Subsections of Storage

Nextcloud on RHEL Based Systems

I’m going to show you how to set up your own, self-hosted Nextcloud server using Alma Linux 9 and Apache.

What is Nextcloud?

Nextcloud is so many things. It offers so many features and options, it deserves a bulleted list:

  • Free and open source
  • Cloud storage and syncing
  • Email client
  • Custom browser dashboard with widgets
  • Office suite
  • RSS newsfeed
  • Project organization (deck)
  • Notebook
  • Calender
  • Task manager
  • Connect to decentralized social media (like Mastodon)
  • Replacement for all of google’s services
  • Create web forms or surveys

It is also free and open source. This mean the source code is available to all. And hosting yourself means you can guarantee that your data isn’t being shared.

As you can see. Nextcloud is feature packed and offers an all in one solution for many needs. The set up is fairly simple.

You will need:

  • Domain hosted through CloudFlare or other hosting.
  • Server with Alma Linux 9 with a dedicated public ip address.

Nextcloud dependencies:

  • PHP 8.3
  • Apache
  • sql database (This tutorial uses MariaDB)

Official docs: https://docs.nextcloud.com/server/latest/admin_manual/installation/source_installation.html

Setting up dependencies

Install latest supported PHP

I used this guide to help get a supported php version. As php 2 installed from dnf repos by default: https://orcacore.com/php83-installation-almalinux9-rockylinux9/

Make sure dnf is up to date:

sudo dnf update -y
sudo dnf upgrade -y

Set up the epel repository:

sudo dnf install epel-release -y

Set up remi to manage php modules:

sudo dnf install -y dnf-utils http://rpms.remirepo.net/enterprise/remi-release-9.rpm
sudo dnf update -y

Remove old versions of php:

sudo dnf remove php* -y

List available php streams:

sudo dnf module list reset php -y

Last metadata expiration check: 1:03:46 ago on Sun 29 Dec 2024 03:34:52 AM MST.
AlmaLinux 9 - AppStream
Name                Stream                      Profiles                                  Summary                             
php                 8.1                         common [d], devel, minimal                PHP scripting language              
php                 8.2                         common [d], devel, minimal                PHP scripting language              

Remi's Modular repository for Enterprise Linux 9 - x86_64
Name                Stream                      Profiles                                  Summary                             
php                 remi-7.4                    common [d], devel, minimal                PHP scripting language              
php                 remi-8.0                    common [d], devel, minimal                PHP scripting language              
php                 remi-8.1                    common [d], devel, minimal                PHP scripting language              
php                 remi-8.2                    common [d], devel, minimal                PHP scripting language              
php                 remi-8.3 [e]                common [d], devel, minimal                PHP scripting language              
php                 remi-8.4                    common [d], devel, minimal                PHP scripting language

Enable the correct stream:

sudo dnf module enable php:remi-8.3

Now the default to install is version 8.3, install it like this:

sudo dnf install php -y
php -v

Let’s install git, as it’s also needed in this setup: sudo dnf -y install git

Install Composer for managing php modules:

cd && curl -sS https://getcomposer.org/installer | php
sudo mv composer.phar /usr/local/bin/composer

Install needed PHP modules: sudo dnf install php-process php-zip php-gd php-mysqlnd

Upgrade php memory limit: sudo vim /etc/php.ini

memory_limit = 512M

Apache setup

Add Apache config for vhost: sudo vim /etc/httpd/conf.d/nextcloud.conf

<VirtualHost *:80>
  DocumentRoot /var/www/nextcloud/
  ServerName  {subdomain}.{example}.com

  <Directory /var/www/nextcloud/>
    Require all granted
    AllowOverride All
    Options FollowSymLinks MultiViews

    <IfModule mod_dav.c>
      Dav off
    </IfModule>
  </Directory>
</VirtualHost>

Set up the mysql database

Install: sudo dnf install mariadb-server -y

Enable the service: sudo systemctl enable --now mariadb

Nextcloud needs some tables setup in order to store information in a database. First set up a secure sql database:

sudo mysql_secure_installation

Say “Yes” to the prompts and enter root password:

