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
Proxmox Mail Gateway is an open-source email security appliance designed to protect self-hosted email servers from spam, malware, and other threats. It functions as a firewall with IDS/IDP features, utilizing ClamAV, SpamAssassin, and Postfix.
Gotify is a notification server that pulls alerts from other applications and pushes them to its neat UI. It's a useful addition to a home lab setup, especially for monitoring self-hosted services like Uptime Kuma, TrueNAS Scale, and Proxmox.
