1VGCREATE(8) System Manager's Manual VGCREATE(8)
2
6 vgcreate — Create a volume group
7
9 vgcreate position_args
10 [ option_args ]
11
13 vgcreate creates a new VG on block devices. If the devices were not
14 previously initialized as PVs with pvcreate(8), vgcreate will initi‐
15 tialize them, making them PVs. The pvcreate options for initializing
16 devices are also available with vgcreate.
17 When vgcreate uses an existing PV, that PV's existing values for meta‐
19 data size, PE start, etc, are used, even if different values are speci‐
20 fied in the vgcreate command. To change these values, first use pvre‐
21 move on the device.
22
24 vgcreate VG_new PV ...
25 [ -A|--autobackup y|n ]
26 [ -c|--clustered y|n ]
27 [ -l|--maxlogicalvolumes Number ]
28 [ -p|--maxphysicalvolumes Number ]
29 [ -M|--metadatatype lvm2 ]
30 [ -s|--physicalextentsize Size[m|UNIT] ]
31 [ -f|--force ]
32 [ -Z|--zero y|n ]
33 [ --addtag Tag ]
34 [ --alloc contiguous|cling|cling_by_tags|normal|anywhere|inherit
35 ]
36 [ --metadataprofile String ]
37 [ --labelsector Number ]
38 [ --metadatasize Size[m|UNIT] ]
39 [ --pvmetadatacopies 0|1|2 ]
40 [ --[vg]metadatacopies all|unmanaged|Number ]
41 [ --reportformat basic|json|json_std ]
42 [ --dataalignment Size[k|UNIT] ]
43 [ --dataalignmentoffset Size[k|UNIT] ]
44 [ --shared ]
45 [ --systemid String ]
46 [ --locktype sanlock|dlm|none ]
47 [ --setautoactivation y|n ]
48 [ COMMON_OPTIONS ]
49 Common options for lvm:
51 [ -d|--debug ]
52 [ -h|--help ]
53 [ -q|--quiet ]
54 [ -t|--test ]
55 [ -v|--verbose ]
56 [ -y|--yes ]
57 [ --commandprofile String ]
58 [ --config String ]
59 [ --devices PV ]
60 [ --devicesfile String ]
61 [ --driverloaded y|n ]
62 [ --journal String ]
63 [ --lockopt String ]
64 [ --longhelp ]
65 [ --nohints ]
66 [ --nolocking ]
67 [ --profile String ]
68 [ --version ]
69
71 --addtag Tag
72 Adds a tag to a PV, VG or LV. This option can be repeated to add
73 multiple tags at once. See lvm(8) for information about tags.
74 --alloc contiguous|cling|cling_by_tags|normal|anywhere|inherit
76 Determines the allocation policy when a command needs to allo‐
77 cate Physical Extents (PEs) from the VG. Each VG and LV has an
78 allocation policy which can be changed with vgchange/lvchange,
79 or overridden on the command line. normal applies common sense
80 rules such as not placing parallel stripes on the same PV. in‐
81 herit applies the VG policy to an LV. contiguous requires new
82 PEs be placed adjacent to existing PEs. cling places new PEs on
83 the same PV as existing PEs in the same stripe of the LV. If
84 there are sufficient PEs for an allocation, but normal does not
85 use them, anywhere will use them even if it reduces performance,
86 e.g. by placing two stripes on the same PV. Optional positional
87 PV args on the command line can also be used to limit which PVs
88 the command will use for allocation. See lvm(8) for more infor‐
89 mation about allocation.
90 -A|--autobackup y|n
92 Specifies if metadata should be backed up automatically after a
93 change. Enabling this is strongly advised! See vgcfgbackup(8)
94 for more information.
95 -c|--clustered y|n
97 This option was specific to clvm and is now replaced by the
98 --shared option with lvmlockd(8).
99 --commandprofile String
101 The command profile to use for command configuration. See
102 lvm.conf(5) for more information about profiles.
103 --config String
105 Config settings for the command. These override lvm.conf(5) set‐
106 tings. The String arg uses the same format as lvm.conf(5), or
107 may use section/field syntax. See lvm.conf(5) for more informa‐
108 tion about config.
109 --dataalignment Size[k|UNIT]
111 Align the start of a PV data area with a multiple of this num‐
112 ber. To see the location of the first Physical Extent (PE) of
113 an existing PV, use pvs -o +pe_start. In addition, it may be
114 shifted by an alignment offset, see --dataalignmentoffset. Also
115 specify an appropriate PE size when creating a VG.
116 --dataalignmentoffset Size[k|UNIT]
118 Shift the start of the PV data area by this additional offset.
119 -d|--debug ...
121 Set debug level. Repeat from 1 to 6 times to increase the detail
122 of messages sent to the log file and/or syslog (if configured).
123 --devices PV
125 Restricts the devices that are visible and accessible to the
126 command. Devices not listed will appear to be missing. This op‐
127 tion can be repeated, or accepts a comma separated list of de‐
128 vices. This overrides the devices file.
