Feature Deep Dive

Storage &
Backups

Flexible storage backends with automated backup management. From high-performance NVMe pools to S3-compatible object storage, protect and scale your data with confidence.

Storage Pools

Multi-backend storage management

Attach multiple storage pools to each hypervisor, organize them by class and type, and give every instance the performance tier it needs. QCOW2 and Ceph RBD support with granular I/O controls.

  • Multiple storage pools per hypervisor

    Assign different pools for different workloads on the same physical node. Balance capacity and performance across pools.

  • QCOW2 format support

    Native QCOW2 disk images with thin provisioning, copy-on-write, and snapshot support built into the KVM ecosystem.

  • Storage classes: HDD, SAS, SSD, NVMe

    Classify pools by media type so plans and instances automatically land on the right tier.

  • Per-instance disk management

    Add, resize, and detach virtual disks on the fly. Each instance can have multiple disks across different storage pools.

  • I/O throttling (read/write IOPS and bytes/sec)

    Set precise read and write limits in both IOPS and throughput to prevent noisy neighbors and guarantee performance SLAs.

  • Datastore types for organized storage

    Group storage pools into logical datastores to keep your infrastructure organized as it scales.

NVMe Pool 1.2 TB / 3.8 TB
SSD Pool 5.4 TB / 10 TB
HDD Archive 18 TB / 40 TB
I/O Throttling
Read IOPS
10,000
Write IOPS
8,000
Read MB/s
500
Write MB/s
400
Backup History
Daily Backup
Today, 03:00 AM · 24.6 GB
Completed
Weekly Backup
Feb 23, 02:00 AM · 24.1 GB
Completed
Restoring from backup...
Feb 23 snapshot · 78% complete
Restoring
Monthly Backup
Feb 1, 01:00 AM · 23.8 GB
Retained
Streaming Backups New in v2.2.1

Back up to anywhere

Stream instance backups directly to S3, SFTP, FTP, or any rclone-supported remote — no local staging, no mount point juggling. External snapshots and dirty bitmaps keep running VMs consistent while data flows straight to your destination.

  • Remote storage destinations

    S3 (AWS, MinIO, Wasabi, Backblaze B2, DigitalOcean Spaces), SFTP, FTP, or any rclone remote. Credentials stored encrypted; local mounts still supported for backward compatibility.

  • Zero local staging

    qemu-img convert pipes directly into rclone rcat. No temporary disk space required on the hypervisor — bytes go from the VM disk to your remote in one continuous stream.

  • External snapshots for running VMs

    Atomic external snapshots freeze the base disk while writes continue to an overlay. After backup completes, the overlay merges back via live pivot — zero downtime.

  • Sparse incremental chains

    Dirty bitmap tracking produces sparse qcow2 incrementals containing only changed blocks. Same format as full backups — restores use the standard qemu-img rebase + commit flow.

  • Backup policies with automated schedules

    Reusable policies define schedule (daily/weekly full, configurable incrementals), retention count, and backup device. Attach multiple instances to a single policy.

  • Concurrent-safe via Unix sockets

    Each backup uses its own qemu-nbd Unix socket instead of a /dev/nbd device, so multiple backups can run in parallel on the same hypervisor without conflicts.

  • Ceph RBD support

    Ceph-backed instances use rbd export and export-diff, piped through rclone to the same remote destinations. Unified backup experience across storage backends.

  • Real-time progress and task logs

    Monitor every step live via WebSocket. Full command output (qemu-img, rclone, virsh) captured in task logs for diagnostics.

S3 Object Storage

S3-compatible object storage, built in

Powered by MinIO, offer your users S3-compatible storage with self-service bucket management, access key rotation, bandwidth metering, and automated quota enforcement.

Self-Service Buckets

Users create and manage their own S3 buckets directly from the panel. No admin intervention needed.

Access Key Management

Create, rotate, and delete access keys. Full lifecycle control for secure programmatic access to buckets.

Bandwidth Tracking

Per-bucket bandwidth metering with real-time tracking. Quota enforcement with auto-suspend on overage.

Per-GB Billing

Hourly credit-based billing for storage and bandwidth. S3 plans with configurable limits and pricing tiers.

Auto-suspend on quota exceeded

Buckets are automatically suspended when bandwidth limits are reached, then restored when the billing cycle resets.

S3 plans with configurable limits

Define storage plans with capacity limits, bandwidth quotas, and per-hour pricing. Assign plans to buckets.

Multiple S3 servers

Connect multiple MinIO instances across different locations for redundancy and geographic distribution.

S3-compatible API

Standard S3 API support means users can connect with any S3-compatible client, SDK, or CLI tool.

Admin oversight

Full admin panel for managing servers, plans, buckets, and access keys across all users.

Per-user bucket limits

Set maximum bucket counts per user to control resource allocation and prevent abuse.

Image Management

OS templates and custom images

Maintain a library of pre-made OS templates and custom images. Users deploy from curated catalogs while admins manage distribution across the entire fleet.

  • Pre-made OS templates

    Ship with templates for popular Linux distributions, Windows editions, and BSD variants. Ready to deploy in seconds.

  • Custom image creation from running instances

    Capture a running instance as a reusable image. Perfect for golden images with pre-installed software stacks.

  • Image browser with one-click enable

    Browse available images in a catalog view. Enable or disable images for users with a single click.

  • Automatic distribution to all hypervisors

    When an image is enabled, it is automatically downloaded by each hypervisor so instances can be provisioned without delay.

  • Custom ISOs with mount/unmount support

    Upload custom ISO files and mount them to instances for manual installations or recovery operations.

  • Image purpose filtering

    Tag images by purpose (general, load_balancer) to ensure users and services only see relevant options during deployment.

Image Library
Ubuntu 24.04
Linux
Debian 12
Linux
Rocky Linux 9
Linux
Windows 2022
Windows
FreeBSD 14
BSD
Custom Image
From instance
Custom ISOs
proxmox-ve_8.1-1.iso
1.2 GB · Mounted to web-server-01
Mounted
How It Works

Storage and backup pipeline

Every backup and storage operation flows through a task-based pipeline with real-time progress updates and automatic error handling.

Schedule

The backup scheduler runs every 5 minutes, checking instance backup plans and queueing any due backups into the job pipeline.

Process

The backup initiator picks up queued jobs every 2 minutes, dispatches them to the appropriate hypervisor, and tracks progress in real time.

Protect

Completed backups are stored on dedicated backup storage. Retention policies automatically prune old snapshots to reclaim space.

Ready to protect your infrastructure?

Start with a free 30-day trial. Automated backups, S3 object storage, and multi-tier storage pools included in every plan.