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Blockbridge Alternative

Rethink Your Storage Strategy and Lower Your Storage Costs

Blockbridge is a popular storage backend for Proxmox VE clusters, but it ties teams to its own management model and licensing. Simplyblock offers a modern, software-defined platform built for both Proxmox virtualization and Kubernetes. By removing proprietary dependencies and adopting cloud-native NVMe/TCP technology, simplyblock enables seamless scalability, reduced complexity, and greater flexibility across diverse environments. It's the ideal choice for teams that need storage to scale as fast as their workloads.

Blockbridge Alternative

Where Blockbridge Falls Short

Complex Setup Needs

Blockbridge’s design often requires manual tuning and setup, increasing operational complexity and adding pressure on storage administrators.

Lacks Cloud-Native Support

While it supports multiple environments, Blockbridge lacks seamless Kubernetes integration needed for today’s cloud-native infrastructure.

Hardware Constraints

Blockbridge runs on commodity hardware but still relies on specific setups for performance, which limits flexibility and scaling options.

Why simplyblock Works Better

Simplyblock delivers a truly software-defined storage experience, free from hardware lock-ins and complex licensing. Its architecture leverages NVMe-over-TCP for high-speed data access and incorporates erasure coding for enhanced data protection. With built-in automation and seamless scalability, simplyblock ensures optimal performance and resilience for modern workloads.

Flexible Deployment

Blockbridge configurations can be complex and tied to specific environments. As a modern alternative, simplyblock supports disaggregated, hyper converged, and hybrid models with ease.

Whether you're running Kubernetes clusters, bare-metal servers, or private clouds, it offers the flexibility to deploy storage in a way that fits your infrastructure, without limitations.

This freedom helps teams scale faster and adapt storage strategies to evolving workloads.

Modern Architecture

Blockbridge's architecture, while robust, can introduce performance bottlenecks and complicate scaling efforts due to its reliance on specific configurations.

In contrast, simplyblock employs a distributed, scale-out architecture where each additional node enhances performance and capacity instantly.

By utilizing NVMe over Fabrics, thin provisioning, and erasure coding, simplyblock minimizes latency and maximizes resilience, ensuring efficient and reliable storage operations.

Benefits That Make a Difference

Lower TCO & No Set-up Fees

Uses x64 or ARM64 hardware and thin provisioning to cut costs: no forced renewals or complex licensing.

Faster Performance

NVMe over Fabrics enables high throughput and sub-ms latency, no SAN complexity or controller drag.

Flexible Fit

Works across Kubernetes, bare-metal and hybrid environments with disaggregated or hyperconverged.

Built-In Resilience

Erasure coding, QoS, and automated recovery ensure uptime, data integrity, and tenant-level protection.

A Blockbridge alternative built for Proxmox and Kubernetes

Blockbridge has a strong following among Proxmox VE users who need shared, high-performance block storage for their virtual machines. It works, but it asks teams to adopt its own management model and licensing, and it stops at the virtualization layer. As more teams run Proxmox and Kubernetes side by side, a storage layer that serves only one of them becomes a constraint.

Simplyblock takes a different approach. It is a software-defined storage platform with an NVMe/TCP data path that Proxmox consumes as fast shared block storage, and the same platform serves Kubernetes persistent volumes and KubeVirt VM disks. That means one storage layer for Proxmox VE clusters and container workloads, rather than separate stacks to license and operate.

Why Proxmox teams move to simplyblock

For teams using Blockbridge primarily as Proxmox storage, the practical gains are straightforward:

  • thin provisioning, snapshots, and cloning for VM disks without controller drag
  • erasure coding for resilience at roughly 1.25x overhead instead of multiple full copies
  • per-volume QoS to keep noisy VMs from starving the rest of the cluster
  • commodity x86 or ARM64 hardware with no forklift upgrades or forced renewals
  • a single storage platform that follows you from Proxmox into Kubernetes

If your environment is Proxmox today but heading toward containers, simplyblock keeps the storage layer constant across both. Start with Proxmox VE storage, and use the same platform for persistent storage on Kubernetes as workloads modernize.

Questions and Answers

How does simplyblock compare to Blockbridge for Kubernetes storage?

Blockbridge is an enterprise iSCSI and NVMe-over-TCP storage platform built around security controls and data services such as encryption at rest, RBAC, and audit logging. Simplyblock focuses on raw performance and Kubernetes-native operation. Simplyblock uses an SPDK-based user-space I/O stack for sub-200-microsecond latency and erasure coding rather than traditional replication. Both provide CSI drivers for Kubernetes, but simplyblock enforces per-PVC IOPS and throughput limits at the storage layer to prevent noisy-neighbor effects. Blockbridge requires more manual tuning; simplyblock deploys in minutes on standard x86 or ARM64 servers.

What changes are required to migrate from Blockbridge to simplyblock?

Simplyblock deploys as an additional StorageClass via its CSI driver alongside existing Blockbridge volumes. New PVCs provision on simplyblock while current workloads continue on Blockbridge. Migration for block volumes involves stopping writes, taking a snapshot, restoring to a simplyblock volume, and redirecting the application. Most teams migrate by workload type over several weeks without a single cutover window, starting with non-critical workloads to validate behavior before moving databases and stateful services.

When is simplyblock a better fit than Blockbridge?

Simplyblock fits better when raw I/O performance and Kubernetes-native storage are higher priorities than deep security controls and encryption features. Teams running NVMe-based databases or latency-sensitive applications on Kubernetes who need per-volume QoS, scale-out capacity without forklift upgrades, and lower TCO through erasure coding will find simplyblock a stronger match. If your primary concern is multi-tenant security features and encryption at rest, Blockbridge may be adequate.

Can simplyblock replace Blockbridge as a Proxmox VE storage backend?

Yes. Blockbridge is widely used as shared storage for Proxmox VE clusters, and simplyblock serves the same role with an NVMe/TCP data path that Proxmox consumes as block storage. Simplyblock provides thin provisioning, snapshots, cloning, erasure coding, and per-volume QoS for Proxmox VM disks, and the same platform also serves Kubernetes and KubeVirt workloads. Teams running Proxmox alongside containers get one storage layer for both rather than separate stacks.

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Blockbridge and all other product names, logos, and brands are property of their respective owners and are used for identification purposes only. Use of these names does not imply endorsement or affiliation. Comparisons are based on publicly available information at the time of publication and may not reflect the most recent product changes. Verify current capabilities with each vendor before making purchasing decisions.