Step-by-Step Guide- How to Successfully Install LVM (Logical Volume Management) on Your System

How to Install LVM (Logical Volume Management) on Ubuntu: A Step-by-Step Guide

Installing LVM (Logical Volume Management) on Ubuntu can be a crucial step for managing your disk space efficiently. LVM allows you to create logical volumes, which can be resized, moved, or copied without affecting the underlying physical volumes. In this article, we will guide you through the process of installing LVM on Ubuntu, step by step.

Step 1: Update Your System

Before installing LVM, it is essential to ensure that your system is up-to-date. You can update your system packages by running the following command in the terminal:

“`bash
sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade
“`

Step 2: Install LVM

Now, you can install LVM by running the following command:

“`bash
sudo apt install lvm2
“`

Step 3: Check Physical Volumes (PVs)

After installing LVM, you need to check for any available physical volumes (PVs) on your system. To do this, run the following command:

“`bash
sudo pvscan
“`

If you don’t see any PVs, you may need to initialize them. You can initialize a PV by running the following command:

“`bash
sudo pvcreate /dev/sdX
“`

Replace `/dev/sdX` with the actual device name of your disk.

Step 4: Create Volume Groups (VGs)

Once you have identified the PVs, you can create a volume group (VG) by running the following command:

“`bash
sudo vgcreate VolumeGroupName /dev/sdX
“`

Replace `VolumeGroupName` with the desired name for your volume group and `/dev/sdX` with the actual device name of your disk.

Step 5: Create Logical Volumes (LVs)

Now that you have a volume group, you can create a logical volume (LV) by running the following command:

“`bash
sudo lvcreate -L LVSize -n LVName VolumeGroupName
“`

Replace `LVSize` with the desired size of your LV in gigabytes, `LVName` with the desired name for your LV, and `VolumeGroupName` with the name of your volume group.

Step 6: Format and Mount the Logical Volume

After creating the LV, you need to format it and mount it to a directory on your system. To format the LV, run the following command:

“`bash
sudo mkfs.ext4 /dev/VolumeGroupName/LVName
“`

Replace `/dev/VolumeGroupName/LVName` with the actual device name of your LV.

Next, create a mount point for the LV by running:

“`bash
sudo mkdir /mount/point
“`

Replace `/mount/point` with the desired directory where you want to mount the LV.

Finally, mount the LV to the mount point by running:

“`bash
sudo mount /dev/VolumeGroupName/LVName /mount/point
“`

Step 7: Add LV to /etc/fstab

To make the LV automatically mount at boot, you need to add it to the `/etc/fstab` file. Run the following command:

“`bash
sudo nano /etc/fstab
“`

Add the following line to the end of the file:

“`
/dev/VolumeGroupName/LVName /mount/point ext4 defaults 0 0
“`

Save and close the file.

Step 8: Verify the Installation

To verify that LVM is installed and working correctly, run the following command:

“`bash
sudo lvdisplay
“`

This command will display information about the logical volumes on your system.

Congratulations! You have successfully installed LVM on Ubuntu. Now you can manage your disk space more efficiently with LVM’s features like resizing, snapshotting, and thin provisioning.