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hpr3727 :: Expanding your filesystem with LVM

Rho`n describes adding a new hard drive to his work computer and expanding its filesystem

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Hosted by Rho`n on 2022-11-15 is flagged as Clean and is released under a CC-BY-SA license.
LVM, Linux Volume Management, hard drive, SSD. 1.
The show is available on the Internet Archive at: https://archive.org/details/hpr3727

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Duration: 00:24:40

general.

Synopis

I installed a new 1TB Crucial MX500 SSD into my work computer. While we are mostly a Windows based business, as the IT guy I do get a bit of discretion when updating my own machine (i.e. I get to solve all the problems I create). Last year, I decided to run the Pop!_OS distribution of Linux on my work computer and run Windows in a VM on it. Recently the Windows image had grown and was causing disk space notifications. This prompted the additional hard drive.

During the initial installation of Pop!_OS, I remember deciding not to bother with installing Linux Volume Management (LVM). I have used it in the past, but I am still much more comfortable with the old style device mapping and mounting disk partitions to directories. I even rationalized that if I needed to add more space, I will just add a new disk with one big partition and map it to the home directory.

Now a year later I am adding a new HD and thinking, I really hate all the space that is most likely going to be wasted once I move the Windows image to the new drive. Ok, I guess I should figure out how to install LVM, and use it to manage the space on both drives. Luckily there a number of good blogs to be found on adding LVM to an existing system. The following are the steps and commands I used to accomplish my goal.

Commands

Most of the following commands need to be run as root. I decided to change to root user instead of typing sudo before every command. The basic steps to creating a single filesystem sharing the storage space between two physical disk partitions are:

  1. Let LVM know about the new disk.
  2. In my case, create a volume group and add the new disk and its full storage space to it.
  3. Copy the disk partition with the root filesystem from the origin disk to the new volume group
  4. Expand the root filesystem on the volume group to the full size of the volume group.
  5. Update system configuration to boot with the root filesystem on the new volume group.
  6. Let LVM know about the old root disk partition.
  7. Add the old root partition to the volume group.
  8. Expand the root filesystem on the volume group to include the new space in the volume group.
root@work# pvcreate /dev/sdb

root@work# pvdisplay
  "/dev/sdb" is a new physical volume of "931.51 GiB"
  --- NEW Physical volume ---
  PV Name               /dev/sdb
  VG Name
  PV Size               931.51 GiB
  Allocatable           NO
  PE Size               0
  Total PE              0
  Free PE               0
  Allocated PE          0
  PV UUID               wRBz38-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxx

root@work# vgcreate workvg /dev/dsb
  No device found for /dev/dsb.
root@work# vgcreate workvg /dev/sdb
  Volume group "workvg" successfully created
root@work# vgdisplay
  --- Volume group ---
  VG Name               workvg
  System ID
  Format                lvm2
  Metadata Areas        1
  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                1
  Act PV                1
  VG Size               931.51 GiB
  PE Size               4.00 MiB
  Total PE              238467
  Alloc PE / Size       0 / 0
  Free  PE / Size       238467 / 931.51 GiB
  VG UUID               67DSwP-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxx

root@work# pvdisplay
  --- Physical volume ---
  PV Name               /dev/sdb
  VG Name               workvg
  PV Size               931.51 GiB / not usable 1.71 MiB
  Allocatable           yes
  PE Size               4.00 MiB
  Total PE              238467
  Free PE               238467
  Allocated PE          0
  PV UUID               wRBz38-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxx

root@work# lvcreate -n root -L 931.51 workvg
  Rounding up size to full physical extent 932.00 MiB
  Logical volume "root" created.

root@work# cat /dev/sda3 >/dev/mapper/workvg-root
cat: write error: No space left on device

Hmmm why can't it copy the smaller disk onto a larger one?

root@work# pvdisplay
  --- Physical volume ---
  PV Name               /dev/sdb
  VG Name               workvg
  PV Size               931.51 GiB / not usable 1.71 MiB
  Allocatable           yes
  PE Size               4.00 MiB
  Total PE              238467
  Free PE               238234
  Allocated PE          233
  PV UUID               wRBz38-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxx

root@work# lvdisplay
  --- Logical volume ---
  LV Path                /dev/workvg/root
  LV Name                root
  VG Name                workvg
  LV UUID                srXpUd-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxx
  LV Write Access        read/write
  LV Creation host, time work.example.com, 2022-10-18 08:46:34 -0400
  LV Status              available
  # open                 0
  LV Size                932.00 MiB
  Current LE             233
  Segments               1
  Allocation             inherit
  Read ahead sectors     auto
  - currently set to     256
  Block device           253:1

