[#]: subject: "Add storage with LVM" [#]: via: "https://opensource.com/article/21/9/add-storage-lvm" [#]: author: "Ayush Sharma https://opensource.com/users/ayushsharma" [#]: collector: "lujun9972" [#]: translator: " " [#]: reviewer: " " [#]: publisher: " " [#]: url: " " Add storage with LVM ====== LVM enables extreme flexibility in how you configure your storage. ![Storage units side by side][1] Logical Volume Manager (LVM) allows for a layer of abstraction between the operating system and the hardware. Normally, your OS looks for disks (`/dev/sda`, `/dev/sdb`, and so on) and partitions within those disks (`/dev/sda1`, `/dev/sdb1`, and so on). In LVM, a virtual layer is created between the operating system and the disks. Instead of one drive holding some number of partitions, LVM creates a unified storage pool (called a _Volume Group_) that spans any number of physical drives (called _Physical Volumes_). Using the storage available in a Volume Group, LVM provides what appear to be disks and partitions to your OS. And the operating system is completely unaware that it's being "tricked." ![Drive space][2] Opensource.com, [CC BY-SA 4.0][3] Because the LVM creates volume groups and logical volumes virtually, it makes it easy to resize or move them, or create new volumes, even while the system is running. Additionally, LVM provides features that are not present otherwise, like creating live snapshots of logical volumes, without unmounting the disk first. A volume group in an LVM is a named virtual container that groups together the underlying physical disks. It acts as a pool from which logical volumes of different sizes can be created. Logical volumes contain the actual file system and can span multiple disks, and don't need to be physically contiguous. ### Features * Partition names normally have system designations like `/dev/sda1`. LVM volumes have normal human-understandable names, like `home` or `media`. * The total size of partitions is limited by the size of the underlying physical disk. In LVM, volumes can span multiple disks, and are only limited by the total size of all physical disks in the LVM. * Partitions can normally only be resized, moved, or deleted when the disk is not in use and is unmounted. LVM volumes can be manipulated while the system is running. * Partitions can only be expanded by allocating them free space adjacent to the partition. LVM volumes can take free space from anywhere. * Expanding a partition involves moving the data around to make free space, which is time-consuming and could lead to data loss during a power outage. LVM volumes can take free space from anywhere in the volume group, even on another disk. * Because it’s so easy to create volumes in an LVM, it encourages creating different volumes, like creating separate volumes to test features or to try different operating systems. With partitions, this process would be time-consuming and error-prone. * Snapshots can only be created in an LVM. It allows you to create a point-in-time image of the current logical volume, even while the system is running. This is great for backups. ### Test setup As a demonstration, assume your system has the following drive configuration: ``` NAME    MAJ:MIN RM SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINT xvda    202:0    0   8G  0 disk `-xvda1 202:1    0   8G  0 part / xvdb    202:16   0   1G  0 disk xvdc    202:32   0   1G  0 disk xvdd    202:48   0   2G  0 disk xvde    202:64   0   5G  0 disk xvdf    202:80   0   8G  0 disk ``` #### Step 1. Initialize disks to use with LVM Run `pvcreate /dev/xvdb /dev/xvdc /dev/xvdd /dev/xvde /dev/xvdf`. The output should be: ``` Physical volume "/dev/xvdb" successfully created Physical volume "/dev/xvdc" successfully created Physical volume "/dev/xvdd" successfully created Physical volume "/dev/xvde" successfully created Physical volume "/dev/xvdf" successfully created ``` See the result using `pvs` or `pvdisplay`: ``` "/dev/xvde" is a new physical volume of "5.00 GiB" \--- NEW Physical volume --- PV Name               /dev/xvde VG Name PV Size               5.00 GiB Allocatable           NO PE Size               0 Total PE              0 Free PE               0 Allocated PE          0 PV UUID               728JtI-ffZD-h2dZ-JKnV-8IOf-YKdS-8srJtn "/dev/xvdb" is a new physical volume of "1.00 GiB" \--- NEW Physical volume --- PV Name               /dev/xvdb VG Name PV Size               1.00 GiB Allocatable           NO PE Size               0 Total PE              0 Free PE               0 Allocated PE          0 PV UUID               zk1phS-7uXc-PjBP-5Pv9-dtAV-zKe6-8OCRkZ "/dev/xvdd" is a new physical volume of "2.00 GiB" \--- NEW Physical volume --- PV Name               /dev/xvdd VG Name PV Size               2.00 GiB