129 --devicesfile String
131 A file listing devices that LVM should use. The file must exist
132 in /etc/lvm/devices/ and is managed with the lvmdevices(8) com‐
133 mand. This overrides the lvm.conf(5) devices/devicesfile and
134 devices/use_devicesfile settings.
135 --driverloaded y|n
137 If set to no, the command will not attempt to use device-mapper.
138 For testing and debugging.
139 -f|--force ...
141 Override various checks, confirmations and protections. Use
142 with extreme caution.
143 -h|--help
145 Display help text.
146 --journal String
148 Record information in the systemd journal. This information is
149 in addition to information enabled by the lvm.conf log/journal
150 setting. command: record information about the command. out‐
151 put: record the default command output. debug: record full com‐
152 mand debugging.
153 --labelsector Number
155 By default the PV is labelled with an LVM2 identifier in its
156 second sector (sector 1). This lets you use a different sector
157 near the start of the disk (between 0 and 3 inclusive - see LA‐
158 BEL_SCAN_SECTORS in the source). Use with care.
159 --lockopt String
161 Used to pass options for special cases to lvmlockd. See lvm‐
162 lockd(8) for more information.
163 --locktype sanlock|dlm|none
165 Specify the VG lock type directly in place of using --shared.
166 See lvmlockd(8) for more information.
167 --longhelp
169 Display long help text.
170 -l|--maxlogicalvolumes Number
172 Sets the maximum number of LVs allowed in a VG.
173 -p|--maxphysicalvolumes Number
175 Sets the maximum number of PVs that can belong to the VG. The
176 value 0 removes any limitation. For large numbers of PVs, also
177 see options --pvmetadatacopies, and --vgmetadatacopies for im‐
178 proving performance.
179 --metadataprofile String
181 The metadata profile to use for command configuration. See
182 lvm.conf(5) for more information about profiles.
183 --metadatasize Size[m|UNIT]
185 The approximate amount of space used for each VG metadata area.
186 The size may be rounded.
187 -M|--metadatatype lvm2
189 Specifies the type of on-disk metadata to use. lvm2 (or just 2)
190 is the current, standard format. lvm1 (or just 1) is no longer
191 used.
192 --nohints
194 Do not use the hints file to locate devices for PVs. A command
195 may read more devices to find PVs when hints are not used. The
196 command will still perform standard hint file invalidation where
197 appropriate.
198 --nolocking
200 Disable locking. Use with caution, concurrent commands may pro‐
201 duce incorrect results.
202 -s|--physicalextentsize Size[m|UNIT]
204 Sets the physical extent size of PVs in the VG. The value must
205 be either a power of 2 of at least 1 sector (where the sector
206 size is the largest sector size of the PVs currently used in the
207 VG), or at least 128 KiB. Once this value has been set, it is
208 difficult to change without recreating the VG, unless no extents
209 need moving.
210 --profile String
212 An alias for --commandprofile or --metadataprofile, depending on
213 the command.
214 --pvmetadatacopies 0|1|2
216 The number of metadata areas to set aside on a PV for storing VG
217 metadata. When 2, one copy of the VG metadata is stored at the
218 front of the PV and a second copy is stored at the end. When 1,
219 one copy of the VG metadata is stored at the front of the PV.
220 When 0, no copies of the VG metadata are stored on the given PV.
221 This may be useful in VGs containing many PVs (this places limi‐
222 tations on the ability to use vgsplit later.)
223 -q|--quiet ...
225 Suppress output and log messages. Overrides --debug and --ver‐
226 bose. Repeat once to also suppress any prompts with answer
227 'no'.
228 --reportformat basic|json|json_std
230 Overrides current output format for reports which is defined
231 globally by the report/output_format setting in lvm.conf(5).
232 basic is the original format with columns and rows. If there is
233 more than one report per command, each report is prefixed with
234 the report name for identification. json produces report output
235 in JSON format. json_std produces report output in JSON format
236 which is more compliant with JSON standard. See lvmreport(7)
237 for more information.
238 --setautoactivation y|n
240 Set the autoactivation property on a VG or LV. Display the
241 property with vgs or lvs "-o autoactivation". When the autoac‐
242 tivation property is disabled, the VG or LV will not be activat‐
243 ed by a command doing autoactivation (vgchange, lvchange, or
244 pvscan using -aay.) If autoactivation is disabled on a VG, no
245 LVs will be autoactivated in that VG, and the LV autoactivation
246 property has no effect. If autoactivation is enabled on a VG,
247 autoactivation can be disabled for individual LVs.
248 --shared
250 Create a shared VG using lvmlockd if LVM is compiled with lockd
251 support. lvmlockd will select lock type sanlock or dlm depend‐
252 ing on which lock manager is running. This allows multiple hosts
253 to share a VG on shared devices. lvmlockd and a lock manager
254 must be configured and running. See lvmlockd(8) for more infor‐
255 mation about shared VGs.