Whoops, the default unit for the lvcreate is MB, and I forgot to add G to my size. A good reason to always include units in whatever you do :) Also, pay attention to any reports printed at the end of a successful command. When I scrolled back I realized it told me the size it created.

root@work# lvextend -l +100%FREE /dev/workvg/root
  Size of logical volume workvg/root changed from 932.00 MiB (233 extents) to 931.51 GiB (238467 extents).
  Logical volume workvg/root successfully resized.

root@work# lvdisplay
  --- Logical volume ---
  LV Path                /dev/workvg/root
  LV Name                root
  VG Name                workvg
  LV UUID                srXpUd-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxx
  LV Write Access        read/write
  LV Creation host, time work.example.com, 2022-10-18 08:46:34 -0400
  LV Status              available
  # open                 0
  LV Size                931.51 GiB
  Current LE             238467
  Segments               1
  Allocation             inherit
  Read ahead sectors     auto
  - currently set to     256
  Block device           253:1

root@work# cat /dev/sda3 >/dev/mapper/workvg-root

root@work# mkdir /media/new-root

root@work# mount /dev/mapper/workvg-root /media/new-root

root@work# df -h
Filesystem               Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
/dev/sda3                450G  421G  5.6G  99% /
/dev/sda1                497M  373M  125M  76% /boot/efi
/dev/sda2                4.0G  3.4G  692M  84% /recovery
/dev/mapper/workvg-root  450G  421G  5.7G  99% /media/new-root

Ok, the LV volume is resized but the filesystem now needs to expanded to use the new disk space

root@work# umount /media/new-root/

root@work# resize2fs /dev/mapper/workvg-root

resize2fs 1.46.5 (30-Dec-2021)
Please run 'e2fsck -f /dev/mapper/workvg-root' first.

root@work# e2fsck -f /dev/mapper/workvg-root
e2fsck 1.46.5 (30-Dec-2021)
Pass 1: Checking inodes, blocks, and sizes
Inode 7210086 extent tree (at level 2) could be narrower.  Optimize<y>? yes
Pass 1E: Optimizing extent trees
Pass 2: Checking directory structure
Pass 3: Checking directory connectivity
Pass 4: Checking reference counts
Pass 5: Checking group summary information

/dev/mapper/workvg-root: ***** FILE SYSTEM WAS MODIFIED *****
/dev/mapper/workvg-root: 827287/29974528 files (1.2% non-contiguous), 112395524/119870981 blocks

root@work# resize2fs /dev/mapper/workvg-root
resize2fs 1.46.5 (30-Dec-2021)
Resizing the filesystem on /dev/mapper/workvg-root to 244190208 (4k) blocks.
The filesystem on /dev/mapper/workvg-root is now 244190208 (4k) blocks long.

root@work# mount /dev/mapper/workvg-root /media/new-root

root@work# df -h
Filesystem               Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
/dev/sda3                450G  421G  5.5G  99% /
/dev/mapper/workvg-root  916G  421G  449G  49% /media/new-root

Much better. Now we need to get the computer to boot using LVM and the new drive. Need to make sure /etc/fstab is updated to point to the new root filesystem.

Make some in-memory filesystems available under the new root:

root@work# mount --rbind /dev /media/new-root/dev
root@work# mount --bind /proc /media/new-root/proc
root@work# mount --bind /sys /media/new-root/sys
root@work# mount --bind /run /media/new-root/run

root@work# chroot /media/new-root

root@work# cat /etc/fstab
# /etc/fstab: static file system information.
#
# Use 'blkid' to print the universally unique identifier for a
# device; this may be used with UUID= as a more robust way to name devices
# that works even if disks are added and removed. See fstab(5).
#
# <file system>  <mount point>  <type>  <options>  <dump>  <pass>
PARTUUID=949a09f0-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx  /boot/efi  vfat  umask=0077  0  0
PARTUUID=bbcc2068-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx  /recovery  vfat  umask=0077  0  0
UUID=9f1f68bb-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx  /  ext4  noatime,errors=remount-ro  0  0
/dev/mapper/cryptswap  none  swap  defaults  0  0

