{"id":63158,"date":"2026-09-15T18:03:24","date_gmt":"2026-09-15T14:03:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.msp360.com\/resources\/?p=63158"},"modified":"2026-09-15T18:03:24","modified_gmt":"2026-09-15T14:03:24","slug":"free-proxmox-backup-msp360-community-edition-host-level-solution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.msp360.com\/resources\/blog\/free-proxmox-backup-msp360-community-edition-host-level-solution\/","title":{"rendered":"Free Proxmox Backup: MSP360 Community Edition Host-Level Solution"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We are excited to announce the release of MSP360 Backup for Proxmox Community Edition, a dedicated build designed to provide a reliable, free Proxmox backup solution at the hypervisor level. This release brings the same powerful, host-level capabilities found in our commercial VM Edition to a completely free product. Built specifically for IT specialists and small teams, this free Proxmox backup software comes with no time restrictions and defined usage limits.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><div class=\"table-of-content \">\n\t\t\t\t<p>Table of Contents<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<ul><\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div><\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Secure, Host-Level Free Proxmox Backup\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Community Edition backs up Proxmox at the hypervisor level. The Backup Agent installs on a Windows machine with network access to your Proxmox VE host and connects through the Proxmox API - nothing is installed on the host itself, and no Proxmox Backup Server is required. From there you can protect all VMs on a host or a specific selection of VMs, capturing complete VM disk images including all attached virtual disks.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The workflow is the same one used for <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.msp360.com\/backup\/windows-server-backup-software\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Windows Server backup software<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.msp360.com\/backup\/vm\/hyperv\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hyper-V backup software<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in MSP360. Scheduling supports Full, Incremental, and Forever Forward Incremental backup types, with flexible retention including the GFS approach.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On the restore side, you can restore VMs back to a Proxmox server, choose the target datastore, rename VMs if needed, and power them on automatically after the restore completes.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What the free edition covers and where the limits are<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Community Edition is free to use with no time limit and no trial period to track. In exchange, it comes with a few boundaries:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">- <\/span><b>1 Proxmox host<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (up to 2 CPU sockets) per installation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">- <\/span><b>Up to 5 TB<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of backup storage.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">- <\/span><b>Proxmox VE.<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This build is dedicated to Proxmox host backup. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.msp360.com\/backup\/vm\/vmware\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">VMware backup<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and Hyper-V backup are not part of the Community Edition. File-level and image-based backup remain subject to standard Freeware restrictions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Proxmox backup is available on <\/span><b>any supported Windows machine<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, including Windows Server and domain-joined machines. File-level and image-based backup plans cannot be created on Windows Server or domain-joined machines.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Free vs. Commercial: Which to Use<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If free <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.msp360.com\/backup\/vm\/proxmox-backup\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Proxmox backup software<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> within these limits is all you need, Community Edition is the product. If you need to back up Proxmox alongside other paid workloads (VMware, Hyper-V) or go beyond the host and storage limits, that's what the commercial <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.msp360.com\/backup\/vm\/\">VM Edition<\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is for. The two are separate paths: Proxmox backup in a commercial license is delivered through VM Edition, not the free Community Edition build.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Requirements of MSP360\u2019s Free Proxmox Backup<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To get started you'll need:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">- A <\/span><b>Windows machine<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> with network access to your Proxmox VE host (a separate machine, or a guest VM on the same Proxmox host).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">- <\/span><b>Backup Agent version 8.7<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">- A <\/span><b>dedicated Proxmox user<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> with the right permissions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">- An <\/span><b>open port<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for the agent to reach the host.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Full setup details are in our <a href=\"https:\/\/kb.msp360.com\/backup\/proxmox-faq\">Knowledge Base<\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How to get started with Free Proxmox Backup Community Edition<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Getting started with MSP360 Backup Community Edition for Proxmox takes just a few steps:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Download and install the Community Edition on a Windows machine that has network access to your Proxmox VE host. If MSP360 Backup is already installed, the Community Edition build will replace the existing standalone installation.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Activate Community Edition when you launch the product. There is no trial period, so you can start using the free edition right away. For commercial Proxmox backup, use MSP360 Backup VM Edition.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/utrack.cloudberrylab.com\/api\/files\/106-184237?sign=MTc4OTY4OTYwMDAwMHwyNC00Mjl8MTA2LTE4NDIzN3xqUG43UWVkV1oyX1dURHptMGVRT01nbkhHdFFxTnBQOTV4UzdTdnItbGxBDQo&amp;updated=1782203473098\" width=\"364\" height=\"473\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Connect your backup storage and add your Proxmox VE host using a dedicated Proxmox account with the required permissions.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Create a Proxmox backup plan, select the host or VMs you want to protect, choose the backup type and schedule, and configure retention.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Run your first backup. Once a restore point is available, you can restore protected VMs back to Proxmox when needed.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Community Edition can be installed on Windows Server and domain-joined machines for Proxmox backup. File-level and image-based backup capabilities remain subject to their own Freeware limitations and are not available on server operating systems or domain-joined machines.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.msp360.com\/signup\/backup\/?mode=0&amp;alias=cbproxmoxce\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Download MSP360 Backup Community Edition for Proxmox \u2192<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Free Proxmox backup without the usual trade-offs<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">MSP360 Backup Community Edition for Proxmox is a dedicated free build for Proxmox VE backup. It includes:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hypervisor-level backup for Proxmox VE<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Up to <\/span><b>5 TB of backup data<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Full, Incremental, and Forever Forward Incremental backup<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Flexible retention, including GFS<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Backup to supported cloud and local storage<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">VM recovery back to Proxmox<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Support for Windows desktop, Windows Server, and domain-joined machines<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">No trial period and no time limit<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Community Edition is installed <\/span><b>instead of another MSP360 standalone build<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, not alongside it. With the free Proxmox CE license, VMware and Hyper-V backup are not available.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you need commercial Proxmox backup, use <\/span><b>MSP360 Backup VM Edition<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Proxmox backup is not enabled by activating another commercial standalone license, such as SQL Server Edition. In other words, there are two paths for Proxmox backup: the free Community Edition or the commercial VM Edition.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The build also includes the standard freeware file-level and image-based backup capabilities, subject to their existing restrictions. These plans cannot be created on Windows Server or domain-joined machines, while <\/span><b>Proxmox backup remains available on those systems<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">MSP360 Backup Community Edition for Proxmox is available now with no trial, no time limit, and no software subscription required.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>MSP360 Backup for Proxmox. Free.<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Host-level backup and recovery for Proxmox VE: install on Windows, protect your hosts, restore straight back to Proxmox.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We are excited to announce the release of MSP360 Backup for Proxmox Community Edition, a dedicated build designed to provide a reliable, free Proxmox backup solution at the hypervisor level. This release brings the same powerful, host-level capabilities found in our commercial VM Edition to a completely free product. Built specifically for IT specialists and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":108,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[883,877,894,882,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-63158","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-backup-and-dr-articles","category-blog-articles","category-msp360-backup","category-msp360-news","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.msp360.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63158","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.msp360.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.msp360.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.msp360.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/108"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.msp360.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63158"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.msp360.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63158\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":63176,"href":"https:\/\/www.msp360.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63158\/revisions\/63176"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.msp360.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63158"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.msp360.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63158"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.msp360.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63158"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}