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: Let LVM know about the new disk. In my case, create a volume group and add the new disk and its full storage space to it. Copy the disk partition with the root filesystem from the origin disk to the new volume group Expand the root filesystem on the volume group to the full size of the volume group. Update system configuration to boot with the root filesystem on the new volume group. Let LVM know about the old root disk partition. Add the old root partition to the volume group. 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 References Move data from regular partition to lvm; Viewed on 2022-10-18 How to Create LVM Partition in Linux – LVM Tutorial; Viewed on 2022-10-18 'lvextend -l 100%FREE' resizing to the number of free extents rather than adding them to the current size in RHEL; Viewed on 2022-10-18 Best Practice for Mounting an LVM Logical Volume with /etc/fstab; Viewed on 2022-10-18 Can't update kernel and initramfs; Viewed on 2022-1018 Crucial MX500 1TB 3D NAND SATA 2.5-inch; Viewed on 2022-10-18 Corsair Dual SSD Mounting Bracket (3.5” Internal Drive Bay to 2.5", Easy Installation) ; Viewed on 2022-10-18
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: Let LVM know about the new disk. In my case, create a volume group and add the new disk and its full storage space to it. Copy the disk partition with the root filesystem from the origin disk to the new volume group Expand the root filesystem on the volume group to the full size of the volume group. Update system configuration to boot with the root filesystem on the new volume group. Let LVM know about the old root disk partition. Add the old root partition to the volume group. 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 9