# Migrating Homelab from VMware ESXi to Proxmox: A New Era


## Introduction

For years, VMware ESXi was the foundation of my homelab — stable, dependable, and familiar. Then Broadcom acquired VMware, and the writing was on the wall.

The free ESXi license disappeared. Support for consumer-grade hardware like MiniPCs and NUCs became problematic. The platform that had "just worked" for years was now actively working against the homelab use case.

Enter **Proxmox** — an open-source virtualization platform built on Debian Linux, offering KVM, LXC, ZFS, and native clustering without a licensing fee.

## Why I Moved from ESXi to Proxmox

### 1. Cost and Licensing

ESXi's free license is gone post-Broadcom acquisition. Proxmox is completely open-source — the optional paid subscription covers enterprise support, not features.

### 2. Hardware Compatibility

ESXi increasingly rejects consumer and prosumer hardware. Proxmox, being Debian-based, works out of the box on NUCs, MiniPCs, and anything Linux supports.

### 3. Customization

ESXi previously required ESXi-Customizer to inject missing drivers — a tool now unsupported. Proxmox's Linux foundation means standard driver support, modular and maintainable.

### 4. Open Ecosystem

ZFS, LXC containers, KVM/QEMU VMs, clustering, high availability — all included, all free, all documented.

## The Migration Approach: How I Did It

### Step 0 — Hardware Comparison

![Hardware comparison](/images/migrating-homelab-from-vmware-esxi-to-proxmox-a-new-era/Screenshot-2025-04-28-at-21.13.27.png)

My original setup was an Intel NUC J5005 from 2019. Good machine, but the migration was an opportunity to upgrade. I picked up two mini PCs at ~$150 each:

- Intel N95-based system ($100)
- AMD Ryzen 5500U-based system ($150)

Both support 32GB RAM. The Ryzen goes up to 64GB. Same power envelope, significantly more performance.

### Step 1 — Backup Everything

All VMs were backed up from ESXi using [ghettovcb](https://github.com/lamw/ghettovcb), a reliable free backup utility for VMware environments. No VM left behind.

### Step 2 — Prepare the New Environment

Installed Proxmox on both machines, then configured:

- Networking (bridges, VLANs)
- Storage (ZFS pool on the Ryzen node)
- Users and permissions
- Monitoring stack (Prometheus + Grafana)

![Proxmox UI](/images/migrating-homelab-from-vmware-esxi-to-proxmox-a-new-era/Screenshot-2025-04-28-at-21.19.42.png)

### Step 3 — Convert and Import VMs

ESXi VMs don't transfer directly. Options:

- Export as OVF/OVA → import (slow but universal)
- Use Proxmox's [migration tools](https://pve.proxmox.com/wiki/Migrate_to_Proxmox_VE) (recommended)
- Recreate config manually and attach converted disks

I went with Proxmox's built-in migration tooling for most VMs.

![VM import in progress](/images/migrating-homelab-from-vmware-esxi-to-proxmox-a-new-era/Screenshot-2025-04-28-at-21.20.22.png)

### Step 4 — Testing

Most issues were CentOS VMs with VMware Tools baked into the kernel. They panicked on boot under KVM. Fix: regenerate initramfs or boot the latest kernel without VMware Tools.

![VM running on Proxmox](/images/migrating-homelab-from-vmware-esxi-to-proxmox-a-new-era/Screenshot-2025-04-28-at-21.22.39.png)

## Day-to-Day Differences: ESXi vs Proxmox

| Feature | VMware ESXi | Proxmox VE |
|---------|------------|-----------|
| **UI** | Polished proprietary | Functional web-based |
| **Storage** | VMFS datastores | ZFS, Ceph, LVM, directory |
| **Backup** | Requires add-ons (Veeam etc.) | Built-in backup and restore |
| **Snapshots** | Basic, no scheduling (free) | Scheduled ZFS-native snapshots |
| **Cluster Setup** | Requires vCenter (paid) | Built-in, CLI-based |
| **Container Support** | None | Native LXC management |
| **Networking** | Standard vSwitches | Linux bridges, OVS optional |
| **Monitoring** | Basic | Built-in metrics + Grafana |
| **Community** | Strong, corporate-focused | Growing, highly active |

## Things You Might Miss from VMware (At First)

- vSphere UI polish and refinement — Proxmox's UI is functional but not beautiful
- Enterprise hardware stability guarantees
- Live migration simplicity (Proxmox clustering is powerful once configured, but the learning curve is real)

## Bonus: Things I Gained with Proxmox

- **LXC containers:** migrated several workloads from VMs to containers, cutting resource usage dramatically
- **Native backup:** no more Veeam, no more workarounds — backup to local or remote storage out of the box
- **Direct Linux access:** SSH into the hypervisor, install packages, write cron jobs, debug directly
- **No licensing overhead:** update freely, no activation servers, no compliance checks

## Current Installation

![Grafana dashboard showing Proxmox metrics](/images/migrating-homelab-from-vmware-esxi-to-proxmox-a-new-era/screencapture-services-k8s-it-grafana-d-kxQQuHRZks-proxmox-2025-04-28-21_23_50.png)

Both nodes running, monitored via Grafana. The Ryzen handles compute-heavy VMs. The N95 runs containers and lightweight services.

![Node overview](/images/migrating-homelab-from-vmware-esxi-to-proxmox-a-new-era/Screenshot-2025-04-28-at-21.33.13.png)

The migration restored flexibility that ESXi had slowly taken away. ZFS, LXC, clustering — all free, all working.

If you're on the fence: spin up a Proxmox node, migrate a test VM, and feel the difference.