256 --systemid String
258 Specifies the system ID that will be given to the new VG, over‐
259 riding the system ID of the host running the command. A VG is
260 normally created without this option, in which case the new VG
261 is given the system ID of the host creating it. Using this op‐
262 tion requires caution because the system ID of the new VG may
263 not match the system ID of the host running the command, leaving
264 the VG inaccessible to the host. See lvmsystemid(7) for more
265 information.
266 -t|--test
268 Run in test mode. Commands will not update metadata. This is
269 implemented by disabling all metadata writing but nevertheless
270 returning success to the calling function. This may lead to un‐
271 usual error messages in multi-stage operations if a tool relies
272 on reading back metadata it believes has changed but hasn't.
273 -v|--verbose ...
275 Set verbose level. Repeat from 1 to 4 times to increase the de‐
276 tail of messages sent to stdout and stderr.
277 --version
279 Display version information.
280 --[vg]metadatacopies all|unmanaged|Number
282 Number of copies of the VG metadata that are kept. VG metadata
283 is kept in VG metadata areas on PVs in the VG, i.e. reserved
284 space at the start and/or end of the PVs. Keeping a copy of the
285 VG metadata on every PV can reduce performance in VGs containing
286 a large number of PVs. When this number is set to a non-zero
287 value, LVM will automatically choose PVs on which to store meta‐
288 data, using the metadataignore flags on PVs to achieve the spec‐
289 ified number. The number can also be replaced with special
290 string values: unmanaged causes LVM to not automatically manage
291 the PV metadataignore flags. all causes LVM to first clear the
292 metadataignore flags on all PVs, and then to become unmanaged.
293 -y|--yes
295 Do not prompt for confirmation interactively but always assume
296 the answer yes. Use with extreme caution. (For automatic no,
297 see -qq.)
298 -Z|--zero y|n
300 Controls if the first 4 sectors (2048 bytes) of the device are
301 wiped. The default is to wipe these sectors unless either or
302 both of --restorefile or --uuid are specified.
303
305 VG Volume Group name. See lvm(8) for valid names.
306 PV Physical Volume name, a device path under /dev. For commands
308 managing physical extents, a PV positional arg generally accepts
309 a suffix indicating a range (or multiple ranges) of physical ex‐
310 tents (PEs). When the first PE is omitted, it defaults to the
311 start of the device, and when the last PE is omitted it defaults
312 to end. Start and end range (inclusive): PV[:PE-PE]... Start
313 and length range (counting from 0): PV[:PE+PE]...
314 String See the option description for information about the string con‐
316 tent.
317 Size[UNIT]
319 Size is an input number that accepts an optional unit. Input
320 units are always treated as base two values, regardless of capi‐
321 talization, e.g. 'k' and 'K' both refer to 1024. The default
322 input unit is specified by letter, followed by |UNIT. UNIT rep‐
323 resents other possible input units: b|B is bytes, s|S is sectors
324 of 512 bytes, k|K is KiB, m|M is MiB, g|G is GiB, t|T is TiB,
325 p|P is PiB, e|E is EiB. (This should not be confused with the
326 output control --units, where capital letters mean multiple of
327 1000.)
328
330 See lvm(8) for information about environment variables used by lvm.
331 For example, LVM_VG_NAME can generally be substituted for a required VG
332 parameter.
333
335 Create a VG with two PVs, using the default physical extent size.
336 vgcreate myvg /dev/sdk1 /dev/sdl1
337
339 lvm(8), lvm.conf(5), lvmconfig(8), lvmdevices(8),
340 pvchange(8), pvck(8), pvcreate(8), pvdisplay(8), pvmove(8),
342 pvremove(8), pvresize(8), pvs(8), pvscan(8),
343 vgcfgbackup(8), vgcfgrestore(8), vgchange(8), vgck(8), vgcreate(8),
345 vgconvert(8), vgdisplay(8), vgexport(8), vgextend(8), vgimport(8),
346 vgimportclone(8), vgimportdevices(8), vgmerge(8), vgmknodes(8),
347 vgreduce(8), vgremove(8), vgrename(8), vgs(8), vgscan(8), vgsplit(8),
348 lvcreate(8), lvchange(8), lvconvert(8), lvdisplay(8), lvextend(8),
350 lvreduce(8), lvremove(8), lvrename(8), lvresize(8), lvs(8), lvscan(8),
351 lvm-fullreport(8), lvm-lvpoll(8), blkdeactivate(8), lvmdump(8),
353 dmeventd(8), lvmpolld(8), lvmlockd(8), lvmlockctl(8), cmirrord(8),
355 lvmdbusd(8), fsadm(8),
356 lvmsystemid(7), lvmreport(7), lvmraid(7), lvmthin(7), lvmcache(7)
358Red Hat, Inc. LVM TOOLS 2.03.18(2)-git (2022-11-10) VGCREATE(8)