Introduction
A common Proxmox setup is to install the hypervisor on a fast SSD or NVMe drive while using a larger HDD for additional storage. This approach balances performance, capacity, and reliability.
In this setup, the Proxmox operating system and performance-sensitive workloads remain on the NVMe SSD, while a secondary HDD is used for backups, ISO files, templates, and future virtual machines.
Checking the HDD in Proxmox
Before using a new disk, verify that Proxmox detects it:
lsblk
Example:
nvme0n1 232GB Proxmox installation
sda 931GB Secondary HDD
The SSD contains the Proxmox installation, while the HDD can be prepared as additional storage.
Preparing the HDD
If the HDD was previously used with Windows, it may have an NTFS filesystem. For Proxmox storage, Linux-native filesystems such as ext4 are recommended.
Format the partition:
mkfs.ext4 -L telcohdd1 /dev/sda1
Create a mount point:
mkdir -p /mnt/telcohdd1
Mount the disk:
mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/telcohdd1
Verify:
df -h
The HDD should now appear as:
/dev/sda1 916G /mnt/telcohdd1
Making the Mount Permanent
Linux mounts configured manually will disappear after reboot unless added to /etc/fstab.
Find the UUID:
blkid /dev/sda1
Add the UUID entry:
UUID=<your-uuid> /mnt/telcohdd1 ext4 defaults 0 2
Test:
mount -a
If no errors appear, the storage will automatically mount after reboot.
Adding the Storage to Proxmox
In the Proxmox web interface:
Datacenter
→ Storage
→ Add
→ Directory
Configure:
- ID:
telcohdd1 - Directory:
/mnt/telcohdd1 - Shared: Disabled
This creates a local Proxmox storage pool.
Conclusion
A dedicated HDD storage pool provides a flexible location for VM backups, ISO images, templates, and future workloads while keeping the Proxmox operating system and critical services on faster SSD storage.