Microsoft Hyper-V is the hypervisor built into Windows Server, licensed through per-core Windows Server and System Center editions. Pages here cover replacing it with Proxmox VE or XCP-ng.
Comparing Hyper-V on Windows Server with Proxmox VE: clustering and live migration, Storage Spaces Direct against Ceph, management tools, Linux and Windows guest support, licensing for the host versus Windows guests, and the skills each needs.
Comparing Hyper-V with XCP-ng and Xen Orchestra: pools and live migration, backup and replication, storage options, Vates support plans against Windows Server and System Center licensing, and which fits a mostly Windows or mostly Linux estate.
Moving Hyper-V VMs to Proxmox VE: exporting with Export-VM, importing VHDX disks with qm disk import, switching Windows guests to VirtIO drivers, Generation 2 and UEFI settings, networking and the order to move clustered workloads.
Moving Hyper-V VMs to XCP-ng: removing Hyper-V tools, converting VHDX disks to dynamic VHD, the VHD naming rules that keep a storage repository healthy, disk space needed during conversion and installing guest tools afterward.
Cost of ownership by component: Windows Server Datacenter or Standard core licenses, System Center and CALs against Proxmox VE subscriptions per socket, with the Windows guest licensing that remains after the hypervisor changes, migration and operations.
What a Hyper-V export contains, disks, configuration and checkpoints, how configuration versions limit where VMs can be imported, merging checkpoints before conversion, and preparing exported disks for Proxmox VE or XCP-ng.
Windows Server 2016 extended support ends in January 2027. For Hyper-V hosts still on 2016, this page compares upgrading to Windows Server 2025 licensing with moving the hosts to Proxmox VE or XCP-ng, and plans either route before the deadline.
Replacing SCVMM, licensed with System Center per core: Proxmox VE's cluster interface and Proxmox Datacenter Manager or Xen Orchestra for templates, role-based access, live migration and automation, and what to rebuild from SCVMM libraries and service templates.
For teams weighing Azure Local, billed per physical core per month with a separate Windows Server guest subscription: what a Proxmox VE and Ceph hyperconverged cluster provides instead, what Azure services do not carry over, and how the cost compares.
Replacing Storage Spaces Direct in Hyper-V clusters with Ceph: node and network sizing, replication versus erasure coding, running Ceph inside a Proxmox VE cluster, and moving VM disks off Cluster Shared Volumes.
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