* [PATCH docs v2 0/2] local-zfs: rephrase ARC limit
@ 2026-02-26 8:46 Maximiliano Sandoval
2026-02-26 8:46 ` [PATCH docs v2 1/2] " Maximiliano Sandoval
2026-02-26 8:46 ` [PATCH docs v2 2/2] local-zfs: add reference to the zfs(4) manual Maximiliano Sandoval
0 siblings, 2 replies; 3+ messages in thread
From: Maximiliano Sandoval @ 2026-02-26 8:46 UTC (permalink / raw)
To: pve-devel
See the first commit for more information.
Regarding adding the manual page: It is not very obvious where to find the
documentation for the value (I was personally interested in the units for
zfs_arc_max). Only after a `man -Kw zfs_arc_max` I found zfs(4) (as its sole
output).
I also considered just saying that we only fallback to ZFS' defaults without
specifying the exact values, perhaps only that they quite high compared to 10%.
Differences from v1:
- Document that we used ZFS' defaults before 8.1
- Use lowercase in commit message
Maximiliano Sandoval (2):
local-zfs: rephrase ARC limit
local-zfs: add reference to the zfs(4) manual
local-zfs.adoc | 14 ++++++++++----
1 file changed, 10 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-)
--
2.47.3
^ permalink raw reply [flat|nested] 3+ messages in thread
* [PATCH docs v2 1/2] local-zfs: rephrase ARC limit
2026-02-26 8:46 [PATCH docs v2 0/2] local-zfs: rephrase ARC limit Maximiliano Sandoval
@ 2026-02-26 8:46 ` Maximiliano Sandoval
2026-02-26 8:46 ` [PATCH docs v2 2/2] local-zfs: add reference to the zfs(4) manual Maximiliano Sandoval
1 sibling, 0 replies; 3+ messages in thread
From: Maximiliano Sandoval @ 2026-02-26 8:46 UTC (permalink / raw)
To: pve-devel
We rephrase the current section putting more emphasis on the current
state of things given than Proxmox VE 8.1 was released over two years
ago.
We also document ZFS' default size. See [zfs-6a629f3] for more details.
This also frames the problem for pre-existing setups in its own
paragraph.
[zfs-6a629f3] https://github.com/openzfs/zfs/commit/6a629f32344468ae81b264055916641480cb438d
Signed-off-by: Maximiliano Sandoval <m.sandoval@proxmox.com>
---
local-zfs.adoc | 13 +++++++++----
1 file changed, 9 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-)
diff --git a/local-zfs.adoc b/local-zfs.adoc
index 85fa092..b3a462d 100644
--- a/local-zfs.adoc
+++ b/local-zfs.adoc
@@ -586,10 +586,15 @@ configured for the root user.
Limit ZFS Memory Usage
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-ZFS uses '50 %' of the host memory for the **A**daptive **R**eplacement
-**C**ache (ARC) by default. For new installations starting with {pve} 8.1, the
-ARC usage limit will be set to '10 %' of the installed physical memory, clamped
-to a maximum of +16 GiB+. This value is written to `/etc/modprobe.d/zfs.conf`.
+ZFS uses '10 %' of the host memory, clamped to a maximum of +16 GiB+, for the
+**A**daptive **R**eplacement **C**ache (ARC) by default. This value is written
+to `/etc/modprobe.d/zfs.conf` during installation.
+
+Before {pve} 8.1, the ARC usage limit was not set during installation and
+matched ZFS' default value which was either 62.5% starting on ZFS 2.3.0 or 50%
+for older versions. For existing installations that predate {pve} 8.1, manual
+steps would have to be performed in order to lower the usage limit as described
+below.
Allocating enough memory for the ARC is crucial for IO performance, so reduce it
with caution. As a general rule of thumb, allocate at least +2 GiB Base + 1
--
2.47.3
^ permalink raw reply [flat|nested] 3+ messages in thread
* [PATCH docs v2 2/2] local-zfs: add reference to the zfs(4) manual
2026-02-26 8:46 [PATCH docs v2 0/2] local-zfs: rephrase ARC limit Maximiliano Sandoval
2026-02-26 8:46 ` [PATCH docs v2 1/2] " Maximiliano Sandoval
@ 2026-02-26 8:46 ` Maximiliano Sandoval
1 sibling, 0 replies; 3+ messages in thread
From: Maximiliano Sandoval @ 2026-02-26 8:46 UTC (permalink / raw)
To: pve-devel
Signed-off-by: Maximiliano Sandoval <m.sandoval@proxmox.com>
---
local-zfs.adoc | 3 ++-
1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)
diff --git a/local-zfs.adoc b/local-zfs.adoc
index b3a462d..07e70e3 100644
--- a/local-zfs.adoc
+++ b/local-zfs.adoc
@@ -588,7 +588,8 @@ Limit ZFS Memory Usage
ZFS uses '10 %' of the host memory, clamped to a maximum of +16 GiB+, for the
**A**daptive **R**eplacement **C**ache (ARC) by default. This value is written
-to `/etc/modprobe.d/zfs.conf` during installation.
+to `/etc/modprobe.d/zfs.conf` during installation. See the manual `man 4 zfs`
+for more information about ZFS kernel module parameters.
Before {pve} 8.1, the ARC usage limit was not set during installation and
matched ZFS' default value which was either 62.5% starting on ZFS 2.3.0 or 50%
--
2.47.3
^ permalink raw reply [flat|nested] 3+ messages in thread
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