How to Install Proxmox VE 9.2 with ZFS on Dell OptiPlex 3070 Micro

The Dell OptiPlex 3070 Micro is a compact and power-efficient mini PC that works well as a small Proxmox homelab server.

In this guide, I will install Proxmox VE 9.2 using ZFS on the following hardware:

• Dell OptiPlex 3070 Micro
• Intel Core i3-9100T
• 16GB DDR4 RAM (2x8GB)
• 256GB NVMe SSD
• Gigabit Ethernet

This setup is suitable for lightweight virtual machines, LXC containers, Home Assistant, monitoring tools, Docker services, and other self-hosted applications.

1. Download Proxmox VE 9.2

Download the official Proxmox VE 9.2 ISO installer from the Proxmox website.

Create a bootable USB drive using Rufus, Balena Etcher, or another USB imaging tool.

If Rufus asks whether to use ISO Mode or DD Mode, choose DD Mode.

Make sure there is no important data on the USB drive because the imaging process will erase it.

2. Configure Dell OptiPlex 3070 BIOS

Turn on the Dell OptiPlex 3070 Micro and press F2 to enter BIOS Setup.

Before installing Proxmox, check the following BIOS settings.

SATA Operation

Change the SATA mode from RAID On to AHCI

AHCI is preferable for this ZFS installation because Proxmox can access the storage directly.

Enable Virtualization

Make sure Intel Virtualization Technology is enabled.

Intel Virtualization Technology: Enabled

Also enable VT for Direct I/O.

VT for Direct I/O: Enabled

Intel Virtualization Technology enables hardware virtualization for KVM virtual machines.

VT for Direct I/O, also known as Intel VT-d, is useful if you want to use hardware passthrough later.

Boot Mode

Set the boot mode to UEFI

Save the BIOS configuration and restart the computer.

3. Boot the Proxmox Installer

Insert the Proxmox USB drive and restart the Dell OptiPlex.

Press F12 during startup to open the Dell One-Time Boot Menu.

Select the USB drive.

When the Proxmox installer appears, I choose Install Proxmox VE (Terminal UI) because I want to just focus using keyboard. 

Accept the license agreement to continue.

4. Install Proxmox VE 9.2 with ZFS

At the Target Harddisk screen, click Advanced Options.

For the filesystem, select ZFS (RAID0)

Because this system only uses one NVMe SSD, Proxmox will create a single-disk ZFS pool.

The main ZFS root pool is normally named rpool

I use the following settings

• ashift: Choose 12. This is the standard for 4K sectors on modern SSDs to maximize performance and prevent premature SSD wear.

• compress: Choose lz4 (or on if lz4 is automatically enabled by default). It is very fast and helps save storage space on your limited-capacity SSD.

• checksum: Choose on (default). This feature automatically detects data corruption.

• copies: Choose 1. Do not change it to 2 or 3, as this would duplicate the data and consume the capacity of your small 256GB SSD.

• hdsize: Set the maximum to 220 GB. Leave around 15–20 GB of unallocated space as over-provisioning. This is especially important for a small SSD because it gives the SSD controller room for garbage collection and helps extend the SSD's lifespan.
  But I forgot to set this item, so the installer use all the remaining disk space.

• ARC max size: Set it to 2–3 GB. By default, ZFS can use up to 50% of your total RAM for its cache (ARC). Since your SSD is only 256GB, limit this value from the beginning so the remaining RAM stays available for running VMs/containers.

Continue with the installation.

5. Configure Location and Administrator Account

Select your country, time zone, and keyboard layout.

Create a strong password for the root account and enter your email address.

The root account will be used to manage Proxmox from both the web interface and local console.

6. Configure the Proxmox Network

A Proxmox server should normally use a static IP address. For this installation, the Proxmox management IP is 192.168.8.8/24

Example network configuration:

• Hostname: pve01.home.local
• IP Address: 192.168.8.8/24
• Gateway: 192.168.8.1
• DNS Server: 192.168.8.1

7. Complete the Proxmox Installation

Review the installation summary carefully.

Make sure the correct 256GB NVMe SSD is selected because all data on the target disk will be erased.

Once the installation is complete, remove the USB drive and reboot the Dell OptiPlex.

8. Access the Proxmox Web Interface

After Proxmox starts, open a web browser from another computer and open https://192.168.8.8:8006

Your browser may show a certificate warning because a fresh Proxmox installation uses a self-signed SSL certificate.

Continue to the page to access the Proxmox VE dashboard.

Log in using:

• Username: root
• Realm: Linux PAM standard authentication
• Enter the root password created during installation.

After Proxmox has been successfully installed and you are at the main menu, open the Shell/Terminal in Proxmox and run these two commands to further optimize the SSD:

Disable Access Time (Atime): This prevents unnecessary write operations every time a file is read.

:::code

zfs set atime=off rpool

:::

Enable Autotrim: This allows the system to continuously release unused blocks, helping maintain SSD performance over time.

:::code

zpool set autotrim=on rpool

:::

9. Verify the ZFS Pool

From the Proxmox web interface, open:

Node > Shell

Run:

:::code

zpool status

:::

The result should show the rpool status as ONLINE.

Example:

:::code

pool: rpool

state: ONLINE

:::

You can also check the available ZFS datasets:

:::code

zfs list

:::

To view the physical disk layout:

:::code

lsblk

:::

If rpool shows ONLINE, the ZFS pool is working correctly.

10. Update Proxmox VE

After installation, update Proxmox before creating virtual machines or containers.

Run:

:::code

apt update

apt dist-upgrade

:::

If a new kernel is installed, reboot the server:

:::code

reboot

:::

It is a good idea to keep around 15 to 20 percent of the ZFS pool free.

If the homelab grows, upgrading the NVMe SSD to 500GB or 1TB will provide much more flexibility.

The Dell OptiPlex 3070 Micro also has a 2.5-inch SATA drive bay that can be used later for additional storage or backups.

ZFS still provides useful features such as:

• Checksumming
• Compression
• Snapshots
• Datasets
• Native Proxmox integration

However, a single-disk ZFS pool does not provide disk redundancy.

If the NVMe SSD completely fails, the ZFS pool and the virtual machines stored on it can be lost.

Important virtual machines, containers, and application data should always be backed up to another physical disk, NAS, or Proxmox Backup Server.