LVM - Revision history

Axka: Tidy up text and code blocks.

2026-02-10T12:21:57Z

Tidy up text and code blocks.

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:21, 10 February 2026
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	=== Create an LV ===		=== Create an LV ===
			Below are shell commands to setup a PV, a VG and an LV from scratch. LVM comes enabled by default on NixOS.<syntaxhighlight lang="shell">
	<~~syntaxHighlight~~ lang=~~bash~~>		# format the partion into a physical volume (check with pvdisplay)
	# ~~formats~~ the partion into a physical volume (check with pvdisplay)
	pvcreate /dev/sda2		pvcreate /dev/sda2
	# ~~creates~~ a new volume group named pool (check with vgdisplay)		# create a new volume group named pool (check with vgdisplay)
	vgcreate pool /dev/sda2		vgcreate pool /dev/sda2
	# ~~creates~~ a new logical volume named "home" with the size of 10GB (check with lvdisplay)		# create a new logical volume named "home" with the size of 10GB (check with lvdisplay)
	# makes /dev/pool/home available		# makes /dev/pool/home available
	lvcreate --size 10G --name home pool		lvcreate --size 10G --name home pool
			# finally, create a filesystem inside the logical volume
	mkfs.ext4 /dev/pool/home		mkfs.ext4 /dev/pool/home
	</~~syntaxHighlight~~>		</syntaxhighlight>

	=== Use the LV ===		=== Use the LV ===
	~~in your <code>configuration~~.~~nix</code>:~~		Mount the filesystem on the logical volume by adding an entry to the {{Nixos:option\|fileSystems}} NixOS option.
			{{File\|3=fileSystems."/home" = {
	~~<syntaxHighlight lang~~=~~nix>~~
	fileSystems."/home" = {
	device = "/dev/pool/home";		device = "/dev/pool/home";
	fsType = "ext4";		fsType = "ext4";
	};		};\|name=/etc/nixos/configuration.nix\|lang=nix}}
	</~~syntaxHighlight>~~

	== Booting with special LVM Modes ==		== Booting with special LVM Modes ==
	LVM provides a number of special features such as creating snapshots, RAID for single LVs and much more. If you want to use these devices on bootup, the associated <code>dm-*</code> kernel module must be provided in the initrd (see for example {{Issue\|33646}}). ~~This~~ is a non-exhaustive list of features and the corresponding kernel module and other options to put into your ~~<code>~~configuration~~.nix</code>~~:		LVM provides a number of special features such as creating snapshots, RAID for single LVs and much more. If you want to use these devices on bootup, the associated <code>dm-*</code> kernel module must be provided in the initrd (see for example Nixpkgs issue {{Issue\|33646}}). Here is a non-exhaustive list of features and the corresponding kernel module and other options to put into your NixOS configuration:
	~~<syntaxHighlight lang~~=~~nix>~~
	boot.initrd.kernelModules = [		{{File\|3=boot.initrd.kernelModules = [
	"dm-snapshot" # when you are using snapshots		"dm-snapshot" # when you are using snapshots
	"dm-raid" # e.g. when you are configuring raid1 via: `lvconvert -m1 /dev/pool/home`		"dm-raid" # e.g. when you are configuring raid1 via: `lvconvert -m1 /dev/pool/home`
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	];		];

	services.lvm.boot.thin.enable = true; # when using thin provisioning or caching		services.lvm.boot.thin.enable = true; # when using thin provisioning or caching\|name=/etc/nixos/configuration.nix\|lang=nix}}
	</~~syntaxHighlight>~~

	== Automated Partitioning ==		== Automated Partitioning ==

Axka: Add ArchWiki link and document PE to explain that LVs don't have to be contiguous on a PV.

2026-02-10T11:29:52Z

Add ArchWiki link and document PE to explain that LVs don't have to be contiguous on a PV.

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:29, 10 February 2026
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	[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logical_Volume_Manager_(Linux) ~~The~~ Logical Volume Manager] (LVM) provides means to dynamically organize partitions.		Linux's '''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logical_Volume_Manager_(Linux) Logical Volume Manager] (LVM)''' provides means to dynamically organize partitions. For example, partitions can be created, moved, resized and deleted regardless of fragmentation on disk.

