VM Backup & Migration
built for Proxmox VE
AegisProx™ backs up your Proxmox VMs without agents or downtime. AegisShift™ migrates VMware VMs to Proxmox without VDDK or proprietary software. Pay per VM per month — no base subscription, no commitment, no surprises.
AegisProx™
Agent-less backup of Proxmox VE virtual machines using Changed Block Tracking and open Proxmox APIs. No software on the VM, no downtime, no per-socket licensing.
- ✓
Changed Block Tracking (CBT) Only modified 4 MB blocks are transferred on incremental runs — typically 90–99 % less data than a full backup. The first run is always full; all subsequent runs are CBT-driven.
- ✓
Full + incremental, point-in-time restore Restore any VM to any backup point — not just the latest. AegisBackup builds the restore chain automatically from the stored incremental deltas.
- ✓
File-level restore Browse individual files inside the disk image without restoring the whole VM. Supports NTFS, ext2/3/4 and FAT file systems. Download any file directly from the portal.
- ✓
AES-256-GCM encrypted chunks Each 4 MB block is compressed and encrypted with a tenant-unique key before it leaves your infrastructure. The key is stored separately from the data it protects.
- ✓
Content-addressable deduplication Identical blocks across VMs share a single stored copy. Identical OS disk regions between your Windows Server VMs can cut storage by 40–60 %.
- ✓
Zero agents — open Proxmox APIs only Uses the Proxmox REST API, QMP protocol and NBD protocol — all built in to Proxmox VE. No proprietary agent on the VM, no extra software, no vendor lock-in.
How it works
- Connect Proxmox host — enter your host IP, API user and token. AegisBackup reads the VM list via the Proxmox REST API.
- Select VMs to protect — choose which VMs to back up and set a schedule.
- Worker takes a live snapshot — a Proxmox VM snapshot freezes the disk state without pausing the VM. The running VM is unaffected.
- CBT diff streamed via NBD — only the blocks that changed since the last backup are transferred.
- Blocks encrypted & stored — each 4 MB chunk is compressed, encrypted and written to your designated storage target in Sweden.
- Snapshot removed — the Proxmox snapshot is deleted. The VM continues running normally.
What you need
- Proxmox VE 7.x or 8.x
- API user with
VM.Backup+Datastore.AllocateSpace - NBD port (TCP 111 / dynamic) reachable from the AegisBackup worker
- A AegisBackup subscription (free trial included)
AegisShift™
Migrate VMware ESXi virtual machines to Proxmox VE — no VDDK license, no proprietary agents, no downtime window beyond the final cutover. Full disk streaming via the vSphere HttpNfcLease API with automatic OS-aware hardware selection.
- ✓
No VDDK, no agent required Uses the standard vSphere SOAP API (HttpNfcLease) to stream disk images directly. VMware VDDK is not required — no license cost, no proprietary SDK.
- ✓
Automatic OS-aware hardware selection Windows VMs get LSI Logic SAS disk controller and Intel E1000 NIC — both have built-in Windows drivers since Server 2003. Linux VMs get VirtIO for maximum performance. Machine type (i440fx / q35) is set automatically from the firmware type.
- ✓
VSS-quiesced snapshots (crash-consistent fallback) If VMware Tools is installed, AegisShift requests a VSS-quiesced snapshot for application-consistent migration. If Tools is unavailable, it falls back to crash-consistent automatically.
- ✓
UEFI / BIOS support Choose SeaBIOS (legacy BIOS) or OVMF (UEFI) firmware for the target VM. AegisShift automatically adds an EFI disk when OVMF is selected and sets the correct machine type.
- ✓
LVM and directory storage support Disk format is auto-selected: raw for LVM-thin storage, qcow2 for directory-based storage (local, NFS). Override available per migration.
- ✓
QEMU guest agent pre-configured The migrated VM is created with the QEMU guest agent enabled and fstrim configured — ready for graceful shutdown and filesystem trimming after you install the guest agent package.
