OCI under Proxmox: Containers according to fixed rules

The Open Container Initiative (OCI) defines how containers must be technically structured. Proxmox uses this standard so that containers function the same everywhere—regardless of the tool or manufacturer used.

OCI Images under Proxmox VE 9.1 as a tech preview

With the 9.1 update of Proxmox VE, it is possible to download Open Container Initiative (OCI) images for LXC.

These can be downloaded from various registers or uploaded yourself.

LXC containers can be created as usual from these OCI images. Instead of a container template, the downloaded OCI images can also be selected as a template.

Environment variables can be conveniently set via the GUI.

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Background

The Open Container Initiative (OCI) is being developed by the Linux Foundation. Its goal is to develop open standards for container virtualization at the operating system level. Currently, the runtime (runtime-spec), image (image-spec), and distribution (distribution-spec) specifications are being developed or are already in use.

OCI itself is developing runC, a container runtime that implements OCI specifications. It forms the basis for numerous other higher-level tools. This innovation makes it possible to bypass the cumbersome process of using a few Docker VM containers with many applications inside them or many LXC containers with Docker installed.

This simplifies the management and administration of applications, reduces storage requirements, and achieves greater resource efficiency. However, it should be noted that these features are currently still in tech preview. Please note that some features are not yet fully developed. Currently, it is not possible to update or replace a created LXC container with an OCI image with a newer image.