[PVE 8] ZFS Mirror Boot Pool on PVE: Guide to Replace Failing Disk in 2025?

[SInisterPisces]

Hello,

I tried to google this, but found some pretty old results that were focused on PVE 7. I'm not sure valid those still are. I also found plenty of results for just replacing a disk in a standard mirror pool, but I think the PVE rpool is different because of how it's partitioned.

Assume I've got a single vdev mirror pool that's acting as my rpool. One of the disks has started screaming about its failure and impending demise via zpool status.

What step-by-step guide to replacing the dying disk should I be looking at?

 

[LnxBil]

Still in the reference documentation and still valid:

https://pve.proxmox.com/pve-docs/chapter-sysadmin.html#_zfs_administration

 

[SInisterPisces]

Thanks!

 

[RobFantini]

So I read the above, have a rpool device to replace. I read https://pve.proxmox.com/pve-docs/chapter-sysadmin.html#_zfs_administration and want to verify that just this one step is needed:

zpool replace -f <pool> <old-device> <new-device>

 

[leesteken]

So I read the above, have a rpool device to replace. I read https://pve.proxmox.com/pve-docs/chapter-sysadmin.html#_zfs_administration and want to verify that just this one step is needed:

zpool replace -f <pool> <old-device> <new-device>

That's the most essential step for replacing a device in a ZFS pool, so maybe I don't really understand the question?
Please note that if you need to replace a bootable drive (like rpool) then you need to follow the section 'Changing a failed bootable device'.

 

[RobFantini]

So I read the above, have a rpool device to replace. I read https://pve.proxmox.com/pve-docs/chapter-sysadmin.html#_zfs_administration and want to verify that just this one step is needed:

zpool replace -f <pool> <old-device> <new-device>

I see there are more steps to do. the above only takes care of partition 3

That's the most essential step for replacing a device in a ZFS pool, so maybe I don't really understand the question?
Please note that if you need to replace a bootable drive (like rpool) then you need to follow the section 'Changing a failed bootable device'.

Okay thanks.

 

[RobFantini]

also one thing I ran into is that I tried to reboot the system after removing one of the rpool drives. I was unable to run zpool attach because for some reason the newly installed drive was in use. so i tried to reboot. reboot failed . changing the boot device in bios would have fixed the issue.