Arch Linux LVM Guide

Complete beginner-friendly guide to Logical Volume Management (LVM) on Arch Linux, including volume groups, logical volumes, and LVM management.

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Table of Contents

1. Understanding LVM
2. Creating LVM
3. Managing Volumes
4. Resizing Volumes
5. Troubleshooting

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Understanding LVM

LVM Components

LVM structure:

• Physical Volume (PV): Physical disk/partition
• Volume Group (VG): Collection of PVs
• Logical Volume (LV): Virtual partition

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Creating LVM

Create Physical Volume

Create PV:

# Install LVM
sudo pacman -S lvm2

# Create physical volume
sudo pvcreate /dev/sda2

# Check
sudo pvs

Create Volume Group

Create VG:

# Create volume group
sudo vgcreate myvg /dev/sda2

# Check
sudo vgs

Create Logical Volume

Create LV:

# Create logical volume
sudo lvcreate -L 20G -n mylv myvg

# Check
sudo lvs

Format and Mount

Format LV:

# Format
sudo mkfs.ext4 /dev/myvg/mylv

# Mount
sudo mount /dev/myvg/mylv /mnt/data

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Managing Volumes

List Volumes

List information:

# List PVs
sudo pvs

# List VGs
sudo vgs

# List LVs
sudo lvs

# Detailed info
sudo pvdisplay
sudo vgdisplay
sudo lvdisplay

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Resizing Volumes

Extend Volume

Grow volume:

# Extend LV
sudo lvextend -L +10G /dev/myvg/mylv

# Resize filesystem
sudo resize2fs /dev/myvg/mylv

Reduce Volume

Shrink volume:

# Resize filesystem first
sudo resize2fs /dev/myvg/mylv 15G

# Reduce LV
sudo lvreduce -L 15G /dev/myvg/mylv

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Troubleshooting

Volume Not Found

Activate volume:

# Activate VG
sudo vgchange -ay myvg

# Scan for volumes
sudo vgscan

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Summary

This guide covered LVM creation, management, and resizing.

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Next Steps

• Arch Linux Filesystem Management - Filesystems
• Arch Linux Installation Guide - Installation
• ArchWiki LVM: https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/LVM

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This guide is based on the ArchWiki. For the most up-to-date information, always refer to the official ArchWiki.