Summary

This guide was built using syncbricks' video, linked below.

1. Erase the disk
   1. Run lsblk to identify the device
      1. You can use lsblk -o NAME,UUID,ID-LINK,LABEL,MODEL,PARTUUID,TYPE,PATH,MOUNTPOINTS | sed -n '1p;/disk\|part/p' to get the information you need for each drive to get a more consistent method of ID^[grep works too, but sed can display the header]
         1. NAME: for your own reference, shows parent drives and partitions
         2. UUID: /dev/disk/by-uuid
         3. ID-LINK: /dev/disk/by-id (most helpful)
         4. LABEL: /dev/disk/by-label (likely unhelpful, probably should remove)
         5. MODEL: for your own reference
         6. PARTUUID: /dev/disk/by-partuuid (only helpful with partitions)
         7. TYPE: for sorting
         8. PATH: for your own reference
         9. MOUNTPOINTS: for your own reference
   2. Two methods to wipe the drive
      1. sudo wipefs -a /dev/sdX, with X being the drive's NAME
         1. Warning: As Xepher notes, you're more likely to select the wrong disk with /dev/sdX, and the better alternative is to use /dev/disk/*, which has a bunch of folders grouped by better identifiers for disks. While a disk sdX ID might change between reboots or systems, the parameters identified in /dev/disk/* are not.
      2. sudo wipefs -a /dev/disk/by-label/xyz, with xyz being the drive's ID-LINK
         1. Don't forget that you can hit Tab once you've written most of the command for it to autofill what must remain.
         2. For example, sudo wipefs -a /dev/disk/by-label/usb-G+Tab would complete as sudo wipefs -a /dev/disk/by-label/usb-Generic_STORAGE_DEVICE-0:0 if that was the only label that started with usb-G
2. Initialize Disk with GPT and create the partition
   1. Either through the GUI and Initialize with GPT or with sgdisk -N 1 /dev/disk/by-label/xyz
3. Format the partition
   1. mkfs.ext4 /dev/disk/by-partuuid/123 with 123 being the PARTUUID
      1. You will have to re-run the lsblk command from earlier, but you will use the PARTUUID in the next step
4. Create mount directory and mount partition
   1. Create a mountpoint directory with mkdir /mnt/dir-name-of-choice (e.g., /mnt/usb-drive or /mnt/ext-backup)
   2. Use nano to append fstab to include the PARTUUID and mount point you created
      1. nano /etc/fstab
      2. /dev/disk/by-uuid/123 /mnt/dir-name-of-choice ext4 defaults,^[1] with 123 being the PARTUUID
   3. Run systemctl daemon-reload && mount -a to reload the system daemons and mount all file systems
      1. As a reminder, && allows you to run two commands sequentially in the same line.
   4. Confirm all is correct by running lsblk to see that it's mounted
      1. Refreshing the GUI should also show that it's mounted.
5. Add to Datacenter through the GUI
   1. Navigate up a level from your host system to the Datacenter view, go to Storage, and select the "Add" dropdown menu, and choose "Directory"
   2. Fill in the information requested:
      1. ID: any name you want
      2. Directory: the mountpath you configured earlier (`/mnt/dir-name-of-choice)
      3. Content: Select everything to make sure you can use the drive however you would like.
   3. The drive should now appear under the host, and allow you to store any information you want there.

Metadata

Sources

Proxmox USB Storage Tutorial - How to mount USB disks in Proxmox VE - YouTube

Tags

#tools_Prox