cloud platform - running entirely on hardware you own.

Openbyte designs and manages private cloud environments built on Linux-based open-source hypervisors - Proxmox Virtual Environment and raw KVM - for businesses in Johannesburg, Cape Town, and across South Africa. Whether you're consolidating ageing physical servers, building a resilient multi-node cluster, or bridging private infrastructure with public cloud platforms, we handle the full deployment lifecycle from initial hardware sizing through to ongoing management.

Proxmox VE KVM Hypervisor High Availability Ceph & Shared Storage Hybrid Cloud Bridging

Proxmox and KVM Virtualisation Architecture

Click to expand - Proxmox & KVM virtualisation architecture

What We Deploy & Manage

From a single Proxmox node to a fully clustered, high-availability private cloud - Openbyte handles the design, deployment, and ongoing management.

Proxmox VE

Full Proxmox Virtual Environment setup - nodes, clusters, storage pools, HA, and web-based management for VMs and LXC containers.

KVM hypervisor

Kernel-based Virtual Machine deployments on Linux - performant, open-source virtualisation with libvirt and virt-manager management.

Cluster & HA setup

High-availability Proxmox clusters with shared storage (Ceph, NFS, iSCSI) and automatic VM failover across nodes.

Hybrid cloud bridging

Connect private Proxmox/KVM environments to public cloud platforms via VPN or dedicated links for a true hybrid architecture.

Backup & snapshots

Automated VM backups, snapshot scheduling, and off-site replication using Proxmox Backup Server and open-source tooling.

Template & image management

Standardised VM templates and cloud-init images for fast, repeatable provisioning across your private cloud environment.

Private Cloud vs Public Cloud

Understanding the trade-offs helps you decide what belongs on your own hardware and what belongs in the public cloud.

	Public cloud	Proxmox / KVM private cloud
Ongoing cost	Usage-based, scales with demand	Fixed hardware cost, no per-VM billing
Data residency	Depends on provider region	Fully on your premises
Licensing	Vendor-dependent	Open source, no per-core fees
Load shedding resilience	Provider-managed	Your UPS/generator, your control
Scalability	Near-instant, elastic	Bound by physical hardware capacity
Global reach	Multi-region by default	Single site unless bridged to public cloud
Best for	Variable or bursty workloads	Predictable workloads, compliance-sensitive data

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about Proxmox and KVM virtualisation from South African businesses.

What is the difference between Proxmox and KVM?

KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) is the underlying open-source hypervisor built into the Linux kernel. Proxmox VE is a complete virtualisation management platform built on top of KVM - adding a web interface, clustering, storage management, backups, and high availability. Most businesses run Proxmox because it packages KVM with everything needed to manage it at scale.

Is Proxmox a good alternative to VMware?

Yes. Proxmox VE provides the clustering, high availability, and centralised management that VMware vSphere offers, without per-core or per-socket licensing costs. For South African businesses affected by VMware's recent licensing changes under Broadcom, Proxmox is a well-established, production-ready open-source alternative.

Do you help businesses migrate away from VMware to Proxmox?

Yes. With Broadcom's VMware licensing changes driving up costs for many South African businesses, we regularly migrate existing VMware vSphere environments to Proxmox VE - including VM conversion, network and storage reconfiguration, and a phased cutover to minimise downtime. We handle the full migration so you can move off VMware without disrupting production workloads.

Can we run both VMs and containers on the same Proxmox cluster?

Yes. Proxmox natively supports both full KVM virtual machines and lightweight LXC containers on the same nodes, letting you choose the right isolation level per workload without managing separate platforms.

How does high availability work in a Proxmox cluster?

Proxmox HA clusters use shared storage - Ceph, NFS, or iSCSI - so that if a node fails, affected virtual machines automatically restart on a healthy node with minimal downtime. Openbyte designs and configures this shared storage layer as part of every HA deployment.

Can our private Proxmox environment connect to public cloud services?

Yes. We commonly bridge private Proxmox/KVM environments to public cloud platforms via VPN or dedicated links, giving you a true hybrid architecture - keeping sensitive or predictable workloads on-premises while bursting to public cloud when needed.

Do you provide ongoing support after the Proxmox cluster is deployed?

Yes. We offer monthly SLA contracts covering monitoring, patching, backup verification, and capacity planning for Proxmox and KVM environments - supporting businesses across Johannesburg, Cape Town, and remotely nationwide.