Apache CloudStack vs Proxmox VE

Apache CloudStack is free, open-source software for deploying and managing networks of virtual machines as a highly available, scalable IaaS cloud platform. Organizations can use it to build public, private, or hybrid clouds. Its features include compute orchestration, network services, account management, resource accounting, a web interface, and an open API. Operators can manage clouds through a web UI, command-line tools, or REST API, with optional AWS EC2- and S3-compatible APIs. Supported hypervisors include XenServer or XCP, KVM, Hyper-V, and VMware ESXi with vSphere. Storage options include iSCSI, NFS, Ceph RBD with KVM, volume encryption, snapshots, and storage tiering. Authentication options include OAuth2 single sign-on, two-factor authentication, TOTP, SAML, and LDAP. The project says CloudStack can manage tens of thousands of physical servers across geographically distributed data centers. Long Term Support releases receive bug and security fixes for 18 months after the main release. Operators remain responsible for protections such as monitoring, host security, and defenses against DoS and brute-force attacks.

Proxmox VE is an open-source, self-hosted server virtualization platform that manages KVM virtual machines and Linux Containers from an integrated web interface. A bare-metal installation includes a 64-bit Debian GNU/Linux operating system with a Proxmox kernel; installation uses the selected server and removes existing data on selected disks. Administrators can also manage the system through a command-line interface and REST API. The cluster stack supports multi-node management from any node, with high availability monitoring and automatic action when a VM or container fails. Running VMs can migrate between cluster nodes without noticeable end-user downtime. Storage options include NFS, SMB/CIFS, iSCSI, Ceph, GlusterFS, LVM, ZFS and directory storage. Proxmox Backup Server integration provides incremental encrypted backups, live restore and single-file recovery. The software is free to download under GNU AGPLv3. Paid subscriptions are per occupied physical CPU socket; each cluster server needs coverage at the same subscription level. The maker is Proxmox Server Solutions GmbH, founded in 2005 and headquartered in Vienna, Austria.