TL;DR
Proxmox VE 8.4 landed today, bringing live-migration for vGPU VMs, virtiofs host-to-VM file sharing, an official backup-plugin API, and a refreshed stack (QEMU 9.2, Ceph Squid 19.2.1, kernel 6.8/6.14).
Below you’ll find a quick look at what’s new and my top-10 reasons to pick Proxmox for a homelab in 2025.
What’s new in Proxmox VE 8.4
| Feature |
Why it matters |
| Live migration with mediated devices |
Finally move vGPU-backed VMs between nodes without downtime – perfect for GPU-enabled homelab clusters.[^2^][^3^] |
| Virtiofs directory passthrough |
Share any host folder with a VM at near-native speed – no NFS/SMB hassle. Linux guests work out-of-the-box; Windows needs a small driver.[^2^][^3^] |
| Third-party backup API |
Veeam, Nakivo, or your own scripts can now hook natively into Proxmox’s backup scheduler, verification, and UI.[^2^][^3^] |
| Updated core stack |
Debian 12.10, kernel 6.8.12 (6.14 opt-in), QEMU 9.2.0, LXC 6.0.0, ZFS 2.2.7, Ceph Squid 19.2.1 stable.[^3^] |
| UI & SDN polish |
Tag-based grouping, firewall integration for VNets, new installer network presets.[^1^][^3^] |
Top-10 reasons to choose Proxmox for your homelab
- 100 % free & open-source – no license keys, no feature gates.
- Web-based everything – no fat client needed; manage from any browser.
- Killer clustering – create a 3-node HA cluster with shared Ceph storage in under an hour.
- Built-in ZFS & Ceph – snapshots, replication, self-healing, all out-of-the-box.
- Container-first – LXC with turnkey templates for Plex, Nextcloud, Docker, etc.
- GPU passthrough & vGPU – game, transcode, or ML on any VM.
- Backup server integration – deduplication, encryption, and now webhooks for custom alerts.[^1^]
- Virtiofs & 9p – lightning-fast host ↔ guest file shares without network overhead.
- Massive community – Reddit, forums, and thousands of Ansible roles to copy-paste.
- Runs on anything – from a 4-core Intel NUC to a 128 GB Ryzen mini-ITX beast.[^4^]
Quick install recap
- Download the official ISO (Proxmox VE 8.4).
- Flash with Ventoy or balenaEtcher.
- Boot → choose ZFS (RAID-1 if you have two SSDs) → set root password + network.
- Browse to
https://<ip>:8006 and import the community dark theme right away. 😉
Screenshots & lab shots
| Image |
Alt |
URL |
| Dashboard overview |
proxmox-84-dashboard.jpg |
/images/proxmox-84-dashboard.jpg |
| vGPU live-migration in action |
vgpu-migrate.gif |
/images/vgpu-migrate.gif |
| Virtiofs mount inside Ubuntu VM |
virtiofs-ubuntu.png |
/images/virtiofs-ubuntu.png |
| Ceph pool status |
ceph-squid.jpg |
/images/ceph-squid.jpg |
(Can’t embed? Right-click → “Copy image address” or download from the repo.)
Upgrade path from 8.3
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apt update
apt dist-upgrade
pveversion # should read pve-manager/8.4-...
If you run Ceph Reef (18.x) you can non-disruptively upgrade to Squid (19.x) through the GUI → Ceph → Upgrade.
Closing thoughts
Proxmox VE 8.4 is the first release that truly feels enterprise-ready without the enterprise tax.
Whether you’re consolidating a rack of dusty towers or just need a single box to host Jellyfin + Home Assistant + a dozen LXCs, Proxmox keeps getting better while staying 100 % free.
Happy homelabbing!
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