Proxmox Virtual Environment 8.4 has been released with numerous new features and enhancements. This latest Proxmox VE 8.4 version is based on Debian 12.10 "Bookworm".
Proxmox VE 8.4 introduces live migration for virtual machines using NVIDIA vGPUs and an API for integrating external backup solutions.
Users can now share host directories with virtual guests more efficiently using virtiofs, although this has implications for live migration and snapshots.
The web interface has received various improvements, including a consent banner and enhanced sorting, alongside security hardening.
Proxmox VE 8.4 also ships with updated core components such as QEMU, LXC, ZFS, and Ceph.
Furthermore, the installation process has been refined with stricter password requirements and better error reporting, and support for NVIDIA vGPUs is now officially recognised.
If you're not already familiar, Proxmox VE is a free and open-source platform that lets you manage virtual machines and containers all in one place. It's a powerhouse for home labs and enterprise environments alike.
What's New in Proxmox VE 8.4?
This release is a big one, focusing on making your virtualisation experience even smoother and more powerful.
Here are some of the notable key highlights in Proxmox VE 8.4 version:
1. Live Migration with NVIDIA vGPUs
Picture this: you have a virtual machine using a powerful NVIDIA graphics card (vGPU), and you need to move it to another server without any downtime. Well, with Proxmox VE 8.4, this is now a reality!
Proxmox developers have added live migration support for VMs using mediated devices like NVIDIA vGPUs. This means you can keep your services running while seamlessly moving them between servers in your cluster. It's like performing surgery on a running system – pretty impressive! Just remember, this needs the right hardware and drivers on both servers.
To make working with NVIDIA vGPUs even easier, Proxmox has introduced a new tool called pve-nvidia-vgpu-helper. This handy tool will help you with the initial setup of the NVIDIA vGPU drivers.
Proxmox VE is now also officially a supported platform for NVIDIA vGPU Software starting with version 18.
2. Support for Third-party Backup Solutions
Keeping your data safe is important, right? Proxmox VE 8.4 brings some fantastic improvements to backups.
One of the most significant is the support for external backup providers. Proxmox VE now has an API that allows developers of third-party backup solutions to create plugins that integrate directly with Proxmox.
This means you could see your favourite backup software working seamlessly within the Proxmox VE interface, potentially offering advanced features like fast incremental backups.
They've also made improvements to backups with Proxmox Backup Server, including better change detection and more robust handling of temporary backup images.
Even backing up VM templates to VMA archives now uses the same reliable approach as Proxmox Backup Server.
3. Sharing Files Like a Pro with Virtiofs
Need a fast way to share files between your Proxmox VE host and your virtual machines without the complexities of network shares? Proxmox VE 8.4 introduces virtiofs directory passthrough.
This allows your VMs to directly access files and folders on the host with minimal overhead. This is excellent news for performance, especially for Linux guests which support virtiofs out of the box (Windows guests might need some extra software).
Just keep in mind that VMs using virtiofs can't be live-migrated, and features like snapshots with RAM won't be available.
4. Under the Hood Improvements That Matter
It's not just the big features that make this release great. Proxmox VE 8.4 also includes a plenty of smaller but significant improvements:
- Based on Debian 12.10: It's built on the rock-solid Debian 12.10 "Bookworm", and you get to choose between the latest Linux kernel 6.8.12 as the stable default or opt-in for the even newer 6.14 kernel. You also get updated versions of key components like QEMU 9.2.0 and LXC 6.0.0.
- Smarter Access Control: Managing user access is now more flexible with improvements to OpenID Connect, including better support for groups and the ability to automatically create groups if they don't exist.
- Ceph Updates: If you're using Ceph for distributed storage, Ceph Squid 19.2.1 is now the stable option. Remember that Ceph Quincy 17.2 is now end-of-life, so it's a good time to plan an upgrade. There's also a fix for a potential crashing issue with newly created OSDs in Ceph Squid, so updating is advised.
- Web Interface Enhancements: The web interface (GUI) gets even better with the ability to set a consent banner before login, improved sorting of storage content, and consistent use of the configured proxy for downloading from URLs.
- Networking Refinements: The networking stack sees improvements in the SDN (Software Defined Networking) area, including TLS certificate validation for external IPAM/DNS plugins for enhanced security. If you're using the Netbox IPAM plugin, you might need to make a configuration update.
- Cluster Stability: Improvements to the core Proxmox services (
pveproxyandpvedaemon) include an increased maximum allowed size for POST requests, which is great if you have large configurations. API error handling has also been improved. - Installation Made Easier: The installation process gets some love too, with a stronger minimum root password length (now 8 characters), better feedback during automated installations, and more flexibility in the automated installer answer file.
Important Things to Keep in Mind
As with any major update, there are a few things to be aware of:
- PXE Boot Change: If you're PXE booting virtual machines with OVMF firmware, you'll now need to add a VirtIO RNG device for security reasons.
- "Download from URL" Proxy Behaviour: The way "Download from URL" handles HTTPS connections has changed to always use the configured proxy. This might affect you if you were relying on it bypassing the proxy for internal resources.
- SDN Plugin Updates: Users of external IPAM or DNS plugins might need to update their configurations to avoid TLS certificate verification errors.
Make sure to check the Proxmox VE 8.4 official release notes for a complete list of changes and any potential impact on your setup.
Ready to Upgrade?
Upgrading to Proxmox VE 8.4 should be a smooth process, especially if you're already running a previous 8.x version. You can follow the standard upgrade procedure using apt in the command line.
sudo apt update sudo apt full-upgrade -y
For those coming from Proxmox VE 7.4, a seamless upgrade is also possible. Check our Proxmox upgrade guide for step-by-step instructions.
Just remember to back up your important data before any major system upgrade!
Download Proxmox 8.4
If you prefer fresh installation, you can download the latest version of Proxmox Virtual Environment 8.4 from the following official sources:
- Direct Download: https://www.proxmox.com/en/downloads
- Alternative Download (Enterprise): https://enterprise.proxmox.com/iso/
Once downloaded, create a live bootable USB using tools like Ventoy. We already have documented steps to install the Proxmox standalone version and install Proxmox on top of existing Debian. Check the following guides for more details.
My apologies - both guides are bit out-dated, but I guess the installation steps haven't changed much. I will update these guides as soon as possible.
Conclusion
Proxmox VE 8.4 is a fantastic release packed with features that will make managing your virtual infrastructure even more powerful and flexible. The addition of live migration for vGPU-enabled VMs, the support for VirtioFS and external backup providers are most useful features in this release.
Upgrade your Proxmox VE server today and enjoy all the new features!
