This guide will help you configure a new disk using LVM (Logical Volume Manager) on a Linux system.
1. Create a Partition Table on the Disk
First, identify the new disk. Use the pvs command to list all partitions. The new disk, which is not listed, will be the one you need to partition.
For example, if the new disk is /dev/sdb, follow these steps:
# fdisk /dev/sdb
You will see a command prompt. Enter the following commands:
Command (m for help): n
Partition type: p
Partition number (1-4): 1
First sector (default 1): [press Enter]
Last sector, +sectors or +size{K,M,G} (default): [press Enter]
Command (m for help): w
This will create a primary partition on the new disk.
2. List Available Disks
Verify the disk partitions with:
# ls /dev/sd*
You should see something like:
/dev/sda /dev/sda1 /dev/sda2 /dev/sdb /dev/sdb1
Here, /dev/sda are your existing disks, and /dev/sdb is your new disk.
3. Create a Physical Volume
Create a physical volume on the new disk:
# pvcreate /dev/sdb1
You should see:
Physical volume "/dev/sdb1" successfully created
4. Create a Volume Group
Create a volume group named "hitit":
# vgcreate hitit /dev/sdb1
You should see:
Volume group "hitit" successfully created
5. Create a Logical Volume
Create a logical volume named "data" with a size of 1GB in the "hitit" volume group:
# lvcreate -n data -L 1G hitit
You should see:
Logical volume "data" created
6. List Volume Groups
To list volume groups, use:
# vgdisplay
7. Scan for Physical Volumes
To view the physical volumes, use:
# pvscan
8. List Logical Volumes
To list the logical volumes, use:
# lvscan
You should see something like:
ACTIVE '/dev/hitit/data' [1.00 GiB] inherit
9. Extend a Logical Volume (If Needed)
If you need to extend the logical volume, use:
# lvextend -L +SizeG /dev/mapper/hitit-data
10. Format the Logical Volume
Format the logical volume with ext4 filesystem:
# mkfs.ext4 /dev/mapper/hitit-data
11. Create a Mount Point
Create a directory to mount the logical volume:
# mkdir /data1
12. Mount the Logical Volume
Mount the logical volume to the newly created directory:
# mount /dev/mapper/hitit-data /data1
13. Configure Automatic Mount at Boot
Edit the fstab file to ensure the disk mounts automatically at boot:
# mcedit /etc/fstab
Add the following line to the end of the file:
/dev/mapper/hitit-data /data1 ext4 defaults 0 0