1PVCK(8) System Manager's Manual PVCK(8)
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6 pvck - Check metadata on physical volumes
7
9 pvck option_args position_args
10 [ option_args ]
11 --commandprofile String
13 --config String
14 -d|--debug
15 --driverloaded y|n
16 --dump headers|metadata|metadata_all|metadata_search
17 -f|--file String
18 -h|--help
19 --labelsector Number
20 --lockopt String
21 --longhelp
22 --nolocking
23 --profile String
24 --[pv]metadatacopies 0|1|2
25 -q|--quiet
26 --repair
27 --repairtype pv_header|metadata|label_header
28 --settings String
29 -t|--test
30 -v|--verbose
31 --version
32 -y|--yes
33
35 pvck checks and repairs LVM metadata on PVs.
36 Dump options
39 headers
40 Print LVM on-disk headers and structures: label_header, pv_header,
41 mda_header(s), and metadata text. Warnings are printed if any values
42 are incorrect. The label_header and pv_header both exist in a 512 byte
43 sector, usually the second sector of the device. An mda_header exists
44 in a 512 byte sector at offset 4096 bytes. A second mda_header can op‐
45 tionally exist near the end of the device. The metadata text exists in
46 an area (about 1MiB by default) immediately following the mda_header
47 sector. The metadata text is checked but not printed (see other op‐
48 tions).
49 metadata
51 Print the current LVM VG metadata text (or save to a file), using head‐
52 ers to locate the latest copy of metadata. If headers are damaged,
53 metadata may not be found (see metadata_search). Use --settings
54 "mda_num=2" to look in mda2 (the second mda at the end of the device,
55 if used). The metadata text is printed to stdout or saved to a file
56 with --file.
57 metadata_all
59 List all versions of VG metadata found in the metadata area, using
60 headers to locate metadata. Full copies of all metadata are saved to a
61 file with the --file option. If headers are damaged, metadata may not
62 be found (see metadata_search). Use --settings "mda_num=2" as above.
63 Use -v to include descriptions and dates when listing metadata ver‐
64 sions.
65 metadata_search
67 List all versions of VG metadata found in the metadata area, searching
68 common locations so metadata can be found if headers are damaged. Full
69 copies of all metadata are saved to a file with the --file option. To
70 save one specific version of metadata, use --settings "metadata_off‐
71 set=<offset>", where the offset is taken from the list of versions
72 found. Use -v to include descriptions and dates when listing metadata
73 versions.
74 metadata_area
76 Save the entire text metadata area to a file without processing.
77 Repair options
80 --repair
81 Repair headers and metadata on a PV. This uses a metadata input file
82 that was extracted by --dump, or a backup file (from /etc/lvm/backup).
83 When possible, use metadata saved by --dump from another PV in the same
84 VG (or from a second metadata area on the PV).
85 There are cases where the PV UUID needs to be specified for the PV be‐
87 ing repaired. It is specified using --settings "pv_uuid=<UUID>". In
88 particular, if the device name for the PV being repaired does not match
89 the previous device name of the PV, then LVM may not be able to deter‐
90 mine the correct PV UUID. When headers are damaged on more than one PV
91 in a VG, it is important for the user to determine the correct PV UUID
92 and specify it in --settings. Otherwise, the wrong PV UUID could be
93 used if device names have been swapped since the metadata was last
94 written.
95 If a PV has no metadata areas and the pv_header is damaged, then the
97 repair will not know to create no metadata areas during repair. It
98 will by default repair metadata in mda1. To repair with no metadata
99 areas, use --settings "mda_offset=0 mda_size=0".
100 There are cases where repair should be run on all PVs in the VG (using
102 the same metadata file): if all PVs in the VG are damaged, if using an
103 old metadata version, or if a backup file is used instead of raw meta‐
104 data (taken from pvck dump.)
105 Using --repair is equivalent to running --repairtype pv_header followed
107 by --repairtype metadata.
108 --repairtype pv_header
110 Repairs the header sector, containing the pv_header and label_header.
111 --repairtype metadata
113 Repairs the mda_header and metadata text. It requires the headers to
114 be correct (having been undamaged or already repaired).
115 --repairtype label_header
117 Repairs label_header fields, leaving the pv_header (in the same sector)
118 unchanged. (repairtype pv_header should usually be used instead.)
119 Settings
122 The --settings option controls or overrides certain dump or repair be‐
123 haviors. All offset and size values in settings are in bytes (units
124 are not recognized.) These settings are subject to change.
