How do I mount an old (single) zfs backup disk in a newly installed PBS server?

[extcon]

I'm learning and played around with Proxmox. I installed a PBS and created a ZFS on a single disk and added it as a datastore through the GUI. I did do a couple of backups which worked fine.
I later re-installed PBS from scratch with another single backup disk (ext4 this time). I need to restore some of the backups from the old drive. How can I mount the old ZFS disk in the new PBS server to copy over the backups to the new PBS install?
Thanks!

 

[Dunuin]

See the OpenZFS documentation for the "zpool import" command:
https://openzfs.github.io/openzfs-docs/man/8/zpool-import.8.html

 

[extcon]

See the OpenZFS documentation for the "zpool import" command:
https://openzfs.github.io/openzfs-docs/man/8/zpool-import.8.html

Thank you. With you kind support I managed to import the zfs pool named "backups" which automatically mounted in /mnt/datastore/backups.

I copied the directories and files using cp -a -v /mnt/datastore/backups /mnt/datastore/old-backups. Not sure if the target ended up on the new ext4 drive or old zfs drive. How do I check that?

I then tried to create a new datastore using the GUI pointing to /mnt/datastore/old-backups but I got an error message that .chunks already exists.

What is the correct procedure to add the copied backup files to a new datastore?

 

[Dunuin]

I copied the directories and files using cp -a -v /mnt/datastore/backups /mnt/datastore/old-backups. Not sure if the target ended up on the new ext4 drive or old zfs drive. How do I check that?

Check your mountpoints. For example df -h should show them.

I then tried to create a new datastore using the GUI pointing to /mnt/datastore/old-backups but I got an error message that .chunks already exists.

There is no way using the webUI to import an existing datastore. You need to edit the /etc/proxmox-backup/datastore.cfg

 

[extcon]

Check your mountpoints. For example df -h should show them.


There is no way using the webUI to import an existing datastore. You need to edit the /etc/proxmox-backup/datastore.cfg

I know that the pve-backups directory (aka new-backups) is on the sda 1TB ext4 drive and I know the backups directory is pn the old sdb 4TB zfs drive. I've created the other directories manually using mkdir in the shell in /mnt/datastore. I don't know where/what disk those directories are created/located but looks to be on the systemdrive judging from the disksize. I want to copy all old backup files to the sda ext4 drive but I'm not knowledgeable enough in Linux :-(... I do appreciate your patience and kind help very much!

 

[Dunuin]

I've created the other directories manually using mkdir in the shell in /etc/datastore

That's a bad place for a datastore. "/etc" in linux is usually only used to store config files. But according to your df -h output you probably mean "/mnt/datastore".

I don't know where/what disk those directories are created/located but looks to be on the systemdrive judging from the disksize.

Everything that is not a mountpoint is part of the root filesystem, so will end up on your system disk.

If I understand you right, you want to move the backups from the 4TB ZFS disk sdb to the 1TB sda1 ext4 disk.
Sdb is mounted to "/mnt/datastore/backups". Sda1 is mounted to "/mnt/datastore/pve-backups". You you need to copy all the files and folder, including the hidden ones (beginning with the "."), from "/mnt/datastore/backups" to "/mnt/datastore/pve-backups".
"/mnt/datastore/old-backups" is not a mountpoint, so stuff stored there is part of your root filesystem = systm disk.

I already wrote in your other thread how I would copy files so that hidden files will also be copied over remaining the correct ownerships and rights.