What is Ceph?
Ceph is an open-source, software-defined storage platform that combines block, file and object storage in one scalable infrastructure. In combination with Proxmox VE, Ceph forms a powerful and cost-efficient storage solution for virtualization environments.
By distributing storage directly across multiple nodes, no external SAN or NAS is needed. This makes Ceph ideal for modern hyperconverged infrastructures.
Ceph integrated in Proxmox VE
Proxmox VE includes native integration with Ceph, allowing storage to be managed directly from the Proxmox web interface.
Ceph offers different storage services:
- RADOS Block Device (RBD) – High performance storage for virtual machines and containers
- CephFS – Distributed file system for shared storage
- Object Storage (RGW) – S3-compatible object storage
Benefits of Ceph in Proxmox
No extra license costs
Unlike VMware vSAN, there are no license costs per CPU, socket or TB storage. Ceph is open-source and fully integrated in Proxmox VE.
Hyperconverged infrastructure
Combine compute and storage in the same nodes without external SAN systems.
- No dedicated storage appliances needed
- Lower infrastructure costs
- Less complex management
Horizontally scalable
Ceph is designed to easily grow with your infrastructure.
- Scale from 3 nodes to hundreds of nodes
- Linear performance scalability
- No single point of failure
Flexible hardware
Ceph runs on standard servers and supports different storage configurations.
- Use commodity hardware
- Mix of SSD and HDD possible
- Thin provisioning and tiered storage
Comparison: Ceph vs VMware vSAN
| Feature | Ceph (Proxmox) | VMware vSAN |
|---|---|---|
| License costs | ✅ Free (included) | ❌ Per CPU socket |
| Vendor lock-in | ✅ No (open source) | ❌ Yes |
| Minimum nodes | 3 nodes | 2 nodes + witness |
| Maximum capacity | ✅ Petabytes | Typically < 1PB |
| File storage | ✅ CephFS | ⚠️ Limited |
| Object storage | ✅ RGW (S3) | ❌ Not standard |
| Block storage | ✅ RBD | ✅ Yes |
| Hardware choice | ✅ Commodity hardware | ⚠️ HCL limited |
| Cross-platform | ✅ Linux / Kubernetes | ⚠️ VMware ecosystem |
| Self-healing | ✅ Automatic | ✅ Yes |
| Thin provisioning | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Compression | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
Our Ceph services
We help organizations with the design, implementation and management of Ceph storage infrastructures within Proxmox clusters.
Our services include:
- Ceph cluster design and implementation
- Integration with Proxmox VE
- Storage performance optimization
- High availability configurations
- Monitoring and maintenance
- Migration from traditional SAN/NAS environments
Contact us
Do you want a scalable storage solution without expensive SAN systems?