Allocatable           NO PE Size               0 Total PE              0 Free PE               0 Allocated PE          0 PV UUID               R0I139-Ipca-KFra-2IZX-o9xJ-IW49-T22fPc "/dev/xvdc" is a new physical volume of "1.00 GiB" \--- NEW Physical volume --- PV Name               /dev/xvdc VG Name PV Size               1.00 GiB Allocatable           NO PE Size               0 Total PE              0 Free PE               0 Allocated PE          0 PV UUID               FDzcVS-sq22-2b13-cYRj-dXHf-QLjS-22Meae "/dev/xvdf" is a new physical volume of "8.00 GiB" \--- NEW Physical volume --- PV Name               /dev/xvdf VG Name PV Size               8.00 GiB Allocatable           NO PE Size               0 Total PE              0 Free PE               0 Allocated PE          0 PV UUID               TRVSH9-Bo5D-JHHb-g0NX-8IoS-GG6T-YV4d0p ``` #### Step 2. Create the volume group Run `vgcreate myvg /dev/xvdb /dev/xvdc /dev/xvdd /dev/xvde /dev/xvdf`. See the results with `vgs` or `vgdisplay`: ``` \--- Volume group --- VG Name               myvg System ID Format                lvm2 Metadata Areas        5 Metadata Sequence No  1 VG Access             read/write VG Status             resizable MAX LV                0 Cur LV                0 Open LV               0 Max PV                0 Cur PV                5 Act PV                5 VG Size               16.98 GiB PE Size               4.00 MiB Total PE              4347 Alloc PE / Size       0 / 0 Free  PE / Size       4347 / 16.98 GiB VG UUID               ewrrWp-Tonj-LeFa-4Ogi-BIJJ-vztN-yrepkh ``` #### Step 3: Create logical volumes Run the following commands: ``` lvcreate myvg --name media --size 4G lvcreate myvg --name home --size 4G ``` Verify the results using `lvs` or `lvdisplay`: ``` \--- Logical volume --- LV Path                /dev/myvg/media LV Name                media VG Name                myvg LV UUID                LOBga3-pUNX-ZnxM-GliZ-mABH-xsdF-3VBXFT LV Write Access        read/write LV Creation host, time ip-10-0-5-236, 2017-02-03 05:29:15 +0000 LV Status              available # open                 0 LV Size                4.00 GiB Current LE             1024 Segments               1 Allocation             inherit Read ahead sectors     auto \- currently set to     256 Block device           252:0 \--- Logical volume --- LV Path                /dev/myvg/home LV Name                home VG Name                myvg LV UUID                Hc06sl-vtss-DuS0-jfqj-oNce-qKf6-e5qHhK LV Write Access        read/write LV Creation host, time ip-10-0-5-236, 2017-02-03 05:29:40 +0000 LV Status              available # open                 0 LV Size                4.00 GiB Current LE             1024 Segments               1 Allocation             inherit Read ahead sectors     auto \- currently set to     256 Block device           252:1 ``` #### Step 4: Create the file system Create the file system using: ``` mkfs.ext3 /dev/myvg/media mkfs.ext3 /dev/myvg/home ``` Mount it: ``` mount /dev/myvg/media /media mount /dev/myvg/home /home ``` See your full setup using `lsblk`: ``` NAME         MAJ:MIN RM SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINT xvda         202:0    0   8G  0 disk `-xvda1      202:1    0   8G  0 part / xvdb         202:16   0   1G  0 disk xvdc         202:32   0   1G  0 disk xvdd         202:48   0   2G  0 disk xvde         202:64   0   5G  0 disk `-myvg-media 252:0    0   4G  0 lvm  /media xvdf         202:80   0   8G  0 disk `-myvg-home  252:1    0   4G  0 lvm  /home ``` #### Step 5: Extending the LVM Add a new disk at `/dev/xvdg`. To extend the `home` volume, run the following commands: ``` pvcreate /dev/xvdg vgextend myvg /dev/xvdg lvextend -l 100%FREE /dev/myvg/home resize2fs /dev/myvg/home ``` Run `df -h` and you should see your new size reflected. And that's it! LVM enables extreme flexibility in how you configure your storage. Try it out, and have fun with LVM! * * * _This article was originally published on the [author's personal blog][4] and has been adapted with permission._ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- via: https://opensource.com/article/21/9/add-storage-lvm 作者：[Ayush Sharma][a] 选题：[lujun9972][b] 译者：[译者ID](https://github.com/译者ID) 校对：[校对者ID](https://github.com/校对者ID) 本文由 [LCTT](https://github.com/LCTT/TranslateProject) 原创编译，[Linux中国](https://linux.cn/) 荣誉推出 [a]: https://opensource.com/users/ayushsharma [b]: https://github.com/lujun9972 [1]: https://opensource.com/sites/default/files/styles/image-full-size/public/lead-images/bus-storage.png?itok=95-zvHYl (Storage units side by side) [2]: https://opensource.com/sites/default/files/lvm.png (Drive space) [3]: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ [4]: https://notes.ayushsharma.in/2017/02/working-with-logical-volume-manager-lvm