Proxmox Sandbox Cluster and VMware Migration Validation
🛡 Overview Link to heading
This project consisted in building an isolated Proxmox cluster used as a controlled test environment to validate a future production migration away from VMware vSphere. The sandbox enabled extensive experimentation on virtualization stability, Ceph storage, backup and restore operations, and automation practices, while ensuring no impact on existing infrastructure. It served as a pre-production laboratory to reduce technical uncertainty and prepare a safe transition from VMware to Proxmox.
🧩 Technology Evaluation Scope Link to heading
| Evaluation Topic | Details |
|---|---|
| Proxmox for production workloads | Validation of stability, performance and operational maturity |
| Ceph as shared storage | Assessment of resilience, replication, expansion and maintenance procedures |
| VMware to Proxmox migration | End-to-end validation of VM conversion and migration workflows |
| Automation workflows | Usage of Terraform and Ansible for reproducible VM provisioning |
| Backup and disaster recovery | Testing of Proxmox Backup Server as an alternative to Veeam |
⚙️ Architecture & Methodology Link to heading
The sandbox was built as an isolated Proxmox cluster with Ceph as replicated shared storage and Proxmox Backup Server providing backup and restore operations. Virtual machines were deployed using Terraform and configured via Ansible, demonstrating infrastructure-as-code practices and reproducible provisioning. Multiple VMware WM were imported and exercised in order to validate compatibility, migration time, performance characteristics and operational processes.
🚀 Results & Outcomes Link to heading
The project confirmed the technical viability of Proxmox VE as a production-ready virtualization platform, validated Ceph as a reliable distributed storage solution and demonstrated that Proxmox Backup Server could replace Veeam for backup and disaster recovery. The evaluation also confirmed the efficiency of Terraform and Ansible for automated provisioning in the new environment. The migration tests provided a documented workflow and resulted in the planning of a full production migration from VMware to Proxmox.