125 mda_num=1|2
127 Select which metadata area should be used. By default the first meta‐
128 data area (1) is used. mda1 is always located at offset 4096. mda2,
129 at the end of the device, often does not exist (it's not created by de‐
130 fault.) If mda1 is erased, mda2, if it exists, will often still have
131 metadata.
132 metadata_offset=bytes
134 Select metadata text at this offset. Use with metadata_search to
135 print/save one instance of metadata text.
136 mda_offset=bytes mda_size=bytes
138 Refers to a metadata area (mda) location and size. An mda includes an
139 mda_header and circular metadata text buffer. Setting this forces
140 metadata_search look for metadata in the given area instead of the
141 standard locations. When set to zero with repair, it indicates no
142 metadata areas should exist.
143 mda2_offset=bytes mda2_size=bytes
145 When repairing a pv_header, this forces a specific offset and size for
146 mda2 that should be recorded in the pv_header.
147 pv_uuid=uuid
149 Specify the PV UUID of the device being repaired. When not specified,
150 repair will attempt to determine the correct PV UUID by matching a de‐
151 vice name in the metadata.
152 device_size=bytes
154 data_offset=bytes
155 When repairing a pv_header, the device_size, data_offset, and pvid can
156 all be specified directly, in which case these values are not taken
157 from a metadata file (where they usually come from), and the metadata
158 file can be omitted. data_offset is the starting location of the first
159 physical extent (data), which follows the first metadata area.
160
163 Check for metadata on a device
164 pvck PV ...
166 [ COMMON_OPTIONS ]
167 -
168 Check and print LVM headers and metadata on a device
170 pvck --dump headers|metadata|metadata_all|metadata_search PV
172 [ -f|--file String ]
173 [ --settings String ]
174 [ --[pv]metadatacopies 0|1|2 ]
175 [ COMMON_OPTIONS ]
176 -
177 Repair LVM headers or metadata on a device
179 pvck --repairtype pv_header|metadata|label_header PV
181 [ -f|--file String ]
182 [ --settings String ]
183 [ COMMON_OPTIONS ]
184 -
185 Repair LVM headers and metadata on a device
187 pvck --repair -f|--file String PV
189 [ --settings String ]
190 [ COMMON_OPTIONS ]
191 -
192 Common options for command:
194 [ --labelsector Number ]
195 Common options for lvm:
197 [ -d|--debug ]
198 [ -h|--help ]
199 [ -q|--quiet ]
200 [ -t|--test ]
201 [ -v|--verbose ]
202 [ -y|--yes ]
203 [ --commandprofile String ]
204 [ --config String ]
205 [ --driverloaded y|n ]
206 [ --lockopt String ]
207 [ --longhelp ]
208 [ --nolocking ]
209 [ --profile String ]
210 [ --version ]
211
213 --commandprofile String
214 The command profile to use for command configuration. See
215 lvm.conf(5) for more information about profiles.
216 --config String
218 Config settings for the command. These override lvm.conf set‐
219 tings. The String arg uses the same format as lvm.conf, or may
220 use section/field syntax. See lvm.conf(5) for more information
221 about config.
222 -d|--debug ...
224 Set debug level. Repeat from 1 to 6 times to increase the detail
225 of messages sent to the log file and/or syslog (if configured).
226 --driverloaded y|n
228 If set to no, the command will not attempt to use device-mapper.
229 For testing and debugging.
230 --dump headers|metadata|metadata_all|metadata_search
232 Dump headers and metadata from a PV for debugging and repair.
233 Option values include: headers to print and check LVM headers,
234 metadata to print or save the current text metadata, meta‐
235 data_all to list or save all versions of metadata, meta‐
236 data_search to list or save all versions of metadata, searching
237 standard locations in case of damaged headers, metadata_area to
238 save an entire text metadata area to a file.
239 -f|--file String
241 Metadata file to read or write.
242 -h|--help
244 Display help text.
245 --labelsector Number
247 By default the PV is labelled with an LVM2 identifier in its
248 second sector (sector 1). This lets you use a different sector
249 near the start of the disk (between 0 and 3 inclusive - see LA‐
250 BEL_SCAN_SECTORS in the source). Use with care.
251 --lockopt String
253 Used to pass options for special cases to lvmlockd. See lvm‐
254 lockd(8) for more information.
255 --longhelp
257 Display long help text.
258 --nolocking
260 Disable locking.
261 --profile String
263 An alias for --commandprofile or --metadataprofile, depending on
264 the command.
