Proxmox Server Solutions announced today version 7.01 of its server virtualization management platform Proxmox VE.

Proxmox Virtual Environment 7.1 released

Enterprise software developer Proxmox Server Solutions GmbH (henceforth "Proxmox") has released version 7.1 of its server virtualization management platform, Proxmox Virtual Environment today. The new version is based on Debian Bullseye 11.1, but using a newer Linux kernel 5.13, and includes updates to the latest versions of leading open-source technologies for virtual environments, such as QEMU 6.1, LXC 4.0, Ceph Pacific 16.2.6, and ZFS 2.1.

Proxmox Virtual Environment 7.1 comes with several new features: support for Windows 11 including TPM, enhanced creation wizard for VM/container, ability to set backup retention policies per backup job in the GUI, a new scheduler daemon supporting more flexible schedules, many improvements for management tasks in the web interface, and notable bug fixes.

What’s new in Proxmox Virtual Environment 7.1

• Set backup retention per backup job via GUI: This allows users to set up smart backup policies for each backup job not only from the API and CLI, but also from the web interface.
• Advanced scheduling options for backup jobs: Backup jobs in Proxmox VE are now run by a new scheduler daemon, called pvescheduler, which supports more flexible schedule options. This is already known from the verify and garbage collection jobs in Proxmox Backup Server (which in turn are inspired by systemd-timers). Additionally, backups can be marked as protected, which will prevent them from being pruned or manually removed, without first removing the protected flag.
• For virtual machines, this version includes support for adding the Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 2.0 to any VM. Among other things, this allows users to install and run Windows 11. A TPM can be added easily via a checkbox in the web interface. Additionally, the UEFI secure boot functionality is now built in and enabled in the underlying QEMU package; the updated installation wizard allows you to select TPM v2.0 and UEFI. Newly created VMs have support for secure boot verification, with an option to have Linux distribution and Microsoft keys pre-enrolled.
• Containers in Proxmox VE 7.1 now support Fedora 35 and Ubuntu 21.10 as well as AlmaLinux and Rocky Linux distributions, including templates. Container templates can be compressed with the open-source, lossless compression algorithm Zstandard (Zstd). For new, unprivileged containers created via the web interface, the nesting feature is enabled by default. This ensures better interoperability with modern systemd versions used in newer templates.
• Two-factor authentication (TFA) has been further improved. To improve access control, multiple 2nd factors can be configured for a single account. WebAuthn (superseding U2F) and one-time recovery keys have been added. This can all be configured from the web interface.

Other notable enhancements

• Creating virtual guests with multiple disks has been simplified. Additional disks can now be added from the creation wizard, eliminating the need to add them after creating the VM or container.
• SCSI and Virtio VM disks can be marked read-only.
• Ceph: Multiple CephFS instances are supported in Proxmox VE 7.1. The configuration of external Ceph clusters via API is now fully supported.

Availability

Proxmox Virtual Environment is free and open-source software, published under the GNU Affero General Public License, v3. The downloadable ISO image can be installed on bare-metal. Proxmox VE 7.1 is available for download at  https://www.proxmox.com/downloads

The virtualization platform from Proxmox comes stocked with all the essential management tools, as well as an easy-to-use, web-based user interface. This allows for simple, out-of-the-box management of the host, either through the command line or a standard web browser.

Distribution upgrades from older versions of Proxmox VE are possible via APT. It’s also possible to install Proxmox VE 7.1 on top of Debian Bullseye.

For enterprise users, Proxmox Server Solutions GmbH offers a subscription-based support model, which provides access to an Enterprise Repository, with regular updates via the web interface, as well as  technical support directly from the developers. Prices start at EUR 90 per year and CPU.