Proxmox ZFS Storage & Installation Patterns#

What Was Established#

Procedures for managing ZFS rpool on single-disk Proxmox installations, including methods for limiting pool size and troubleshooting import failures.

Key Decisions#

Single Disk Size Limitation: When installing Proxmox on a large disk but wanting to limit the ZFS pool to a specific size (e.g., 64GB) to leave room for other partitions, use the hdsize parameter in the Proxmox installer’s Advanced Options.
Custom Partitioning Method: For complex layouts, it is possible to manually partition a drive in Debian and then upgrade the system to Proxmox VE.

Current Configuration#

ZFS Pool Creation (Manual)#

To create a ZFS pool with specific optimizations (ashift=12, compression=lz4) and a size limit:

zpool create -o ashift=12 -O compression=lz4 -O atime=off -O mountpoint=/rpool rpool /dev/sdX -o size=64G

Debian to Proxmox Upgrade Path#

Install Debian with manual partitioning (e.g., / on ext4, swap, and an unformatted partition for ZFS).
Install zfsutils-linux and create the pool on the unformatted partition.
Add Proxmox repositories to /etc/apt/sources.list: deb http://download.proxmox.com/debian/pve bullseye pve-no-subscription
Add Proxmox GPG key and run apt update && apt dist-upgrade.
Install proxmox-ve, postfix, and open-iscsi.

Errors Resolved#

rpool Import Failure#

If Proxmox fails to import the rpool (often due to the pool being marked as in use or improperly exported):

Scan for available pools:

zpool import

- **Force import**:
```bash
zpool import -f rpool

Missing `lsblk` Command#

If lsblk is missing from a minimal installation:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install util-linux -y

Historical Notes#

Note: The Debian-to-Proxmox upgrade method is an advanced procedure. Use standard Proxmox ISO installation unless specific partitioning requirements necessitate this method.

Proxmox ZFS Storage Setup, Web Server Deployment Pattern (Beginner)

Sources#

ingested/chats/017-Remind me of the steps we took t.md