	== Basic Setup ==		== Basic Setup ==
	~~LVM manages three types:~~

	~~; Physical volume (PV)~~ : ~~Space reservation consisting of a disk partition, a whole disk, a meta device, or a loopback file.~~		LVM manages four basic building blocks:
	~~; Volume group (VG) : Group of physical volumes.~~
	~~; Logical volume (LV) : Space reservation inside a volume group, which may be laid across multiple physical volumes.~~

	=== Create ~~a logical volume~~ ===		; Physical volume (PV) : Unix block device node reserved for use by LVM. Examples: a disk partition, a whole disk (i.e. without a partition table), a meta device, or a loopback file.
			; Volume group (VG) : Group of PVs for allocating PEs to LVs.
			; Logical volume (LV) : "Virtual partition" composed of PEs inside a VG.
			; Physical extent (PE) : The smallest contiguous [[wikipedia:Extent (file systems)\|extent]] (default 4 MiB) in the physical volume that can be allocated to an LV.

			=== Create an LV ===

	<syntaxHighlight lang=bash>		<syntaxHighlight lang=bash>
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	</syntaxHighlight>		</syntaxHighlight>

	=== Use the ~~Logical Volume~~ ===		=== Use the LV ===
	in your <code>configuration.nix</code>:		in your <code>configuration.nix</code>:

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	== Booting with special LVM Modes ==		== Booting with special LVM Modes ==
	LVM provides a number of special features such as creating snapshots, ~~raid~~ for single ~~Logical Volumes~~ and much more. If you want to use these devices on bootup, the associated <code>dm-*</code> kernel module must be provided in the initrd (see for example {{Issue\|33646}}) . This is a non-exhaustive list of features and the corresponding kernel module and other options to put into your <code>configuration.nix</code>:		LVM provides a number of special features such as creating snapshots, RAID for single LVs and much more. If you want to use these devices on bootup, the associated <code>dm-*</code> kernel module must be provided in the initrd (see for example {{Issue\|33646}}). This is a non-exhaustive list of features and the corresponding kernel module and other options to put into your <code>configuration.nix</code>:
	<syntaxHighlight lang=nix>		<syntaxHighlight lang=nix>
	boot.initrd.kernelModules = [		boot.initrd.kernelModules = [
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	=== NixOps ===		=== NixOps ===
	NixOps can repartition Hetzner Physical Machines, see [[https://nixos.org/nixops/manual/#idm140737318354032 NixOps Manual]].		NixOps can repartition Hetzner Physical Machines, see [https://nixos.org/nixops/manual/#idm140737318354032 NixOps Manual].

	=== Disko ===		=== Disko ===
	[[Disko]] provides means to automatically generate the creation and configuration of logical volumes, see https://github.com/nix-community/disko		[[Disko]] provides means to automatically generate the creation and configuration of logical volumes, see https://github.com/nix-community/disko

			== See also ==

			* [https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/LVM The corresponding ArchWiki page]

	[[Category:Filesystem]]		[[Category:Filesystem]]

Axka: Converted type descriptions to a definition list

2025-07-18T14:22:19Z

Converted type descriptions to a definition list

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:22, 18 July 2025
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	LVM manages three types:		LVM manages three types:

	* physical volumes - directly on a ~~physical~~ partition		; Physical volume (PV) : Space reservation consisting of a disk partition, a whole disk, a meta device, or a loopback file.
	* volume groups - a group of physical volumes		; Volume group (VG) : Group of physical volumes.
	* logical volumes		; Logical volume (LV) : Space reservation inside a volume group, which may be laid across multiple physical volumes.

	=== Create a logical volume ===		=== Create a logical volume ===

Pigs: /* Disko */ link to disko

2025-05-23T16:44:24Z

Disko: link to disko

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:44, 23 May 2025
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	=== Disko ===		=== Disko ===
	Disko provides means to automatically generate the creation and configuration of logical volumes, see https://github.com/nix-community/disko		[[Disko]] provides means to automatically generate the creation and configuration of logical volumes, see https://github.com/nix-community/disko

	[[Category:Filesystem]]		[[Category:Filesystem]]

Pigs: Add category filesystem

2025-05-18T17:01:45Z

Add category filesystem

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:01, 18 May 2025
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	The Logical Volume Manager (LVM) provides means to dynamically organize partitions.		[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logical_Volume_Manager_(Linux) The Logical Volume Manager] (LVM) provides means to dynamically organize partitions.

