Ayush Pande writes about how his Proxmox server became more useful after he stopped treating LXCs as Docker containers. Coming from a Docker-only background, he initially tried to manage LXCs as ephemeral, single-app environments, but realized they are fundamentally system containers that run a full userland (systemd, SSH, cron) and require managing the underlying OS just like a lightweight VM. Once he shifted his approach, his home lab's utility improved significantly.
- LXCs are system containers running a full userland, unlike Docker's single-process application containers
- Proxmox developers do not recommend Docker-in-LXC; live migration can break nested container environments
- VMs are the preferred Docker hosts from a security standpoint
- On low-spec hardware (e.g., a decade-old laptop), Docker-in-LXC can still make the box usable for experimental services
- LXCs are system containers running a full userland, unlike Docker's single-process application containers
- Proxmox developers do not recommend Docker-in-LXC; live migration can break nested container environments
- VMs are the preferred Docker hosts from a security standpoint
- On low-spec hardware (e.g., a decade-old laptop), Docker-in-LXC can still make the box usable for experimental services
An experiment exploring whether a local large language model can manage a home server without strict guardrails. By using the Pi agent harness and the Qwen3.6-35B-A3B model, the author successfully enabled an LLM to control a Proxmox VE node. The setup demonstrated impressive capabilities in managing LXC containers, checking system metrics, creating snapshots, and provisioning new virtual machines. Despite these successes, the system encountered difficulties with guest terminal command execution, persistent configuration management, and multi-node scaling.
- Implementation of the Pi agent harness with local models
- Autonomous creation of custom Proxmox extensions by the LLM
- Successful management of LXC containers and VM provisioning
- Challenges with terminal command execution and credential persistence
- Implementation of the Pi agent harness with local models
- Autonomous creation of custom Proxmox extensions by the LLM
- Successful management of LXC containers and VM provisioning
- Challenges with terminal command execution and credential persistence
