Proxmox VE

Proxmox VE turns a bare server into a full virtualization host: it's Debian underneath, with a purpose-built management layer on top that handles KVM virtual machines and lightweight LXC containers side by side from a single browser-based dashboard, including live migration, clustering, and built-in backup scheduling. It has become one of the most popular self-hosted alternatives to VMware ESXi/vSphere, especially after VMware's licensing changes following Broadcom's acquisition pushed many homelab users and smaller businesses to look elsewhere. It's fully free and open source to use, with an optional paid 'Enterprise Repository' subscription for organizations that want a more conservatively tested update channel and official support.