Planned Storage Prompt

[FOR FUTURE SESSION - DO NOT RUN TONIGHT]

You are conducting a comprehensive read-only investigation of all storage layers in the homelab. This is investigation only - do not modify any storage config, RAID config, filesystem state, or run any operation that could affect data integrity.

GOAL: Build a complete picture of storage architecture, health, and risks. Output feeds into a separate decision-making session about storage improvements.

LAYER 1: Proxmox host local storage

  1. pvesm status (all configured storages and their states)
  2. pvs / vgs / lvs (LVM structure)
  3. df -h (filesystem usage on host)
  4. lsblk -o NAME,SIZE,TYPE,FSTYPE,MOUNTPOINT,SERIAL,MODEL,WWN
  5. cat /proc/mdstat (any mdadm arrays on host)
  6. P410i RAID controller status via ssacli or hpssacli if installed:
  7. ssacli controller all show config detail
  8. Note: if ssacli not installed, skip - do not install tonight
  9. SMART data for each physical drive on the host:
  10. smartctl -a /dev/sdX for each drive
  11. Focus on: Reallocated_Sector_Ct, Power_On_Hours, Wear_Leveling_Count, Media_Wearout_Indicator
  12. The Crucial M4 SSDs (Bay 5-8) are 14 years old, special attention needed
  13. The EG0450 SAS HDDs (Bay 2-4) and SPCC SSD (Bay 1) - basic health check

LAYER 2: VM 189 homeNas internal storage (read-only via SSH to VM 189)

  1. ssh homenas "lsblk -o NAME,SIZE,TYPE,FSTYPE,MOUNTPOINT" - what disks are passed through
  2. ssh homenas "cat /proc/mdstat" - mdadm arrays state
  3. ssh homenas "mdadm --detail /dev/md0 /dev/md1" - array health
  4. ssh homenas "btrfs filesystem show" - btrfs filesystem state
  5. ssh homenas "btrfs filesystem df /path/to/mount" - btrfs usage detail
  6. ssh homenas "btrfs scrub status /path/to/mount" - last scrub state
  7. ssh homenas "smartctl -a /dev/sdX" for each passthrough disk

LAYER 3: NFS exports configuration (read-only)

  1. ssh homenas "cat /etc/exports" - what's currently exported
  2. ssh homenas "showmount -e localhost 2>/dev/null" - exports as visible
  3. From PVE host: cat /etc/pve/storage.cfg | grep -A 5 "nfs:" - how Proxmox sees them
  4. Identify which NFS exports are referenced by destroyed VMs (orphan tracking)

LAYER 4: Backup state

  1. Check for any existing Proxmox Backup Server connections: cat /etc/pve/storage.cfg | grep pbs
  2. Check for any cron/systemd backup jobs: ls /etc/cron.* | grep -i backup
  3. Check for any vzdump scheduled tasks: ls /etc/pve/jobs.cfg 2>/dev/null
  4. Honest finding expected: no backups exist anywhere

LAYER 5: Filesystem health on Proxmox host

  1. dmesg | grep -iE "ata|sata|sas|scsi|raid|btrfs|ext4|error|fail" | tail -50 - look for storage errors in kernel log
  2. journalctl -k --since "30 days ago" | grep -iE "i/o error|medium error|unrecovered" - serious storage errors in last 30 days

REPORTING (no recommendations yet, just facts):

Section A: Physical drive inventory with health metrics

  • Per drive: model, serial, capacity, power-on hours, wear level if SSD, reallocated sectors, SMART overall verdict
  • Highlight drives showing any concerning indicator

Section B: RAID/array health

  • P410i logical drive states
  • mdadm array states (clean / degraded / resyncing / missing devices)
  • btrfs filesystem state (no errors / errors detected / scrub overdue)

Section C: Capacity and utilization

  • Per storage layer: total / used / available
  • Highlight any approaching capacity limits

Section D: Configuration documentation

  • The complete picture of how storage flows: physical drives → RAID → filesystem → exports → consumers
  • This is the documentation that should have existed but probably doesn't

Section E: Honest risk assessment

  • Identified single points of failure
  • Hardware showing age (M4 SSDs specifically)
  • Architectural concerns (mdadm-on-btrfs nest doll, no backups)
  • What "data loss scenarios" exist today

Section F: Open questions for the user

  • Specific decisions needed about retention, restoration, architecture changes
  • Things the investigation surfaced that need human judgment

This is pure investigation. No changes. Just facts and honest assessment.