265 --[pv]metadatacopies 0|1|2
267 The number of metadata areas to set aside on a PV for storing VG
268 metadata. When 2, one copy of the VG metadata is stored at the
269 front of the PV and a second copy is stored at the end. When 1,
270 one copy of the VG metadata is stored at the front of the PV.
271 When 0, no copies of the VG metadata are stored on the given PV.
272 This may be useful in VGs containing many PVs (this places limi‐
273 tations on the ability to use vgsplit later.)
274 -q|--quiet ...
276 Suppress output and log messages. Overrides --debug and --ver‐
277 bose. Repeat once to also suppress any prompts with answer
278 'no'.
279 --repair
281 Repair headers and metadata on a PV.
282 --repairtype pv_header|metadata|label_header
284 Repair headers and metadata on a PV. See command description.
285 --settings String
287 Specifies command specific settings in "Key = Value" form. Com‐
288 bine multiple settings in quotes, or repeat the settings option
289 for each.
290 -t|--test
292 Run in test mode. Commands will not update metadata. This is
293 implemented by disabling all metadata writing but nevertheless
294 returning success to the calling function. This may lead to un‐
295 usual error messages in multi-stage operations if a tool relies
296 on reading back metadata it believes has changed but hasn't.
297 -v|--verbose ...
299 Set verbose level. Repeat from 1 to 4 times to increase the de‐
300 tail of messages sent to stdout and stderr.
301 --version
303 Display version information.
304 -y|--yes
306 Do not prompt for confirmation interactively but always assume
307 the answer yes. Use with extreme caution. (For automatic no,
308 see -qq.)
309
311 PV
312 Physical Volume name, a device path under /dev. For commands
313 managing physical extents, a PV positional arg generally accepts
314 a suffix indicating a range (or multiple ranges) of physical ex‐
315 tents (PEs). When the first PE is omitted, it defaults to the
316 start of the device, and when the last PE is omitted it defaults
317 to end. Start and end range (inclusive): PV[:PE-PE]... Start
318 and length range (counting from 0): PV[:PE+PE]...
319 String
321 See the option description for information about the string con‐
322 tent.
323 Size[UNIT]
325 Size is an input number that accepts an optional unit. Input
326 units are always treated as base two values, regardless of capi‐
327 talization, e.g. 'k' and 'K' both refer to 1024. The default
328 input unit is specified by letter, followed by |UNIT. UNIT rep‐
329 resents other possible input units: bBsSkKmMgGtTpPeE. b|B is
330 bytes, s|S is sectors of 512 bytes, k|K is KiB, m|M is MiB, g|G
331 is GiB, t|T is TiB, p|P is PiB, e|E is EiB. (This should not be
332 confused with the output control --units, where capital letters
333 mean multiple of 1000.)
334
336 See lvm(8) for information about environment variables used by lvm.
337 For example, LVM_VG_NAME can generally be substituted for a required VG
338 parameter.
339
341 If the partition table is corrupted or lost on /dev/sda, and you sus‐
342 pect there was an LVM partition at approximately 100 MiB, then this
343 area of the disk can be scanned using the --labelsector parameter with
344 a value of 204800 (100 * 1024 * 1024 / 512 = 204800).
345 pvck --labelsector 204800 /dev/sda
346
348 lvm(8) lvm.conf(5) lvmconfig(8)
349 pvchange(8) pvck(8) pvcreate(8) pvdisplay(8) pvmove(8) pvremove(8)
351 pvresize(8) pvs(8) pvscan(8)
352 vgcfgbackup(8) vgcfgrestore(8) vgchange(8) vgck(8) vgcreate(8) vgcon‐
354 vert(8) vgdisplay(8) vgexport(8) vgextend(8) vgimport(8) vgimport‐
355 clone(8) vgmerge(8) vgmknodes(8) vgreduce(8) vgremove(8) vgrename(8)
356 vgs(8) vgscan(8) vgsplit(8)
357 lvcreate(8) lvchange(8) lvconvert(8) lvdisplay(8) lvextend(8) lvre‐
359 duce(8) lvremove(8) lvrename(8) lvresize(8) lvs(8) lvscan(8)
360 lvm-fullreport(8) lvm-lvpoll(8) lvm2-activation-generator(8) blkdeacti‐
362 vate(8) lvmdump(8)
363 dmeventd(8) lvmpolld(8) lvmlockd(8) lvmlockctl(8) cmirrord(8) lvmd‐
365 busd(8)
366 lvmsystemid(7) lvmreport(7) lvmraid(7) lvmthin(7) lvmcache(7)
368Red Hat, Inc. LVM TOOLS 2.03.11(2) (2021-01-08) PVCK(8)