[SOLVED] Promox host from Grub to UEFI problem

[Overfill4993]

Hey

I installed my Proxmox host as ZFS-on-root as a mirror one year ago. I only just now read that ZFS-on-root doesn't play nice with Grub and tried to swap over to UEFI boot. However I could not get BIOS (on Supermicro H12SSL-i) to find my OS install once changed to UEFI-boot.

I read the support article and many threads, but no success. My sources listed below.
https://pve.proxmox.com/wiki/Host_Bootloader
https://forum.proxmox.com/threads/fixing-uefi-boot.87719/

Some additional info about my configuration:

Two of these drives, /dev/sdl and /dev/sdm, identical information.

root@pve:~# fdisk -l /dev/sdl
Disk /dev/sdl: 372.61 GiB, 400088457216 bytes, 781422768 sectors
Disk model: MK0400GCTZA
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: gpt
Disk identifier: 1FFC01DE-EF5C-4A38-A27B-4D88D152FC36

Device       Start       End   Sectors   Size Type
/dev/sdl1       34      2047      2014  1007K BIOS boot
/dev/sdl2     2048   1050623   1048576   512M EFI System
/dev/sdl3  1050624 780140544 779089921 371.5G Solaris /usr & Apple ZFS

root@pve:~# proxmox-boot-tool status
Re-executing '/usr/sbin/proxmox-boot-tool' in new private mount namespace..
System currently booted with legacy bios
2D98-17D4 is configured with: grub (versions: 5.15.108-1-pve, 6.2.16-15-pve, 6.2.16-19-pve)
2D98-75B8 is configured with: grub (versions: 5.15.108-1-pve, 6.2.16-15-pve, 6.2.16-19-pve)

I have done the proxmox-boot-tool init /dev/sdXY command on both EFI-partitions and used the proxmox-boot-tool refresh afterwards. I got no errors running those.

In bios I set the boot mode to UEFI and tried finding the boot option with CSM and without.

I am out of ideas now. How can I get the EFI-partition to show in BIOS?

 

[Overfill4993]

I have been looking at this problem for a while now and haven't really figured out how to boot UEFI since boot options aren't present.

As far as I understand, using this guide https://pve.proxmox.com/wiki/ZFS:_Switch_Legacy-Boot_to_Proxmox_Boot_Tool I should be able to just change to UEFI boot and see the current disks as boot options. For some reason that does not happen to me.

What options am I left with? Hope that my pool does not break at some point or just install from scratch and restore?

 

[ubu]

1. I see no reason why you could not continue using Bios / grub Boot
2. How do you backup yor systems? I strongly recommend PBS, in which case you can just reinstall (with uefi) your PVE Server, attach your PBS and restore all of your VMs and Containers.
3. you should be able to switch to proxmox-boot tool, please show your disk layout (fdisk -l /dev/sd?, fdisk -l /dev/nvme?n1, lsblk, zpool status)

 

[Overfill4993]

1. The main reason is that I fear a zpool upgrade will some day break the install. Running zfs on root and using grub is a bad combination, or so I've been told.
2. VM's are backed to a NFS-share (which runs on a TrueNAS VM) using the Proxmox tool under Datacentre-Backup. The host itself is backed up with Sanoid/Syncoid which also sends backups to a NFS-share. I thought that PBS didn't support the full host backup just yet. If it does, that seems like the best option.
3. fdisk -l is in the starting post. It's identical between sdl and sdm. proxmox-boot-tool status, lsblk and zpool status are beneath. I thought that I need to actually boot with UEFI, but is proxmox-boot-tool by itself enough even in legacy mode?

NAME        MAJ:MIN RM   SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINTS
sdl           8:176  1 372.6G  0 disk
├─sdl1        8:177  1  1007K  0 part
├─sdl2        8:178  1   512M  0 part
└─sdl3        8:179  1 371.5G  0 part
sdm           8:192  1 372.6G  0 disk
├─sdm1        8:193  1  1007K  0 part
├─sdm2        8:194  1   512M  0 part
└─sdm3        8:195  1 371.5G  0 part

root@pve:~# proxmox-boot-tool status
Re-executing '/usr/sbin/proxmox-boot-tool' in new private mount namespace..
System currently booted with legacy bios
A95F-279F is configured with: grub (versions: 5.15.108-1-pve, 6.2.16-15-pve, 6.2.16-19-pve)
A9E7-AF53 is configured with: grub (versions: 5.15.108-1-pve, 6.2.16-15-pve, 6.2.16-19-pve)

  pool: rpool
 state: ONLINE
  scan: scrub repaired 0B in 00:01:34 with 0 errors on Sun Nov 12 00:25:37 2023
config:

        NAME                                          STATE     READ WRITE CKSUM
        rpool                                         ONLINE       0     0     0
          mirror-0                                    ONLINE       0     0     0
            ata-MK0400GCTZA_BTTV513506SZ400HGN-part3  ONLINE       0     0     0
            ata-MK0400GCTZA_BTTV542204L3400HGN-part3  ONLINE       0     0     0

errors: No known data errors

 

[fabian]

1. The main reason is that I fear a zpool upgrade will some day break the install. Running zfs on root and using grub is a bad combination, or so I've been told.

that is only true if the grub files/kernel/initrd are on ZFS. this is not the case in your setup - proxmox-boot-tool copies them to the ESP(s), which are vfat formatted and not on ZFS.

 

[Overfill4993]

that is only true if the grub files/kernel/initrd are on ZFS. this is not the case in your setup - proxmox-boot-tool copies them to the ESP(s), which are vfat formatted and not on ZFS.

You just dropped a weight off my shoulders, thanks!

I was just beginning to think that I might've misunderstood something since my understanding of UEFI, grub, kernel and such is quite lacklustre. I am glad that was the case.