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Proxmox

VMWARE → PROXMOX · MIGRATION

VMware to Proxmox Migration Planned, staged, and supported

ILS Networks plans and executes migrations of enterprise virtualization environments from VMware to Proxmox VE: full assessment of the existing environment, a controlled pilot, a staged cutover with a defined rollback plan — and ongoing support after the move. Operating in Israel since 2009.

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Operating
Since 2009
Support
24/7
Service area
Israel

WHY NOW

The virtualization market has shifted — and enterprises are evaluating VMware alternatives

Since Broadcom's acquisition of VMware, organizations worldwide have faced substantial changes to the licensing model: a shift from perpetual licenses to subscriptions, product consolidation into large bundles, and changes to partner programs. For many organizations, the next license renewal has turned from a technical formality into a budget and strategy decision.

Against that backdrop, Proxmox VE — an open-source virtualization platform built on KVM and LXC — has become one of the most widely evaluated alternatives in the industry: no per-core licensing or mandatory subscription, with built-in clustering, high availability, and live migration.

ILS works with both VMware and Proxmox. Our recommendation is driven by your environment, workloads, and requirements — not by an agenda. Some environments are right to stay on VMware; in others, the move makes clear sense.

HOW WE WORK

How we run a Proxmox migration

  1. 01

    Assessment & mapping

    A full inventory of the environment: virtual machines, storage, networking, backup, licensing, and service dependencies. We identify what is critical, what is sensitive, and what can move first.

  2. 02

    Design & pilot

    Proxmox architecture design — cluster, storage, and networking — followed by a pilot on non-critical workloads. Every stage has a rollback plan defined in advance.

  3. 03

    Staged cutover

    Workloads move in waves, during coordinated maintenance windows, ordered by business priority. Each wave is verified and signed off before the next one begins.

  4. 04

    Validation, docs & support

    Acceptance testing with the systems and their users, connecting the backup platform to the new environment, full documentation — and ongoing 24/7 support after the migration.

BACKUP & REPLICATION

Backup and recovery: VMware vs Proxmox

One of the most material differences in a migration is the backup and disaster-recovery architecture. Here is how each platform approaches it:

Aspect VMware Proxmox VE
Backup Snapshot-based via VADP, typically with Veeam Backup & Replication Proxmox Backup Server (PBS) natively, or Veeam Backup & Replication (official support since v12.2)
Incremental backup Changed Block Tracking (CBT) QEMU dirty-bitmap with PBS
Dedup & backup storage Depends on the backup product and repository Built-in deduplication, compression, and encryption in PBS
Replication vSphere Replication or Veeam Replication (replica VMs at the DR site) Built-in ZFS-based storage replication (zfs send/receive) between cluster nodes, asynchronous and scheduled
Offsite / DR Site Recovery Manager, array-based replication, or Veeam offsite PBS remote sync between sites, alongside ZFS replication for node-level availability

PROOF

We have done this — in a live enterprise environment

ILS engineer and Ariston Group client in front of the server and network rack for the project

Left: Vasili, ILS · Right: Nir Halperin, Chromagen / Ariston

CASE STUDY · ARISTON GROUP

Controlled migration to Proxmox with a centralized security stack

For Ariston Group, ILS led a controlled migration of the virtualization environment from VMware to Proxmox, alongside the deployment of a Sophos-based security infrastructure. Branch sites were connected using Sophos RED, bringing every location under a single, centrally managed security policy. The migration was executed as a staged, planned infrastructure change.

Virtualization
VMware to Proxmox migration
Security
Sophos infrastructure
Branch connectivity
Sophos RED
  • Proxmox
  • VMware
  • Sophos
  • Sophos RED

ILS Networks has been building and operating enterprise IT infrastructure in Israel since 2009, with 24/7 support.

Proxmox migration assessment

Four questions about your current environment, and we come back with a written assessment.

What are you running today?
How many virtual machines?
How many physical hosts?
What storage?

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FAQ

Proxmox migration — frequently asked questions

Is Proxmox ready for enterprise production use?

Yes. Proxmox VE is a mature, open-source virtualization platform built on KVM and LXC, with enterprise capabilities built in: server clustering, high availability (HA), live migration, flexible storage management, and integrated backup. It runs in production at many organizations worldwide, and ILS Networks deploys and supports it in enterprise environments in Israel.

How does a VMware to Proxmox migration work?

At ILS Networks, a VMware to Proxmox migration is a staged, four-phase process: assessment and mapping of the existing environment (VMs, storage, networking, backup, and dependencies), architecture design plus a pilot on non-critical workloads, a staged cutover of workloads during coordinated maintenance windows, and finally acceptance testing, documentation, and backup integration. Every phase has a rollback plan defined in advance.

Does the migration require downtime?

The amount of downtime depends on the specific environment and workloads. The ILS method is designed to minimize impact: workloads move in waves, each wave runs in a maintenance window agreed with the organization in advance, critical systems are scheduled separately, and every phase has a rollback plan. We do not promise "zero downtime" — we plan so that any downtime is defined, short, and predictable.

Does ILS Networks work with enterprises in Israel?

Yes. ILS Networks is an Israeli IT infrastructure company operating since 2009, serving organizations across Israel with 24/7 support. Projects include a controlled VMware to Proxmox migration for Ariston Group, alongside a Sophos-based security infrastructure and branch connectivity over Sophos RED.

How long has ILS been doing virtualization work?

ILS Networks has been working in IT infrastructure since 2009. The team works day to day with the major virtualization platforms — VMware, Proxmox, and Hyper-V — as well as storage, networking, security, and backup infrastructure (including Veeam), so a migration is planned in the context of the whole environment, not as an isolated project.

Which workloads and hypervisors are covered?

Migrations cover Windows and Linux virtual machines — application servers, databases, Active Directory, file servers, and more — from VMware or Hyper-V sources to Proxmox VE. The process also covers the surrounding layers: NAS/SAN storage, networking and firewalls, the backup platform, and the required adjustments in the working environment. Complex or sensitive environments get individually tailored planning.

How does backup change when migrating from VMware to Proxmox?

In a VMware to Proxmox migration, the backup architecture is redesigned. On Proxmox you can use Proxmox Backup Server (PBS) — native, deduplicated, incremental, encrypted backups — or keep Veeam Backup & Replication, which officially supports Proxmox VE from v12.2. ILS defines the backup policy, connects it to the new environment, and validates recovery before the migration is complete.

How do replication and disaster recovery work on Proxmox?

Proxmox VE has built-in ZFS-based storage replication (zfs send/receive) between cluster nodes — asynchronous and scheduled — for local availability. For cross-site disaster recovery, PBS remote sync between backup servers and offsite copies are used. ILS designs the combination around the organization's RPO/RTO objectives.