Proxmox ZFS Storage Setup#

What Was Established#

Procedures for initializing ZFS pools using multiple drives via the Proxmox Web GUI and configuring them as usable storage for Virtual Machines (VMs) and Linux Containers (LXC).

Key Decisions#

• RAID Levels: Selection depends on the number of disks and redundancy requirements:
  • Stripe (RAID 0): Maximum capacity, no redundancy.
  • Mirror (RAID 1): Redundancy, 50% capacity loss.
  • RAID-Z1/Z2: Requires 3+ disks for parity-based redundancy.
• Compression: lz4 is the recommended compression algorithm for performance.
• Ashift: Set to 12 for modern SSDs/NVMe to ensure proper block alignment.
• Thin Provisioning: Enabled for storage pools to allow for flexible disk allocation.

Current Configuration#

1. Initialize ZFS Pools (Web GUI)#

Navigate to: Datacenter → Node → Disks → ZFS

1. Click Create ZFS.
2. Name: Define pool name (e.g., tank).
3. Devices: Select the target disks.
4. RAID Level: Select based on redundancy needs (Mirror, Stripe, etc.).
5. Compression: Set to lz4.
6. Ashift: Set to 12 (for SSDs).

2. Add Pool to Proxmox Storage#

To make the pool usable for VM/LXC disks: Navigate to: Datacenter → Storage → Add → ZFS

1. ID: Name the storage entry.
2. ZFS Pool: Select the created pool (e.g., tank).
3. Content: Select Disk image and Container.
4. Thin Provisioning: Check this box.

Historical Notes#

This documentation covers the 2-drive ZFS configuration established in March 2025.

Open Questions#

None.

Related Pages#

Proxmox ZFS Storage & Installation Patterns, Proxmox NVMe Partition Management

Sources#

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