Windows Server
- Windows Server 2025
- Windows Server 2022
- Windows Server 2019
- Windows Server 2016
- Windows Server 2012 / 2012 R2
- Windows Server 2008 / 2008 R2
- Windows 10 / 11
Linux
- Ubuntu / Debian / Mint
- RHEL / CentOS / Rocky / Alma
- SUSE / openSUSE / SLES
- Fedora / Oracle Linux
- Arch / Gentoo / Kali
- VMware Photon OS / CoreOS
VMware source
- ESXi 6.5 / 6.7 / 7.0 / 8.x
- vCenter 6.x / 7.x / 8.x
- VMDK format (streamOptimized)
- VMware Tools: optional
Proxmox target
- Proxmox VE 7.x / 8.x
- LVM-thin or directory storage
- qcow2 or raw disk format
- BIOS or UEFI / OVMF firmware
AegisShift™ is included in your AegisBackup subscription. Connect your ESXi host and Proxmox target in the portal to get started.
Start free trialVM backup & migration — FAQ
Common questions about AegisProx™ and AegisShift™.
Does AegisProx™ require any software installed on the VM?
No. AegisProx™ uses the Proxmox REST API, QMP protocol and NBD (Network Block Device) protocol — all built in to Proxmox VE. Nothing is installed on the guest VM. The VM does not need to be restarted and continues running normally throughout the backup.
What is Changed Block Tracking and why does it matter?
CBT tracks which 4 MB disk blocks have changed since the last backup. On incremental runs, only those changed blocks are read and transferred — not the entire disk. A 100 GB VM disk that changes 2 GB per day will transfer roughly 2 GB per backup cycle instead of 100 GB. This reduces bandwidth, storage cost and backup window by 90–99 % compared to recurring full backups.
How does file-level restore work?
AegisBackup can mount the backup disk image and expose the file system tree in the portal. You browse to the file you need, select it and download it directly — no need to restore the entire VM first. Supported file systems: NTFS (Windows), ext2/3/4, FAT (Linux/legacy). The mount is read-only and ephemeral — nothing is written to the backup.
Does AegisShift™ require a VMware VDDK license?
No. AegisShift™ uses the vSphere SOAP API's HttpNfcLease mechanism to stream disk images directly from ESXi — the same protocol vCenter uses internally for migration. VDDK (Virtual Disk Development Kit) is VMware's proprietary SDK and is not required. There is no per-socket or per-VM licensing fee for the migration itself.
Will my Windows Server VM boot after an AegisShift™ migration?
Yes — AegisShift™ automatically selects hardware that Windows has built-in drivers for. The SCSI controller is set to LSI Logic SAS (drivers included since Windows Server 2003) and the NIC is set to Intel E1000 (standard Windows drivers). After the first successful boot, we recommend installing the Proxmox VirtIO drivers ISO for better disk and network performance.
Is the VM taken offline during an AegisShift™ migration?
The source VM stays running throughout the disk transfer. AegisShift™ creates a VMware snapshot before streaming, so the disk state is consistent. The final cutover — shutting down the source and starting the Proxmox target — is the only downtime window. For a typical 100 GB VM on a 1 Gbit link, disk transfer takes roughly 20–30 minutes; the cutover itself is under 5 minutes.
What Proxmox storage types are supported by AegisShift™?
Both LVM-thin storage (e.g., local-lvm) and directory-based storage (e.g., local, NFS mounts) are supported. AegisShift™ auto-selects the right disk format: raw for LVM-thin (which cannot store qcow2), qcow2 for directory storage. You can override the format per migration.
Can I back up Proxmox VMs and also migrate VMware VMs with the same subscription?
Yes. AegisProx™ and AegisShift™ are both included in your AegisBackup subscription. You connect Proxmox hosts for ongoing backup and ESXi/vCenter hosts for one-time or repeated migrations — all managed from the same portal.
Start protecting your VMs today
Free trial included — no credit card required. Setup takes under 10 minutes.