root@work# vi /etc/fstab

root@work# cat /etc/fstab
# /etc/fstab: static file system information.
#
# Use 'blkid' to print the universally unique identifier for a
# device; this may be used with UUID= as a more robust way to name devices
# that works even if disks are added and removed. See fstab(5).
#
# <file system>  <mount point>  <type>  <options>  <dump>  <pass>
PARTUUID=949a09f0-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx  /boot/efi  vfat  umask=0077  0  0
PARTUUID=bbcc2068-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx  /recovery  vfat  umask=0077  0  0
/dev/mapper/workvg-root  /  ext4  noatime,errors=remount-ro  0  0
/dev/mapper/cryptswap  none  swap  defaults  0  0

root@it05:/media/new-root/etc/initramfs-tools# lsinitramfs /boot/initrd.img-$(uname -r) | grep lvm
etc/lvm
etc/lvm/lvm.conf
etc/lvm/lvmlocal.conf
etc/lvm/profile
etc/lvm/profile/cache-mq.profile
etc/lvm/profile/cache-smq.profile
etc/lvm/profile/command_profile_template.profile
etc/lvm/profile/lvmdbusd.profile
etc/lvm/profile/metadata_profile_template.profile
etc/lvm/profile/thin-generic.profile
etc/lvm/profile/thin-performance.profile
etc/lvm/profile/vdo-small.profile
scripts/init-bottom/lvm2
scripts/local-block/lvm2
scripts/local-top/lvm-workaround
scripts/local-top/lvm2
usr/lib/udev/rules.d/56-lvm.rules
usr/lib/udev/rules.d/69-lvm-metad.rules
usr/sbin/lvm

root@it05:/# update-initramfs -u
update-initramfs: Generating /boot/initrd.img-5.19.0-76051900-generic
cryptsetup: WARNING: Resume target cryptswap uses a key file
kernelstub.Config    : INFO     Looking for configuration...
kernelstub.Drive     : ERROR    Could not find a block device for the a partition. This is a critical error and we cannot continue.
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/kernelstub/drive.py", line 56, in __init__
    self.esp_fs = self.get_part_dev(self.esp_path)
  File "/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/kernelstub/drive.py", line 94, in get_part_dev
    raise NoBlockDevError('Couldn\'t find the block device for %s' % path)
kernelstub.drive.NoBlockDevError: Couldn't find the block device for /boot/efi
run-parts: /etc/initramfs/post-update.d//zz-kernelstub exited with return code 174

root@it05:/# lsblk -f
NAME FSTYPE FSVER LABEL UUID                                   FSAVAIL FSUSE% MOUNTPOINTS
sda
├─sda1
│    vfat   FAT32       D499-28CF
├─sda2
│    vfat   FAT32       D499-2B97
├─sda3
│    ext4   1.0         9f1f68bb-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx
└─sda4
     swap   1           1758e7a0-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx
  └─cryptswap
     swap   1     cryptswap
                        e874c9cc-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx                  [SWAP]
sdb  LVM2_m LVM2        wRBz38-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxx
└─workvg-root
     ext4   1.0         9f1f68bb-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx    448.6G    46% /

root@it05:/# df -h
Filesystem               Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
/dev/mapper/workvg-root  916G  421G  449G  49% /
tmpfs                    7.8G     0  7.8G   0% /dev/shm
tmpfs                    1.6G  2.4M  1.6G   1% /run

root@it05:/# mount /dev/sda1 /boot/efi

root@it05:/# update-initramfs -u

update-initramfs: Generating /boot/initrd.img-5.19.0-76051900-generic
cryptsetup: WARNING: Resume target cryptswap uses a key file
kernelstub.Config    : INFO     Looking for configuration...
kernelstub           : INFO     System information:

    OS:..................Pop!_OS 22.04
    Root partition:....../dev/dm-1
    Root FS UUID:........9f1f68bb-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx
    ESP Path:............/boot/efi
    ESP Partition:......./dev/sda1
    ESP Partition #:.....1
    NVRAM entry #:.......-1
    Boot Variable #:.....0000
    Kernel Boot Options:.quiet loglevel=0 systemd.show_status=false splash
    Kernel Image Path:.../boot/vmlinuz-5.19.0-76051900-generic
    Initrd Image Path:.../boot/initrd.img-5.19.0-76051900-generic
    Force-overwrite:.....False

kernelstub.Installer : INFO     Copying Kernel into ESP
kernelstub.Installer : INFO     Copying initrd.img into ESP
kernelstub.Installer : INFO     Setting up loader.conf configuration
kernelstub.Installer : INFO     Making entry file for Pop!_OS
kernelstub.Installer : INFO     Backing up old kernel
kernelstub.Installer : INFO     Making entry file for Pop!_OS

ok, moment of truth, can i reboot into the new root filesystem

root@it05:/# shutdown -r now
Running in chroot, ignoring request.

