Proxmox may have killer virtualization tools, but it’s the supporting services developed by genius developers and talented community members that really make it ideal for developers. Proxmox Backup Server is the most popular of these tools and deserves all the love it gets, given its storage-efficient images, remote sync support, and additional recovery features.
However, there is another utility that is often overshadowed by PBS. I’m talking about Proxmox Datacenter Managerwhile it sounds like overkill for simple home labs, it’s another first-party tool that’s a godsend for people with multiple PVE nodes in their arsenal.
Proxmox Datacenter Manager can control independent nodes from a single interface
This is perfect for managing my servers without connecting them
Unlike many of its competitors, Proxmox’s incredibly low system requirements make it an excellent platform for reviving older machines, and I say this as someone who has run this virtualization platform on everything from decade-old laptops and x86 SBCs to Xeon servers. In fact, I currently have several secondary Proxmox nodes set up so that I can keep my primary VMs and LXCs running without having to worry about a failed experience bringing down all my virtual guests. But this adds another problem to the mix.
While Proxmox’s web interface is amazing for managing every aspect of a home server, things started to get messy when we went through a single-node setup. Switching between several independent web interfaces just to manage a specific virtual guest becomes tedious quite quickly. Of course, creating a cluster of nodes is the right solution, but unless you’re sure that quorum will be maintained at all times, it’s a recipe for disaster, especially if you tend to use experimental workstations like I do.
Proxmox Datacenter Manager solves this problem by pairing with every PVE system in my arsenal and providing a centralized UI to manage them. And I’m not just talking about the usual system sizes. PDM allows me to launch virtual guests on my Proxmox servers, take snapshots of them, and even run commands in its own shell. Heck, it can even run shell commands on my hosts and run updates. So I don’t need to cycle between different browser tabs for simple management tasks.
The latest PDM update even added automated installation pipelines for deploying hosts. I tend to create (virtual) PVE hosts for some DevOps and AI (mainly Pi agent harness) experiments, so being able to configure new Proxmox servers without manually changing everything is a real boon for my projects.
It even supports Ceph clusters and Proxmox Backup Server systems
Recent Proxmox Datacenter Manager updates have made this control panel compatible with more Proxmox VE nodes. The full release brought Proxmox Backup Server support to PDM, which allows me to monitor the Datastore statistics of my 3-2-1 snapshot pipeline. I’ve even used PDM to restore my virtual guests from snapshots stored on my Proxmox Backup Server while away from my home lab.
While I can still connect my cluster nodes to Proxmox Datacenter Manager in older versions, the latest update added a single dashboard for monitoring high-availability clusters built with Ceph distributed storage. I’m currently using a ZFS replication setup for 2 nodes (+ 1 Raspberry Pi QDevice), but I’m glad that PDM has added resource tracking provisions for Ceph clusters.
But remote migration is still my favorite aspect of Proxmox Datacenter Manager
It is perfect for moving virtual guests between my primary and secondary nodes
As much as I adore the monitoring, management, and backup tools built into PDM, remote migration is my most trusted application. This is because it’s the easiest way to transfer LXCs and VMs to my home lab arsenal. Sure, I can create vzdump backups and use them to spin up new virtual guests on other nodes, but I have to use a bunch of commands or (SCP client) to move files between sender and receiver nodes.
Removing the Proxmox Backup Server makes things easier, but then I have to add extra memory to my PBS workstation to have enough space to store TBs worth of snapshots every time I want to move particularly large virtual guests between my nodes.
At the same time, PDM can move virtual guests directly between my Proxmox workstations because I configured them as remote systems in the previous user interface. This includes everything from standalone systems to cluster nodes and virtualized PVE setups. I use my secondary home servers to try out any LXC that looks fun, and if it’s something I want for my day-to-day work, I use PDM to run it on the main Proxmox systems I run 24/7.
But PDM Proxmox is not the only useful tool for home labs
In addition to first-party Backup Server and Data Center Manager tools, Proxmox integrates well with several community-created applications. For example, Pulse is a top-notch monitoring software that not only supports Proxmox, but also works well with other Linux distros (and even Windows-based Docker hubs). I’ve also configured Proxmox to send important alerts to my own Gotify instance, while the SSO server Authentik keeps the central Proxmox management that contains my important virtual guests safe from unauthorized access.
