VMware to Proxmox

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BakiHI

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Jul 2, 2025
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Hello everyone,

I am apart of an IT Services Company for small and medium-sized businesses. Currently, the virtual environments of all our customers are running on VMware ESXi.
Due to recent developments in licensing and pricing from Broadcom, we are evaluating alternatives and are strongly considering Proxmox VE as a future platform for our customers.
If anyone here has experience migrating from ESXi to Proxmox, we would highly appreciate your feedback, advice, or tips.
Especially regarding the following topics:

-Offline migration (Downloading VM-Files, deleting ESXi, installing Proxmox and importing the VM-Disks on the same physical server)?
-Reliable software to convert .vmdk/.vmx to .qcow2?
-If Proxmox offers anything resembling VMwares vCenter?

Thank you in advance for sharing your experiences!
 
Hi @BakiHI , welcome to the forum.

You may find these resources helpful in your journey:
https://www.proxmox.com/en/services...vironment/proxmox-ve-import-wizard-for-vmware
t.lamprecht

Thread 'New Import Wizard Available for Migrating VMware ESXi Based Virtual Machines'

We are proud to announce the first release of our new integrated import wizard!

Proxmox VE now provides an integrated VM import wizard re-using the storage plugin system for native integration into the API and web-based user interface. You can use this to import VMware ESXi VMs as a whole, with most of its config mapped to Proxmox VE’s config model and reduced downtime.

gui-import-wizard-general.png

Video tutorial
https://youtu.be/8Z9Zvt2RxlA

Documentation
For more details see the reference docs and the updated "Migrate to Proxmox VE" wiki article, which provides a...
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1t6hxCoiZw

t.lamprecht

Thread 'Proxmox Datacenter Manager - First Alpha Release'

We’re excited to announce the alpha preview of Proxmox Datacenter Manager! This is an early-stage version of our software, giving you a first impression at what we’ve been working on and a chance to collaborate.

What's Proxmox Datacenter Manager?
The Datacenter Manager project has been developed with the objective of providing a centralized overview of all your individual nodes and clusters. It also enables basic management like migrations of virtual guests without any cluster network requirements.

The project is fully developed in the Rust programming language, from the...
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P

Thread 'Import vmdk'

Hy,

I'm trying to covert my VMWare VM's to Proxmox. I've copied the vmdk to the Proxmox Server an tried to import with
Code: 
root@proxmox:~# qm importdisk 105 oracle_webserver_17-flat.vmdk local -format qcow2
but I get this
Code: 
storage local does not support vm images
error.
44642701io.png

Can please anyone help me or give me a hint? Thanks....


Blockbridge : Ultra low latency all-NVME shared storage for Proxmox - https://www.blockbridge.com/proxmox
 
Hi,
I've miragte from ESXi6 to Proxmox. I searched some time to do the same thing your company is planning, but I couldn't find a proper solution for migration and especially for converting.

I used an old server and a NAS for migration. Install proxmox on the Server or computer and add the NAS as storage.

Now you can add the ESXi in the proxmox datacenter and you could easily migrate the vm.

After migrating the alle the vm's, reinstall proxmox on the vmware server and add the NAS as storage. Move the vm's back and reconfigure the network settings.
 
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Reactions: Johannes S
Hello, I’m a member of the Vinchin team. I truly appreciate the insightful discussion here about migrating from ESXi to Proxmox. We completely understand the concerns around data integrity, storage/network pressure, and recovery efficiency when it comes to cross-platform migration.

In cross-platform scenarios, Vinchin supports Instant VM Restore in as fast as 15 seconds to another hypervisor, helping ensure business continuity during downtime. Our unified web-based console offers a clean and intuitive experience, enabling you to manage backup and recovery across platforms without switching between tools.

It also supports one-click migration from VMware to Proxmox, and gives you the flexibility to move data between on-premises, offsite, or cloud storage. This provides greater scalability and availability across your infrastructure.

We sincerely invite you to try our free trial version：
https://www.vinchin.com/free-vm-backup.html?s=6h1iiqw2x5

If you're interested in learning more, I’ve also posted a separate thread here in the forum outlining additional Vinchin features. You're very welcome to take a look and share your thoughts.
P

Thread 'Vinchin Support for Proxmox VE'

Hello Proxmox VE community friends!

I’m part of the team behind Vinchin. Today, I would like to introduce Vinchin Backup & Recovery, an enterprise-grade data protection solution focused on virtualized environments. We deeply support Proxmox VE and aim to provide PVE users with stronger data protection and flexibility, based entirely on our existing, proven features.

Below, I will introduce you to Vinchin's key features:

  • Agentless backup: By interacting directly with the hypervisor layer, all VMs in the virtualization can be backed up without installing an agent...

Of course, no tool is perfect. If you have any questions during use or have suggestions for improving the function, please feel free to let us know. We value real feedback, which can help us do better. Thank you.
 
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