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lvcreate

Create a logical volume from the free space of a volume group (lvcreate), or delete one (lvremove).

Level
RHCSA exam
Group
LVM
Needs root
Yes
Package
lvm2
Also called
lvremove

What it does

lvcreate -n NAME -L SIZE VG makes an LV; -l gives the size in extents or percent (-l 100%FREE). The new device is /dev/VG/NAME; put a file system on it and mount it.

lvcreate also makes snapshots (-s), thin pools and thin volumes (-T), striped, mirrored and RAID volumes, cache and VDO volumes (with --type).

How to write it

lvcreate -n NAME (-L SIZE | -l EXTENTS) [OPTION]... VG [PV...]
lvcreate -s -n NAME -L SIZE VG/LV
lvremove [OPTION]... VG/LV...

Options 46

Most used

Basic

-n, --name NAME
Name of the new LV.
-L, --size SIZE
Size, like 500M, 5G.
-l, --extents N[%VG|%FREE|%PVS|%ORIGIN]
Size in extents or percent, like 50, 100%FREE.
-a, --activate y|n|ay
Activate it (default y).
-p, --permission rw|r
Read-write or read-only.
-C, --contiguous y|n
Use one contiguous area.
--alloc POLICY
Allocation policy.
-r, --readahead auto|none|N
Read-ahead sectors.
-Z, --zero y|n
Zero the first KiB (default y).
-W, --wipesignatures y|n
Wipe old signatures on the new LV.
--addtag TAG
Add a tag.
-k, --setactivationskip y|n, -K, --ignoreactivationskip, --setautoactivation y|n
Activation settings.
-M, --persistent y|n, -j, --major N, --minor N
Fixed device numbers.

Types

--type TYPE
linear, striped, snapshot, raid0/1/4/5/6/10, mirror, thin, thin-pool, cache, writecache, vdo …
-s, --snapshot
Create a snapshot of an LV.
-T, --thin
Thin pool or thin volume.
--thinpool LV
The thin pool for a thin volume.
-V, --virtualsize SIZE
Virtual size of a thin volume.
-c, --chunksize SIZE
Chunk size (snapshot, thin, cache).
--poolmetadatasize SIZE, --poolmetadataspare y|n
Pool metadata.
--discards passdown|nopassdown|ignore
Discard behaviour of thin pools.
--errorwhenfull y|n
Fail writes when a thin pool is full.
-i, --stripes N
Spread over N PVs (striped).
-I, --stripesize SIZE
Stripe size.
-m, --mirrors N
Number of extra copies (mirror/raid1).
-R, --regionsize SIZE, --mirrorlog core|disk, --nosync
Mirror settings.
--raidintegrity y|n, --raidintegritymode MODE, --raidintegrityblocksize N, --maxrecoveryrate SIZE, --minrecoveryrate SIZE
RAID settings.
-H, --cache, --cachepool LV, --cachevol LV, --cachedevice PV, --cachesize SIZE, --cachemode MODE, --cachepolicy STRING, --cachesettings STRING, --cachemetadataformat auto|1|2
Cache settings.
--vdo, --vdopool LV, --compression y|n, --deduplication y|n
VDO (deduplication and compression).
--monitor y|n, --ignoremonitoring
dmeventd monitoring.
--noudevsync
Do not wait for udev.
--metadataprofile STRING
Metadata profile.
--reportformat basic|json
Output format.

lvremove

-f, --force
Remove without asking (also active LVs).
-S, --select EXPR
Remove LVs that match.

Common LVM options

-t, --test
Test only; change nothing.
-v, --verbose
More output (repeat for more).
-q, --quiet
Less output.
-y, --yes
Answer yes to questions.
-d, --debug
Debug output.
--config STRING
Override lvm.conf settings for this command only.
--commandprofile STRING, --profile STRING
Use a configuration profile.
--devices PV, --devicesfile STRING
Limit the devices LVM looks at.
--driverloaded y|n, --nolocking, --lockopt STRING, --nohints, --journal STRING
Special and debug settings.
-h, --help, --longhelp
Show help.
--version
Show the version.

Examples 10

$ run as a normal user# run as root (or with sudo)

  1. 1LV with a size

    lvcreate -n lvdata -L 5G vgdata
  Logical volume "lvdata" created.

    Device: /dev/vgdata/lvdata.

  2. 2LV with a number of extents

    lvcreate -n lvfiles -l 50 vgfiles

    50 × PE size (see vgdisplay).

  3. 3Use all free space

    lvcreate -n lvweb -l 100%FREE vgdata

    Or 50%FREE for half.

  4. 4File system and mount

    mkfs.xfs /dev/vgdata/lvdata
mkdir /data; echo "/dev/vgdata/lvdata /data xfs defaults 0 0" >> /etc/fstab
systemctl daemon-reload; mount -a

    The usual next steps.

  5. 5A swap LV

    lvcreate -n lvswap -L 2G rhel; mkswap /dev/rhel/lvswap

    Add it to fstab as swap.

  6. 6Snapshot for a backup

    lvcreate -s -n lvdata-snap -L 1G /dev/vgdata/lvdata
mount -o ro,nouuid /dev/vgdata/lvdata-snap /mnt

    Frozen view; back up /mnt, then remove the snapshot. (nouuid is needed for XFS.)

  7. 7Thin pool and thin volume

    lvcreate -T -L 10G vgdata/pool1
lvcreate -T -V 50G -n lvthin vgdata/pool1

    Over-provisioning: watch the pool usage!

  8. 8Place an LV on a chosen PV

    lvcreate -n lvfast -L 2G vgdata /dev/nvme0n1p3

    For example on the faster disk.

  9. 9Remove an LV

    umount /data; lvremove /dev/vgdata/lvdata
Do you really want to remove active logical volume vgdata/lvdata? [y/n]: y

    Remove the fstab line too.

  10. 10RAID1 mirror LV

    lvcreate --type raid1 -m 1 -n lvsafe -L 2G vgdata

    Two copies on different PVs.

Exit codes

0 :: Done. 5 :: Error.

Full manual

This page explains the command in simple words. The original manual has every detail.

In your terminal: man 8 lvcreate

Open the man page (linux.die.net)man7.org