24.05.2026
Proxmox VE 9.2 vs VMware: Is It Time for SMEs to Switch?
Proxmox VE 9.2 has been available since May 21, 2026. On paper, it is a minor release. In practice, it matters much more for many...
We install and configure your Proxmox cluster - from hardware provisioning through network and storage to HA failover. With detailed documentation and optional handover to managed operations.
The following are trademarks of their respective owners: Proxmox VE (Proxmox Server Solutions GmbH). WZ-IT is an independent service provider and has no business, partnership, or contractual relationship with these companies. We offer independent migration, installation, hosting, and operations services.
From simple single-node to hyperconverged Ceph cluster.
One server, one PVE installation. Ideal for smaller workloads, dev/staging or as entry point.
High availability cluster with quorum. Automatic failover, live migration, no single point of failure.
Compute and storage on the same nodes. Ceph replicates across all nodes - no external SAN needed.
Structured process with clear milestones - typically 3-10 working days for a complete setup.
BIOS/UEFI setup, IPMI configuration, disk layout. With Hetzner Dedicated: auto-install script. With own hardware: Proxmox ISO boot.
Installation with ZFS RAID-1/10 or LVM. Remove subscription notice, configure repositories, first updates.
Bridge configuration, VLAN tagging, cluster network. Set up storage backend (Ceph, NFS, iSCSI) and define pools.
pvecm create on master node, join additional nodes, verify cluster quorum. Activate HA configuration.
Integrate PBS, define backup jobs (3-2-1 rule), monitoring with Grafana/Prometheus. First test restores.
Complete documentation of configuration, runbooks for standard operations, optional training for your team.
Each provider has its own quirks - network, storage, IPMI. We know them all.
Anyone can install Proxmox in an hour. A setup that is still maintainable three years later comes from the decisions made beforehand. Our baseline follows the official Proxmox documentation recommendations - and the experience from taken-over environments where exactly this was skipped:
The Proxmox docs explicitly discourage consumer SSDs: without power-loss protection, sync writes (ZFS, Ceph, databases) collapse dramatically, and data loss looms on power failure.
For ZFS, the official documentation recommends high-quality ECC memory - otherwise RAM bit errors silently end up in your data. Plus: enough RAM for the ARC (base 2 GiB + 1 GiB per TiB of storage).
For VM workloads, IOPS is what counts. Mirror vdevs (RAID1/RAID10) are the right choice per the docs; RAIDZ costs zvol performance and surprisingly much space through parity and volblocksize.
ZFS and Ceph want to see the disks directly. Hardware RAID controllers underneath are one of the most common causes of creeping storage problems - we use HBA/IT mode.
The cluster heartbeat needs latencies under 5 ms and tolerates no competition from storage or migration traffic. With us, corosync gets its own NIC - plus redundant links (up to 8 supported).
PBS with verify jobs and an offsite copy is part of the setup, not a retrofit. A cluster without a tested restore is not production-ready - no matter how good the rest is.
We regularly take over self-built Proxmox environments into operation - and keep seeing the same patterns. None of these mistakes show on day one. All of them get expensive when the first emergency arrives:
If your environment is already running and some of these points sound familiar: a health check uncovers the risks in a structured way, after which we optionally take over stabilization and operations - without a rebuild.
Proxmox takeoverName hardware, workloads, and requirements for storage, networking, and availability.
24.05.2026
Proxmox VE 9.2 has been available since May 21, 2026. On paper, it is a minor release. In practice, it matters much more for many...
05.05.2026
With Proxmox Backup Server 4.2 (released late April 2026), S3-compatible object storage is officially supported as a backup backend. No more tech preview label, no...
In-depth knowledge from our Proxmox knowledge base.
We build new environments on the current Proxmox VE 9.x (Debian 13) - as of July 2026 that is PVE 9.2. Important for existing environments: Proxmox VE 8 reaches end of life in August 2026. Anyone setting up or migrating now starts directly on the 9.x line and skips the upgrade.
A single-node setup is productive in 1-2 working days. A 3-node HA cluster with Ceph typically takes 5-10 working days - depending on hardware availability, network complexity and data volume for the initial migration.
Single-node setup from €1,500 (fixed price). 3-node HA cluster from €6,500. Hyperconverged with Ceph from €9,500. Hardware on top - we can either use your hardware or procure from Hetzner/Thomas-Krenn/Dell. After an initial call we give a binding fixed price.
With cloud/hosting providers (Hetzner, OVH, IONOS) everything is possible remotely. With on-premise setups a 1-day on-site appointment for hardware connection and IPMI setup is usually needed - after that everything runs remote.
For Hetzner: AX/EX line with AMD EPYC or Intel Xeon, at least 64 GB RAM, NVMe storage. For on-premise: Thomas-Krenn, Dell PowerEdge or Supermicro with IPMI/iDRAC. We validate the configuration before purchase - no margin on hardware sales.
You have three options: (1) Self-operate with our documentation, (2) Managed Service with 24/7 monitoring and a selectable service level, or (3) an hourly retainer for occasional support. You are never locked in.
Yes. We optionally offer admin training (4-8 hours) for your team - from Proxmox basics to Ceph operations. On request we also write runbooks for standard operations like VM provisioning, backup restore or node reboots.
No risk: worst case, you leave with a clearer understanding of your project than before.


“WZ-IT's advice on our Azure migration was technically sound and completely non-binding right from the intro call - we took away a great deal.”
Customer feedback on virtualization, backup, VPN, security and ongoing cluster operations.
Whether a specific IT challenge or just an idea - we look forward to the exchange. In a brief conversation, we'll evaluate together if and how your project fits with WZ-IT.
Timo Wevelsiep & Robin Zins
Managing Directors of WZ-IT
