Groups | Search | Server Info | Keyboard shortcuts | Login | Register [http] [https] [nntp] [nntps]

Groups > linux.debian.user > #164190

Re: changing partition names

Show all headers | View raw

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

On Mon, Feb 15, 2016 at 10:49:29AM +0000, Jonathan Dowland wrote:

[...]

> If the now-spare sda3 was large enough, and you were not already using LVM, I'd
> recommend formatting sda3 as an LVM PV and create a new LVM VG, then an LVM LV;
> then migrate your data from sda4 into that LV; then format sda4 as an LVM PV and
> add that into the VG, so you end up with all the space being available, again
> without changing the partition table at all.

Very insightful. In the interest of newbies (I was that in things
LVM a short while ago) I'll add a bit of explanation for those
mysterious acronyms:

The logical volume manager (LVM) concerns itself with collecting
slices of space from disk (PVs == "physical volumes") into bigger
units (VGs == "volume groups") to then dole out slices of it
("LVs" == "logical volumes") which then can be used as normal
partitions, although their backing store may be scattered across
several partitions (possibly on several "disks"[1])

This can be extremely useful: for example I have encrypted disks
on my laptop (in case it gets lost I can sleep well, because all
those nasty company secrets are not readable to anyone). But still
I have several partitions (/, home, /var, and most prominently,
swap, which I want encrypted as well. Now the LUKS disk encryption
is per "partition" -- at each boot I'd have to enter the LUKS
pass phrase for each of those partitions. Ugh.

No problem with the LVM -- I make one big (physical) partition,
encrypt that with LUKS, give that to the LVM as a physical
volume (PV), the only one in the volume group (VG) and section
that into the logical volumes (LVs) where my different file
systems will reside.

The other day my /var partition was too small. I had spare space
in /home. Using a bit of care (first shrink the file system on
/home) I could transfer as much space as needed to /var.

I think the Wikipedia article[2] is a nice writeup to get started.

[1] I'm using scare quotes there because a disk may denote an SSD, an USB
    stick or whatever physical storage medium out there.

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logical_Volume_Manager_(Linux)

regards
- -- t
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: GnuPG v1.4.12 (GNU/Linux)

iEYEARECAAYFAlbBsXUACgkQBcgs9XrR2kbtWwCfenbGEfSrMbh214gE/PPjA7/Y
h/UAnA/+DGz+rzH2YnYx7zrasOEzBLEs
=yNrK
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

Back to linux.debian.user | Previous | Next — Previous in thread | Next in thread | Find similar | Unroll thread

Thread

changing partition names Frank McCormick <debianlist@videotron.ca> - 2016-02-14 21:50 +0100
  Re: changing partition names rlharris@oplink.net - 2016-02-14 23:10 +0100
    Re: changing partition names Frank McCormick <debianlist@videotron.ca> - 2016-02-15 01:20 +0100
      Re: changing partition names Charlie Kravetz <cjk@teamcharliesangels.com> - 2016-02-15 03:00 +0100
        Re: changing partition names Frank McCormick <debianlist@videotron.ca> - 2016-02-15 04:40 +0100
          Re: changing partition names Adam Wilson <moxalt@riseup.net> - 2016-02-16 07:50 +0100
  Re: changing partition names Felix Miata <mrmazda@earthlink.net> - 2016-02-15 02:00 +0100
    Re: changing partition names Frank McCormick <debianlist@videotron.ca> - 2016-02-15 04:50 +0100
  Re: changing partition names Jonathan Dowland <jmtd@debian.org> - 2016-02-15 11:50 +0100
    Re: changing partition names <tomas@tuxteam.de> - 2016-02-15 12:50 +0100
    Re: changing partition names Frank McCormick <debianlist@videotron.ca> - 2016-02-15 18:00 +0100
      Re: changing partition names jdd <jdd@dodin.org> - 2016-02-15 18:50 +0100
        Re: changing partition names Pascal Hambourg <pascal@plouf.fr.eu.org> - 2016-02-15 21:00 +0100
          Re: changing partition names Felix Miata <mrmazda@earthlink.net> - 2016-02-15 21:10 +0100
            Re: changing partition names Pascal Hambourg <pascal@plouf.fr.eu.org> - 2016-02-15 21:20 +0100
  Re: changing partition names Pascal Hambourg <pascal@plouf.fr.eu.org> - 2016-02-15 21:10 +0100
    Re: changing partition names Lisi Reisz <lisi.reisz@gmail.com> - 2016-02-16 00:20 +0100
      Re: changing partition names Felix Miata <mrmazda@earthlink.net> - 2016-02-16 00:40 +0100
        Re: changing partition names Frank McCormick <debianlist@videotron.ca> - 2016-02-16 01:30 +0100
          Re: changing partition names Felix Miata <mrmazda@earthlink.net> - 2016-02-16 04:40 +0100
        Re: changing partition names jdd <jdd@dodin.org> - 2016-02-16 08:50 +0100

csiph-web