Migrating to new server including BIOS -> EFI

[holmis]

I'm in the process of migrating an existing server to new hardware. The current server is using a dedicated boot drive and the backup data is stored in a ZFS raidz2 volume. Normally I would just move all the disks to the new server and job's done. However, in this case it also involves migrating from BIOS to EFI boot.

I can see two possible ways to do this:

• Converting the boot drive to EFI-boot (seems like a lot of hassle and the PBS would be inaccessible in the meantime)
  • Convert the boot drive
  • Move all the disks to the new server
• On the new server:
  • Do a clean PBS install
  • Shut down the PBS services
  • Copy the /etc/proxmox-backup directory from the old server
  • Edit: Copy the /var/lib/proxmox-backup directory from the old server
  • Move the ZFS drives to the new server
  • Import the zpool
  • Activate the PBS services.

Which option, if any, would You recommend?

 

[Magnus-mercer]

I’d do a clean EFI install on the new box and import the ZFS pool there, copying only the PBS configuration and data directories from the old server. It’s safer, cleaner, and minimizes messing with the production server’s boot setup.