How to Add and Use Physical Disks in Proxmox VE

This guide explains how to prepare, format, and attach physical disks /dev/sda and /dev/sdb to Proxmox VE for local storage usage.

1. Clean Existing Partitions from the Disk

Run to wipe previous partitions and meta

sgdisk --zap-all /dev/sda
sgdisk --zap-all /dev/sdb

Or alternatively:

wipefs -a /dev/sda
wipefs -a /dev/sdb

2. Create a New GPT Partition Table

Use parted to set a new GPT label:

parted /dev/sda mklabel gpt
parted /dev/sdb mklabel gpt

3. Create a Single Partition Covering the Whole Disk

parted -a optimal /dev/sda mkpart primary 0% 100%
parted -a optimal /dev/sdb mkpart primary 0% 100%

Check partitions:

lsblk /dev/sda
lsblk /dev/sdb

4. Format the Partitions (ext4 Example)

mkfs.ext4 /dev/sda1
mkfs.ext4 /dev/sdb1

5. Mount the Partitions

Create mount points and mount the disks:

mkdir /mnt/storage_sda
mkdir /mnt/storage_sdb

mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/storage_sda
mount /dev/sdb1 /mnt/storage_sdb

Add to /etc/fstab for automatic mounting:

/dev/sda1 /mnt/storage_sda ext4 defaults 0 2
/dev/sdb1 /mnt/storage_sdb ext4 defaults 0 2

6. Add Storage in Proxmox VE Web Interface

• Go to Datacenter → Storage → Add → Directory
• Set an ID (e.g., storage_sda)
• Set the directory path (/mnt/storage_sda)
• Select content types (Disk image, ISO, Backup, etc.)
• Click Add

Repeat for /mnt/storage_sdb if needed.

Optional: Use LVM or ZFS Instead

LVM Example

pvcreate /dev/sda1
vgcreate vg_sda /dev/sda1

pvcreate /dev/sdb1
vgcreate vg_sdb /dev/sdb1

Add storage as LVM in Proxmox, select VG name.

ZFS Example

zpool create pool_sda /dev/sda1
zpool create pool_sdb /dev/sdb1

Add storage as ZFS in Proxmox.

This guide covers the standard way to prepare and use physical disks with Proxmox VE. Contact for help with advanced configurations.