Moving install to new SSD (LVM and ZFS)

[ifathom]

I've got a small home server, with Proxmox 5.4.13 running on a 256gb SSD in LVM, plus there are four HDDs in a ZFS pool (all disks in the same tower). Proxmox install, CTs and VMs are stored on the SSD, while all user and app data are in the ZFS pool. I'm running out of space on SSD, so I'm planning on getting a 1tb SSD to replace the existing 256gb SSD.

I've read the best way to migrate is to back up CTs and VMs, install Proxmox onto the new SSD, and import them.

A few questions:

1) I'm maxed out on SATA connections. Can I safely swap the SSDs in the machine? I can obviously connect the old SSD by USB if needed to migrate some data after new install.
2) What do I need to do to bring the 4-drive ZFS pool (all drives physically in the same machine) into the new Proxmox install?
3) Should I move to Proxmox 6 on the new install, or best to stick with 5.4.13 for migration, and then upgrade afterward?

Thanks for the help!

 

[Stefan_R]

I've read the best way to migrate is to back up CTs and VMs, install Proxmox onto the new SSD, and import them.

That's one way, yes. If you want to keep everything intact, you could also just clone the drive (clonezilla, dd, etc...) and then expand the LVM to use the rest of the space.

1) I'm maxed out on SATA connections. Can I safely swap the SSDs in the machine?

I don't know why you couldn't? Worst come, you can always swap back...

2) What do I need to do to bring the 4-drive ZFS pool (all drives physically in the same machine) into the new Proxmox install?

If you migrate the old install, nothing. If you reinstall, you should be able to just run 'zpool import -f <poolname>' on the new install and it should reappear after scanning your disks. Then just add a ZFS storage under Datacenter->Storage, select the imported pool and give it a name (keep the name the same for best results with restoring the backups).

3) Should I move to Proxmox 6 on the new install, or best to stick with 5.4.13 for migration, and then upgrade afterward?

If you're doing a reinstall, best to go for 6.1 directly. Backup archives are fully backwards compatible, so you can restore the 5.4 backups on 6.x without issue.