	== Basic Setup ==		== Basic Setup ==
	LVM manages three types:		LVM manages three types:
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	=== Disko ===		=== Disko ===
	Disko provides means to automatically generate the creation and configuration of logical volumes, see https://github.com/nix-community/disko		Disko provides means to automatically generate the creation and configuration of logical volumes, see https://github.com/nix-community/disko

			[[Category:Filesystem]]

Mic92: imported from old wiki

2024-09-04T07:15:21Z

imported from old wiki

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:15, 4 September 2024
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	# creates a new logical volume named "home" with the size of 10GB (check with lvdisplay)		# creates a new logical volume named "home" with the size of 10GB (check with lvdisplay)
	# makes /dev/pool/home available		# makes /dev/pool/home available
	lvcreate -L 10G -n home pool		lvcreate --size 10G --name home pool
	mkfs.ext4 /dev/pool/home		mkfs.ext4 /dev/pool/home
	</syntaxHighlight>		</syntaxHighlight>

imported>Makefu: update disko link to nix-community

2023-01-14T21:05:10Z

update disko link to nix-community

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:05, 14 January 2023
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	=== Disko ===		=== Disko ===
	Disko provides means to automatically generate the creation and configuration of logical volumes, see ~~http~~://~~cgit~~.~~lassul.us~~/disko~~/tree/README.md .~~		Disko provides means to automatically generate the creation and configuration of logical volumes, see https://github.com/nix-community/disko

imported>Hyperfekt: lvmcache: load cache policy module as well

2022-07-03T11:04:35Z

lvmcache: load cache policy module as well

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:04, 3 July 2022
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	"dm-snapshot" # when you are using snapshots		"dm-snapshot" # when you are using snapshots
	"dm-raid" # e.g. when you are configuring raid1 via: `lvconvert -m1 /dev/pool/home`		"dm-raid" # e.g. when you are configuring raid1 via: `lvconvert -m1 /dev/pool/home`
	"dm-cache" # when using volumes set up with lvmcache		"dm-cache-default" # when using volumes set up with lvmcache
	];		];

imported>Hyperfekt: Added thin/cache bootup tools option

2022-07-03T09:58:01Z

Added thin/cache bootup tools option

← Older revision		Revision as of 09:58, 3 July 2022
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	</syntaxHighlight>		</syntaxHighlight>

	== ~~Special~~ LVM Modes ==		== Booting with special LVM Modes ==
	LVM provides a number of special features such as creating snapshots, raid for single Logical Volumes and much more. If you want to use these devices on bootup, the associated <code>dm-*</code> kernel module must be provided in the initrd (see for example {{Issue\|33646}}) . This is a non-exhaustive list of features and the corresponding kernel module to put into your <code>configuration.nix</code>:		LVM provides a number of special features such as creating snapshots, raid for single Logical Volumes and much more. If you want to use these devices on bootup, the associated <code>dm-*</code> kernel module must be provided in the initrd (see for example {{Issue\|33646}}) . This is a non-exhaustive list of features and the corresponding kernel module and other options to put into your <code>configuration.nix</code>:
	<syntaxHighlight lang=nix>		<syntaxHighlight lang=nix>
	boot.initrd.kernelModules = [		boot.initrd.kernelModules = [
	"dm-snapshot" # when you are using snapshots		"dm-snapshot" # when you are using snapshots
	"dm-raid" # e.g. when you are configuring raid1 via: `lvconvert -m1 /dev/pool/home`		"dm-raid" # e.g. when you are configuring raid1 via: `lvconvert -m1 /dev/pool/home`
			"dm-cache" # when using volumes set up with lvmcache
	];		];

			services.lvm.boot.thin.enable = true; # when using thin provisioning or caching
	</syntaxHighlight>		</syntaxHighlight>

imported>Zaechus: Zaechus moved page Lvm to LVM: LVM is an acronym and should be in all caps

2022-05-11T18:31:20Z

Zaechus moved page Lvm to LVM: LVM is an acronym and should be in all caps

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:31, 11 May 2022
(No difference)