Resizing the filesystem using Logical Volume Manager within Oracle Linux

Oftentimes we all run into the situation where the file system is full (or almost full) and need more space. This expansion task seems to be a lot easier when using the Logical Volume Manager (LVM) in Oracle Linux.

  • Review the current size.
[root@ol6 ~]# df -H
Filesystem                 Size   Used  Avail Use% Mounted on
/dev/mapper/vg_ol6-lv_root 27G    22G   3.8G  86% /
tmpfs                      1.3G   209M   1.1G  17% /dev/shm
/dev/sda1                  508M    97M   385M  21% /boot
Downloads                  750G   172G   578G  23% /media/sf_Downloads

Plan to add 30G to the root file system.

  • Create a partition on the newly-added disk.
[root@ol6 ~]# fdisk /dev/sdf
Device contains neither a valid DOS partition table, nor Sun, SGI or OSF disklabel
Building a new DOS disklabel with disk identifier 0x0c04311f.
Changes will remain in memory only, until you decide to write them.

WARNING: DOS-compatible mode is deprecated. It's strongly recommended to
         switch off the mode (command 'c') and change display units to
         sectors (command 'u').

Command (m for help): n
Command action
   e   extended
   p   primary partition (1-4)
p
Partition number (1-4): 1
First cylinder (1-3916, default 1): 
Using default value 1
Last cylinder, +cylinders or +size{K,M,G} (1-3916, default 3916): 
Using default value 3916

Command (m for help): w
The partition table has been altered!

Calling ioctl() to re-read partition table.
Syncing disks.
  •  Create a physical volume on top of it.
[root@ol6 ~]# pvcreate /dev/sdf1
  Writing physical volume data to disk "/dev/sdf1"
  Physical volume "/dev/sdf1" successfully created
  • Review the current volume. Note that currently there is no free extends (noted by zero value of the “Free PE / Size”).
[root@ol6 ~]# vgdisplay
  --- Volume group ---
  VG Name               vg_ol6
  System ID             
  Format                lvm2
  Metadata Areas        1
  Metadata Sequence No  3
  VG Access             read/write
  VG Status             resizable
  MAX LV                0
  Cur LV                2
  Open LV               2
  Max PV                0
  Cur PV                1
  Act PV                1
  VG Size               29.51 GiB
  PE Size               4.00 MiB
  Total PE              7554
  Alloc PE / Size       7554 / 29.51 GiB
 Free PE / Size 0 / 0  
  VG UUID               2e2VHd-Mb3D-Uz0G-4Yec-tbfe-f3cI-7cvpby
  • Extend this volume with a new disk.
[root@ol6 ~]# vgextend vg_ol6 /dev/sdf1
  Volume group "vg_ol6" successfully extended
  • Check the volume again. The “Free PE / Size” is now 30G.
[root@ol6 ~]# vgdisplay
--- Volume group ---
VG Name vg_ol6
System ID
Format lvm2
Metadata Areas 2
Metadata Sequence No 4
VG Access read/write
VG Status resizable
MAX LV 0
Cur LV 2
Open LV 2
Max PV 0
Cur PV 2
Act PV 2
VG Size 59.50 GiB
PE Size 4.00 MiB
Total PE 15233
Alloc PE / Size 7554 / 29.51 GiB
Free PE / Size 7679 / 30.00 GiB
VG UUID 2e2VHd-Mb3D-Uz0G-4Yec-tbfe-f3cI-7cvpby
  • Now let’s review the logical volume.
[root@ol6 ~]# lvdisplay
  --- Logical volume ---
  LV Path                /dev/vg_ol6/lv_root
  LV Name                lv_root
  VG Name                vg_ol6
  LV UUID                rd2d4X-vqE8-xENi-clCz-Oa0T-0R6X-RFCBDq
  LV Write Access        read/write
  LV Creation host, time , 
  LV Status              available
  # open                 1
 LV Size 25.10 GiB
  Current LE             6426
  Segments               1
  Allocation             inherit
  Read ahead sectors     auto
  - currently set to     256
  Block device           253:0

  --- Logical volume ---
  LV Path                /dev/vg_ol6/lv_swap
  LV Name                lv_swap
  VG Name                vg_ol6
  LV UUID                xM3Blz-wvpG-IUfF-WhWc-EHoI-I0xG-oeV1IR
  LV Write Access        read/write
  LV Creation host, time , 
  LV Status              available
  # open                 1
  LV Size                4.41 GiB
  Current LE             1128
  Segments               1
  Allocation             inherit
  Read ahead sectors     auto
  - currently set to     256
  Block device           253:1

We want to add additional 30G into the existing /dev/vg_ol6/lv_root. So the total size will be 55.1GB.

  • We can extend the logical volume to the needed size.
[root@ol6 ~]# lvextend -L 55.10G /dev/vg_ol6/lv_root
  Rounding size to boundary between physical extents: 55.10 GiB
  Extending logical volume lv_root to 55.10 GiB
  Insufficient free space: 5120 extents needed, but only 5119 available

You may have to adjust the size if the initial specified size is too large.

[root@ol6 ~]# lvextend -L 55G /dev/vg_ol6/lv_root
  Extending logical volume lv_root to 55.00 GiB
  Logical volume lv_root successfully resized
  • Now finally you can extend the file system.
[root@ol6 ~]# resize2fs /dev/vg_ol6/lv_root 55G
resize2fs 1.41.12 (17-May-2010)
Filesystem at /dev/vg_ol6/lv_root is mounted on /; on-line resizing required
old desc_blocks = 3, new_desc_blocks = 4
Performing an on-line resize of /dev/vg_ol6/lv_root to 14417920 (4k) blocks.
The filesystem on /dev/vg_ol6/lv_root is now 14417920 blocks long.
  • The file system is resized while the system is still on-line.
[root@ol6 ~]# df -H
Filesystem Size Used Avail Use% Mounted on
/dev/mapper/vg_ol6-lv_root
55G 22G 33G 39% /
tmpfs 1.3G 209M 1.1G 17% /dev/shm
/dev/sda1 508M 97M 385M 21% /boot
Downloads 750G 172G 578G 23% /media/sf_Downloads

References:

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