Lightbits Labs has released a native storage plugin for Proxmox Virtual Environment (Proxmox VE) that connects virtualization clusters to its software-defined storage platform over NVMe over TCP (NVMe/TCP). The integration provides shared block storage for live migration of virtual machines, high-availability setups, and snapshot management, using standard servers and conventional Ethernet networks.
Lightbits and Proxmox VE in 30 seconds
- Lightbits Labs has published an open-source plugin that integrates its Lightbits SDS storage with Proxmox VE.
- The connection uses NVMe/TCP over Ethernet, with no need for proprietary storage-network infrastructure.
- Administrators can create, expand, and manage volumes, as well as take and restore snapshots, from the Proxmox interface, command line, and API.
- Shared storage lets virtual machines migrate between nodes and supports high-availability configurations.
- The plugin is licensed under Apache 2.0, available on GitHub, and compatible with Proxmox VE 9.x.
The announcement, made on October 30, 2026, arrives as various organizations weigh alternatives to traditional virtualization platforms. In that process, the choice of storage remains one of the most important technical decisions: virtual machines need to reach the same data from different servers to support certain cluster operations.
Lightbits aims to address that need through a disaggregated architecture. Rather than attaching storage directly to each virtualization server, its platform lets organizations use independent storage nodes and connect them to compute hosts over Ethernet. The new integration brings that capability into Proxmox VE’s management environment.
Shared storage for migration and high availability
Lightbits’s plugin connects Proxmox VE clusters to Lightbits Software-Defined Storage (SDS), its software-defined storage platform, over NVMe/TCP. This protocol carries NVMe commands over conventional TCP/IP networks, in this case using Ethernet infrastructure.
The main consequence for administrators is that different nodes in a cluster can reach the same shared volumes. That lets virtual machines move from one server to another through live migration, without first having to move their disks between separate storage systems.
It also enables high-availability setups. When a compute node fails, Proxmox VE can keep workloads running according to the cluster’s high-availability configuration. Lightbits supplies the shared storage layer needed for the data to remain reachable from other nodes.
The company says its platform replicates data across different storage nodes. That distribution helps maintain availability if a drive or server fails. Multipath connectivity also lets the system use several network paths between the servers and the storage, so a problem on one path doesn’t have to cut off access to the volumes.
The architecture also separates the growth of compute and storage resources. An organization can expand storage capacity without necessarily adding virtualization servers, or add compute resources without replacing its entire disk infrastructure. Lightbits builds this setup on standard servers, NVMe flash drives, and Ethernet networks.
Volume management from the Proxmox VE interface
One of the most visible changes for administrators is that storage operations are now integrated into Proxmox’s regular tools. The plugin lets users provision volumes, resize them, create snapshots, and roll back to earlier states from the web interface, the command-line interface (CLI), and the application programming interface (API).
Managing storage from within the virtualization environment itself avoids having to turn to separate tools for routine operations. Infrastructure teams can work with volumes from the same environment they already use to manage virtual machines and nodes.
Snapshots let administrators preserve a volume’s state and recover an earlier version when needed. The rollback function is useful for certain maintenance and recovery tasks, though the company doesn’t detail specific retention policies, snapshot limits, or recovery times in the announcement.
Lightbits notes that some customers were already running its storage with Proxmox VE before the native plugin was published. The new integration is meant to simplify that setup and bring virtualization and storage operations together into a single management workflow.
Tim Marx, chief operating officer (COO) of Proxmox, says the platform supports different storage technologies so organizations can build infrastructure suited to their needs. According to Marx, the collaboration widens the options available for performance-sensitive workloads and is aimed at both Lightbits SDS users and Proxmox VE customers.
Roiy Zysman, head of product management at Lightbits Labs, says customers were already using both technologies together, and that the native plugin simplifies connecting, provisioning, and managing volumes. The company also expects further improvements to the integration, without specifying dates or additional features.
An open-source plugin compatible with Proxmox VE 9
The plugin is distributed under the Apache 2.0 license, and its code is publicly available on GitHub. That license allows reviewing, using, and modifying the software under its terms, something relevant for organizations that prefer to avoid unnecessary dependencies on closed tools.
The project’s repository is pve-lightbits. Publishing it lets administrators and developers review the implementation and follow the plugin’s progress.
On compatibility, Lightbits says the integration works with Proxmox VE 9.x and with every version of Lightbits that the company maintains and supports, both its short-term support (STS) and long-term support (LTS) branches.
Compatibility with maintained Lightbits releases means organizations can use different branches of its storage platform, though they’ll need to check which specific version they have installed and whether it’s still within its support window.
The announcement also positions Lightbits as a solutions provider for Proxmox Server Solutions GmbH, the company behind Proxmox. That relationship expands the integration options available to the platform’s users, but the statement doesn’t describe an exclusivity agreement or imply that Lightbits is the only storage alternative for Proxmox VE. It comes at a moment when Proxmox VE itself still lacks a VMFS equivalent of its own and several independent projects are trying to fill that shared-storage gap, and when Broadcom’s VMware price hikes are pushing customers toward Proxmox in the first place.
For teams evaluating virtualization alternatives, the proposal combines three elements: shared storage, NVMe-over-TCP transport, and management integrated into Proxmox. Using conventional Ethernet can reduce the need to deploy specialized storage networks, though final performance will depend on the servers, the NVMe drives, the network configuration, and the workloads involved.
Documentation for the integration is available on Lightbits’s Proxmox VE page, while the plugin’s code can be reviewed on GitHub.
Frequently asked questions
What does Lightbits add to Proxmox VE?
It connects Proxmox VE clusters to shared block storage over NVMe/TCP. The integration supports live migration, high-availability configurations, and volume management.
Which version of Proxmox VE does the plugin need?
Lightbits says the plugin is compatible with Proxmox VE 9.x and with maintained versions of its storage platform, including both the STS and LTS branches.
Is the Lightbits plugin open source?
Yes. It’s published on GitHub under the Apache 2.0 license, so its code can be reviewed and used under that license’s terms.
What storage operations can be managed from Proxmox?
It supports provisioning and resizing volumes, and creating and restoring snapshots. These operations are available from the Proxmox VE web interface, command line, and API.
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This article is also available in Spanish: «Lightbits integra almacenamiento NVMe/TCP compartido en Proxmox VE para sustituir cabinas tradicionales», on revistacloud.com.
