Proxmox Disk Passthrough Guide#

1. Discovery Commands#

Use these commands to identify physical disks on the Proxmox host.

# Install hardware lister
apt install lshw

# List disks and storage controllers
lshw -class disk -class storage

# List all Physical Disk IDs (The ID needed for passthrough)
ls -l /dev/disk/by-id/

# Advanced list: Maps Device to ID and filters out partitions/LVM
lsblk |awk 'NR==1{print $0" DEVICE-ID(S)"}NR>1{dev=$1;printf $0" ";system("find /dev/disk/by-id -lname \"*"dev"\" -printf \" %p\"");print "";}'|grep -v -E 'part|lvm'

2. Configuration Requirements#

Adding Serials (Crucial for TrueNAS/ZFS)#

In TrueNAS manually edit the VM config file to ensure disk serials persist:

Proxmox Backup Server (PBS)#

1 Installation & Post-Install#

1.1 Post-Install Optimization#

Run this script to configure repositories and optimize settings:

bash -c "$(wget -qLO - [https://github.com/community-scripts/ProxmoxVE/raw/main/misc/post-pbs-install.sh](https://github.com/community-scripts/ProxmoxVE/raw/main/misc/post-pbs-install.sh))"

1.2 Install File Browser#

bash -c "$(wget -qLO - [https://github.com/tteck/Proxmox/raw/main/misc/filebrowser.sh](https://github.com/tteck/Proxmox/raw/main/misc/filebrowser.sh))"

2 Setup VM with SMB Datastore#

2.1 Create Mount Directory#

mkdir /mnt/HP1ProxmoxBackupServer

2.2 Configure Credentials#

nano /etc/samba/.smbcreds

File Content:

username=proxmox
password=private

2.3 Set Permissions#

Change permission to Read-Only by root:

chmod 400 /etc/samba/.smbcreds

2.4 Manual Mount Test#

mount -t cifs -o rw,vers=3.0,credentials=/etc/samba/.smbcreds,uid=34,gid=34 //10.1.1.225/HP1ProxmoxBackupServer /mnt/HP1ProxmoxBackupServer

2.5 Permanent Mount (fstab)#

nano /etc/fstab

Add line:

TrueNAS Administration Guide#

The complete UNAS-Pro backup architecture, schedules, TrueNAS node configuration, and recovery procedures are documented in Unifi UNAS-Pro Backup Strategy.

1. TrueNAS Scale: Initial Setup & Security#

Virtual Machine Configuration (Proxmox)#

• Initial Setup: Create the VM. Add a second virtual disk (10GB) for apps and home directories.
• Post-Login: Verify the Time Zone is accurate.
• Duplicate Serial Error: If Proxmox reports Disks have duplicate serial numbers, add serials manually in the PVE host:

  nano /etc/pve/qemu-server/212.conf
  # Add serial strings:
  scsi0: Storage:vm-212-disk-0,discard=on,size=32G,ssd=1,serial=PROX-001
  scsi1: Storage:vm-212-disk-1,discard=on,size=1G,ssd=1,serial=PROX-002

Datasets & Users#

1. Datasets: Create HP3-10Gb-Apps-HomeDirs. Add sub-datasets Apps (Type: Apps) and HomeDirs (Type: Generic).
2. Standard User: Create user marc for SMB shares.
3. Sync User: Create backupuser. Set a home directory, uncheck Samba authentication, and do not set a password.
4. Admin Hardening: - Create user marcoue with full admin rights.
   • Upload SSH keys and enable 2FA for marcoue.
   • Disable the default truenas_admin account once verified.

SSH Hardening#

sudo nano /etc/ssh/sshd_config
# Modify/Add:
PermitRootLogin prohibit-password
PubkeyAuthentication yes

sudo systemctl restart sshd

• Services: Go to System > Services > SSH and disable “Allow Password Authentication.”

2. System & Networking Optimization#

Startup Scripts & Cron#

• Cron Shutdown: (System Settings > Advanced)
  • Command: /sbin/shutdown -h now
• Init Scripts: (Post Init)
  • Command: iperf3 -s -d
• Session Timeout: (Access > Configure) Set to 2147482.

Host Identification & Email#

• Hostname/NetBIOS: Set to HP2TrueNAS.
• Gmail OAuth/SMTP: - Use OAuth login if available.
  • SMTP: smtp.gmail.com | Port: 25 or 587.
  • Use an App Password from 1Password.

3. Data Protection & Replication#

Periodic Snapshots (Source)#

• Path: Data Protection > Periodic Snapshot Tasks.
• Settings: Uncheck “Recursive” (unless needed). Uncheck “Taking Empty Snapshot.”
• Schedule: Daily at 08:30, retention 7 days.

Replication Task (Remote Server Pull)#

1. Source: Different System.
2. Connection: New SSH (Semi-Auto).
3. Settings: Admin: marcoue, User: backupuser. Enable passwordless sudo.
4. ZFS Commands: Check “Use Sudo for ZFS Commands.”
5. Schedule: Every hour at 08:45.

4. Syncthing Deployment#

TrueNAS Scale Implementation#

1. System Settings > Advanced > Sysctl:
   • Var: fs.inotify.max_user_watches | Value: 524288.
2. Apps > Advanced: Disable “Host Path Safety Check.”
3. App Setup: Install Enterprise Version. Use Host Path for storage (e.g., /mnt/HP1-4TBSSD-Raid0/HP1Storage).

5. Hardware-Specific Configurations#

Mac Pro Auto-Restart (After Power Outage)#

cd /sys/bus/pci/devices/0000:00:1f.0
sudo chmod -R 777 config
setpci -s 0:1f.0 0xa4.b=0

Wake-on-LAN (WOL) Persistence#

Create a systemd service to ensure WOL stays active: