Proxmox Virtual Environment 8.4 has arrived, delivering practical enhancements to make your private cloud simpler, more flexible, and secure. This update brings several improvements to streamline daily tasks and support demanding workloads.
Live GPU Migration for Uninterrupted Operations
Version 8.4 introduces live migration support for certain devices, notably NVIDIA vGPUs. If your business relies on GPU-intensive applications like AI, CAD, or virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI), you can now migrate active GPU-powered virtual machines between hosts without any downtime. Though currently available only for NVIDIA GPUs, this advancement ensures smoother operations during maintenance or upgrades.
Promising 3rd Party Backup Integrations
The update adds new API support for external backup providers. Once backup providers get onboard, you’ll be able to seamlessly integrate your preferred backup solutions directly into Proxmox’s backup system.
Enhanced File Sharing Performance with Virtiofs
Virtiofs is now supported, enabling direct sharing of directories between Proxmox hosts and virtual machines. This can significantly boost performance for applications needing frequent and fast file access, such as development or data analytics. Linux VMs support virtiofs out of the box, while Windows guests require additional configuration. Keep in mind that virtiofs does not yet support live migrations or RAM snapshots… yet.
Improved Security & Compliance
Proxmox VE 8.4 provides initial support for AMD SEV-SNP (Secure Nested Paging), enhancing security by better isolating virtual machines from their host environments. Although EFI disks aren’t compatible with this setup, the added security layer is beneficial if protecting sensitive workloads is a priority.
On the usability front, the update brings several practical improvements to the Proxmox GUI, including consent banners for compliance, natural sorting of storage content, and clearer action confirmations. These usability improvements streamline administrative tasks, making daily management more efficient.
Additional practical updates include mandatory TLS certificate validation for IP Address Management (IPAM) and DNS integrations, enhancing security by addressing potential vulnerabilities in external integrations. While necessary, these updates are part of ongoing security best practices rather than groundbreaking changes.
Improved Ceph
Businesses using Ceph storage will want to update to Squid (19.2.1), which addresses earlier issues with OSD stability. Ensuring your storage cluster is updated will help maintain reliability and performance.
Optimised Resource Management
Resource management has also been improved, with more configurable memory ballooning targets and refined snapshot handling. These enhancements enable businesses to better optimise their resources, potentially reducing costs and improving system responsiveness.
Proxmox VE 8.4 introduces valuable, practical enhancements to improve usability, operational efficiency, and system security, making it a beneficial upgrade for your private cloud.
Ready to upgrade or explore Proxmox VE 8.4? Reach out today to learn how these enhancements can specifically benefit your infrastructure and operations.
