How to Resizing Disk and Configuring Swap on a Debian VM in Proxmox

Step 1: Increase Disk Size in Proxmox

1. Shutdown the VM: Ensure it's powered off.
2. Adjust Disk Size:
   • Navigate to the VM in Proxmox.
   • Go to "Hardware" -> "Hard Disk".
   • Adjust the size and confirm changes.

Step 2: Resize Partition and Filesystem in Debian

1. Access the VM: SSH or use the console. A like to my tutorial can be found here.

2. Install Parted Utility: Use sudo apt install parted to install the Parted Utility.

3. Parted Utility: Use parted to manage partitions.

   sudo parted
   

   • Remove Unnecessary Partitions (if applicable):

     (parted) rm [partition_number]
     

   • Resize the Primary Partition:

     (parted) resizepart 1 100%
     

   • Exit parted with quit.

4. Resize the Filesystem:

   sudo resize2fs /dev/sda1
   

Step 3: Configure Swap File

1. Create a Swap File:

   sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=/swapfile bs=1G count=2 status=progress
   

   (Adjust count to the desired swap size in GB.)

   If there's insufficient space:

   • Check space with df -h.
   • Investigate usage and adjust accordingly.

2. Set Permissions and Make Swap:

   sudo chmod 600 /swapfile
   sudo mkswap /swapfile
   sudo swapon /swapfile
   

3. Persist Swap Across Reboots:

   • Open /etc/fstab with a text editor, like nano:

     sudo nano /etc/fstab
     

   • Add the swap entry:

     /swapfile none swap sw 0 0
     

   • Save and exit.

Step 4: Verification and Finalization

1. Verify Disk and Swap:

   • Check disk space: df -h.
   • Check memory and swap: free -m.

2. Reboot the VM:

   sudo reboot
   

3. Verify Again:

   • Ensure the filesystem and swap are as expected after the reboot.

Additional Notes

• Backups: Ensure you backup critical data before performing disk operations.
• Swap Size: Adjust based on your specific use and available memory.
• Docker: If using Docker, manage resources and volumes to optimize disk usage.

Considerations for Future Work

• Routine Monitoring: Regularly check disk usage, especially with applications that dynamically generate data or logs.
• Docker Management: Periodically prune unused Docker objects and manage image and container storage efficiently.

Adam Malin

adammalin.com

You can find me on Twitter or on Nostr at

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