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Proxmox & LXC in a homelab: which containers I run and why

Four containers, four roles: how my home server is built, which programs run where and how I laid out the storage.

Serge Zabolotny · 2026-10-25

• Proxmox VE
• LXC
• Docker
• Homelab
• NVMe
• Self-Hosting

The hardware

An HP EliteDesk 800 G3 Mini with 16 GB RAM, Proxmox VE as the hypervisor. Not a server room, just a quiet box under the desk – that still carries 15+ services.

Why LXC instead of virtual machines?

• Lightweight: LXC containers share the host kernel, need hardly any RAM overhead and start in seconds.
• Docker runs inside: with the container features enabled (nesting) you can run Docker stacks in an LXC.
• The trade-off: isolation is weaker than with a VM. If you need your own kernel, use a VM.

Split by role

Why not put everything in one container? Three reasons: if something breaks, the damage stays within one role. Backups and restores work per container. And every role gets its own resources and network rules.

The storage layout

• 1 TB NVMe: root disks of all containers and the media library
• 512 GB SATA SSD: only the Proxmox host system
• 2 TB HDD: only the daily backups – it is used once a day, not running under constant load

Moving later from the SATA SSD to the NVMe worked without a reinstall: the root disks can be moved in an existing setup.

pct move-volume <CTID> rootfs <target-storage>

smartctl -a /dev/nvme0n1

How to get started

1. Install Proxmox VE on the mini PC.
2. Create one container for data and media and install Docker in it.
3. Give containers static IP addresses – otherwise DNS and routing will break at some point.
4. Add one service at a time, not ten at once.
5. Set up backups before the data becomes important.

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