root@it05:/# exit
root@work# shutdown -r now

Whoot! Success. Booted right back up, and can verify running from new LV

rhorning@icon-n.com@it05:~$ df -h
Filesystem               Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
/dev/mapper/workvg-root  916G  421G  449G  49% /
/dev/sda1                497M  373M  125M  76% /boot/efi

Next step, add the original root partition (/dev/sda3) to the volume group so there is 1.5Gb available to the filesystem

root@work# pvcreate /dev/sda3
WARNING: ext4 signature detected on /dev/sda3 at offset 1080. Wipe it? [y/n]: y
  Wiping ext4 signature on /dev/sda3.
  Physical volume "/dev/sda3" successfully created.

root@work# vgextend workvg /dev/sda3
  Volume group "workvg" successfully extended

root@work# vgdisplay
  --- Volume group ---
  VG Name               workvg
  System ID
  Format                lvm2
  Metadata Areas        2
  Metadata Sequence No  4
  VG Access             read/write
  VG Status             resizable
  MAX LV                0
  Cur LV                1
  Open LV               1
  Max PV                0
  Cur PV                2
  Act PV                2
  VG Size               <1.36 TiB
  PE Size               4.00 MiB
  Total PE              355528
  Alloc PE / Size       238467 / 931.51 GiB
  Free  PE / Size       117061 / <457.27 GiB
  VG UUID               67DSwP-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxx

root@work# lvdisplay
  --- Logical volume ---
  LV Path                /dev/workvg/root
  LV Name                root
  VG Name                workvg
  LV UUID                srXpUd-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxx
  LV Write Access        read/write
  LV Creation host, time work.example.com, 2022-10-18 08:46:34 -0400
  LV Status              available
  # open                 1
  LV Size                931.51 GiB
  Current LE             238467
  Segments               1
  Allocation             inherit
  Read ahead sectors     auto
  - currently set to     256
  Block device           253:0

root@work# lvextend -l +100%FREE /dev/workvg/root
  Size of logical volume workvg/root changed from 931.51 GiB (238467 extents) to <1.36 TiB (355528 extents).
  Logical volume workvg/root successfully resized.

root@work# lvdisplay
  --- Logical volume ---
  LV Path                /dev/workvg/root
  LV Name                root
  VG Name                workvg
  LV UUID                srXpUd-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxx
  LV Write Access        read/write
  LV Creation host, time work.example.com, 2022-10-18 08:46:34 -0400
  LV Status              available
  # open                 1
  LV Size                <1.36 TiB
  Current LE             355528
  Segments               2
  Allocation             inherit
  Read ahead sectors     auto
  - currently set to     256
  Block device           253:0

root@work# df -h
Filesystem               Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
tmpfs                    1.6G  2.4M  1.6G   1% /run
/dev/mapper/workvg-root  916G  421G  449G  49% /
tmpfs                    7.8G     0  7.8G   0% /dev/shm
tmpfs                    5.0M     0  5.0M   0% /run/lock
/dev/sda1                497M  373M  125M  76% /boot/efi
/dev/sda2                4.0G  3.4G  692M  84% /recovery
tmpfs                    7.8G     0  7.8G   0% /run/qemu
tmpfs                    1.6G  1.7M  1.6G   1% /run/user/1202401106

root@work# resize2fs /dev/mapper/workvg-root
resize2fs 1.46.5 (30-Dec-2021)
Filesystem at /dev/mapper/workvg-root is mounted on /; on-line resizing required
old_desc_blocks = 117, new_desc_blocks = 174
The filesystem on /dev/mapper/workvg-root is now 364060672 (4k) blocks long.

root@work# df -h
Filesystem               Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
tmpfs                    1.6G  2.4M  1.6G   1% /run
/dev/mapper/workvg-root  1.4T  421G  881G  33% /
tmpfs                    7.8G     0  7.8G   0% /dev/shm
tmpfs                    5.0M     0  5.0M   0% /run/lock
/dev/sda1                497M  373M  125M  76% /boot/efi
/dev/sda2                4.0G  3.4G  692M  84% /recovery
tmpfs                    7.8G     0  7.8G   0% /run/qemu
tmpfs                    1.6G  1.7M  1.6G   1% /run/user/1202401106

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Comment #1 posted on 2022-11-18 12:35:08 by Zen_floater2

Love server problems

I run OpenBSD now for about 14 years. Loved your show, reminded me somewhat of my own problems.

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