I run multiple VMs as I need to run Windows Server, Ubuntu and Xpenology on the one host machine.
I find docker containers much easier to manage for my apps with respect to ease of updating, resolving conflicting library dependencies, etc.
Having the containers all within the same VM is easier for me to manage and less resource intensive than running separate VMs for each app. Also, keeping Plex in the same VM as my file server means that I don’t need to set up network shares for library access.
It’s recommended practice for VM hosts just to do that, and run applications within the VM guests.
If I didn’t need to run Windows Server and Xpenology on the same machine I would just run Ubuntu baremetal and retain Plex in a docker container.
My homelab structure is:
Proxmox Server 1
- Windows Sever 2022 VM - Primary Domain Controller
- Xpenology VM - CCTV NVR
- Ubuntu 22.04 VM - File server and docker (Plex, Unifi, Deluge, sabNZBd, Sonarr, Radarr, etc.)
Proxmox Server 2
- pfSense firewall VM
- Windows Sever 2022 VM - Backup Domain Controller
