project-lyra/rag/chatlogs/lyra/0077_Storage_cleanup_advice.json

{
  "title": "Storage cleanup advice",
  "messages": [
    {
      "role": "user",
      "content": "so my proxmox hypervisor is pretty full, we only allocated 100GB and its at 90% full. Should i add more space, or can i try to figure out whats clogging it up"
    },
    {
      "role": "assistant",
      "content": "Good question — before you throw more disk at it, it’s smart to figure out *what’s eating that 90 GB*.  \n\nHere’s the quick, logical plan I’d follow:\n\n---\n\n### 🧭 Step-by-Step Plan\n\n1. **Check overall storage pools**\n   ```bash\n   df -h\n   ```\n   This shows all filesystems and their usage. Pay attention to `/` (root), `/var/lib/vz`, and any `local-lvm` or `local` volumes.\n\n2. **List your big directories**\n   ```bash\n   du -h --max-depth=1 / | sort -hr | head\n   ```\n   Then drill into the top offenders:\n   ```bash\n   du -h --max-depth=1 /var | sort -hr | head\n   du -h --max-depth=1 /var/lib | sort -hr | head\n   ```\n   On Proxmox, `/var/lib/vz` or `/var/lib/pve-cluster` often balloon with:\n   - ISO images\n   - backup files\n   - old logs\n   - container templates\n\n3. **Check Proxmox-specific clutter**\n   - **ISO images**  \n     ```bash\n     ls -lh /var/lib/vz/template/iso\n     ```\n   - **LXC backups**  \n     ```bash\n     ls -lh /var/lib/vz/dump\n     ```\n   - **VM snapshots**  \n     ```bash\n     qm listsnapshot <vmid>\n     ```\n     (Delete stale ones with `qm delsnapshot <vmid> <snapshot>`.)\n\n4. **Trim logs and journal**\n   ```bash\n   journalctl --disk-usage\n   sudo journalctl --vacuum-time=7d\n   ```\n   or\n   ```bash\n   sudo journalctl --vacuum-size=500M\n   ```\n\n5. **Optional: clean cached packages**\n   ```bash\n   apt clean\n   ```\n\n---\n\n### ⚖️ Decision Point\n\n- If it turns out your **VM images / ISOs / backups** are the main issue, deleting or moving them to another disk is better than expanding the root.\n- If **system partitions** are genuinely too small (e.g. `/var` or `/` routinely fills up from normal operation), then yes — add more storage:\n  - Add a new disk, create an LV or mount point, and move `/var/lib/vz` there.\n  - Or extend the LVM volume group if your hypervisor disk has free space.\n\n---\n\nWould you like me to show the exact commands to move `/var/lib/vz` to another disk safely (the clean “add space without reinstalling” route)?"
    },
    {
      "role": "user",
      "content": "root@proxmox:~# ls -lh /var/lib/vz/dump\ntotal 69G\n-rw-r--r-- 1 root root  886 Oct 17 19:06 vzdump-qemu-100-2025_10_17-19_06_37.log\n-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 9.3K Oct 17 19:11 vzdump-qemu-100-2025_10_17-19_06_48.log\n-rw-r--r-- 1 root root  49G Oct 17 19:11 vzdump-qemu-100-2025_10_17-19_06_48.vma.zst\n-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1.5K Oct 17 19:06 vzdump-qemu-101-2025_10_17-19_06_14.log\n-rw-r--r-- 1 root root  839 Oct 17 19:06 vzdump-qemu-101-2025_10_17-19_06_39.log\n-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 4.3K Oct 17 19:12 vzdump-qemu-101-2025_10_17-19_11_06.log\n-rw-r--r-- 1 root root  16G Oct 17 19:12 vzdump-qemu-101-2025_10_17-19_11_06.vma.zst\n-rw-r--r-- 1 root root  507 Oct 17 19:06 vzdump-qemu-200-2025_10_17-19_06_41.log\n-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 2.6K Oct 17 19:13 vzdump-qemu-200-2025_10_17-19_12_56.log\n-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 4.9G Oct 17 19:13 vzdump-qemu-200-2025_10_17-19_12_56.vma.zst\n\n"
    },
    {
      "role": "assistant",
      "content": "Perfect — that’s the culprit.  \nYour `/var/lib/vz/dump` folder alone is **69 GB**, meaning your backup jobs are eating nearly all your 100 GB allocation.  \n\nHere’s how to fix it cleanly depending on what you want:\n\n---\n\n### ⚙️ Option 1 — Quick Cleanup (free space immediately)\nIf you already have newer backups or just created these manually:\n```bash\ncd /var/lib/vz/dump\nrm vzdump-qemu-100-2025_10_17-19_06_48.vma.zst\nrm vzdump-qemu-101-2025_10_17-19_11_06.vma.zst\nrm vzdump-qemu-200-2025_10_17-19_12_56.vma.zst\n```\nThat’ll free roughly **70 GB** instantly.  \n(You can check before deleting with `du -sh *`.)\n\n> ✅ Safe rule: keep *one* recent backup per VM, delete the rest.\n\nThen verify with:\n```bash\ndf -h /var/lib/vz\n```\n\n---\n\n### 🧩 Option 2 — Move Backups to Another Disk\nIf you’d rather *keep* them:\n\n1. Mount another drive (for example `/mnt/storage` or `/mnt/nas`).\n2. Move the dump folder:\n   ```bash\n   mv /var/lib/vz/dump /mnt/storage/vzdump\n   ln -s /mnt/storage/vzdump /var/lib/vz/dump\n   ```\n3. Test by running a manual backup to confirm the symlink works.\n\n---\n\n### 🧱 Option 3 — Expand Your Local Storage\nIf the root disk itself is small and you prefer to grow it:\n\n1. Shut down all VMs.\n2. Use `lsblk` or `pvs/vgs/lvs` to inspect your LVM layout.\n3. If unallocated space exists, extend the LV:\n   ```bash\n   lvextend -l +100%FREE /dev/pve/root\n   resize2fs /dev/pve/root\n   ```\n   or, if you added a second disk, create a new LV for backups and mount it as `/var/lib/vz/dump`.\n\n---\n\n### 💡 Tip\nTo prevent this in the future, open `/etc/vzdump.conf` and set:\n```\nmaxfiles: 1\n```\nThat way Proxmox automatically keeps only the most recent backup per VM.\n\n---\n\nWant me to walk you through Option 2 (moving dumps to another disk or NAS mount)? It’s the best long-term setup."
    }
  ]
}