Switch to unix_socket authentication [Y/n]: Y
Change the root password? [Y/n]: Y	# enter password.
Remove anonymous users? [Y/n]: Y
Disallow root login remotely? [Y/n]: Y
Remove test database and access to it? [Y/n]: Y
Reload privilege tables now? [Y/n]: Y

Sign in to your SQL database with the password you just chose:

mysql -u root -p

Create the database:

While signed in with the mysql command, enter the commands below one at a time. Make sure to replace the username and password. But leave localhost as is:

CREATE DATABASE nextcloud;
GRANT ALL ON nextcloud.* TO '{username}'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY '{password}';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

Nextcloud Install

Clone the git repo into /var/www/nextcloud: git clone https://github.com/nextcloud/server.git /var/www/nextcloud && cd /var/www/nextcloud

Add an exception for git to access the directory:

git config --global --add safe.directory /var/www/nextcloud

Initialize the git submodule that handles the subfolder “3rdpartysudo”:

cd /var/www/nextcloud && sudo git submodule update --init

Change the nextcloud folder ownership to apache and add permissions: sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/nextcloud sudo chown -R apache:apache /var/www/nextcloud

Selinux:

sudo semanage fcontext -a -t httpd_sys_content_t "/var/www/nextcloud(/.*)?" && \
sudo semanage fcontext -a -t httpd_sys_rw_content_t "/var/www/nextcloud/(config|data|apps)(/.*)?" && \
sudo restorecon -Rv /var/www/nextcloud/

Now we can actually install Nextcloud. cd to the /var/www/nextcloud directory and run occ with these settings to install:

sudo -u apache php occ  maintenance:install \
--database='mysql' --database-name='nextcloud' \
--database-user='root' --database-pass='{password}' \
--admin-user='admin' --admin-pass='{password}'

Create a CNAME record for DNS.

Before you go any further, you will need to have a domain name set up for your server. I use Cloudflare to manage my DNS records. You will want to make a CNAME record for your nextcloud subdomain.

Just add “nextcloud” as the name and “yourwebsite.com” as the content. This will make it so “nextcloud.yourwebsite.com” is the site for your nextcloud dashboard. Also, make sure to select “DNS Only” under proxy status.

Here’s what my CloudFlare domain setup looks with this blog as the main site, and cloud.perfectdarkmode.com as the nextcloud site:

Then you need to update trusted domains in /var/www/nextcloud/config/config.php:

'trusted_domains' =>
   [
    '{subdomain}.{domain}.com',
    'localhost'
  ],

Restart httpd systemctl restart httpd

Install SSL with Certbot

Obtain an SSL certificate. (See my Obsidian site setup post for information about Certbot and Apache setup.)

sudo certbot -d {subdomain}.{domain}.com

Now log into nextcloud with your admin account using the DNS name you set earlier:

I recommend setting up a normal user account instead of doing everything as “admin”. Just hit the “A” icon at the top right and go to “Accounts”. Then just select “New Account” and create a user account with whatever privileges you want.

I may make a post about which Nextcloud apps I recommend and customize the setup a bit. Let me know if that’s something you’d like to see. That’s all for now.

Partitioning, MBR, and GPT

Partition Information (MBR and GPT)

  • Partition information is stored on the disk in a small region.
  • Read by the operating system at boot time.
  • Master Boot Record (MBR) on the BIOS-based systems
  • GUID Partition Table (GPT) on the UEFI-based systems.
  • At system boot, the BIOS/UEFI:
    • scans all storage devices,
    • detects the presence of MBR/GPT areas,
    • identifies the boot disks,
    • loads the bootloader program in memory from the default boot disk,
    • executes the boot code to read the partition table and identify the /boot partition,
    • loads the kernel in memory, and passes control over to it.
  • MBR and GPT store disk partition information and the boot code.

Master Boot Record (MBR)

  • Resides on the first sector of the boot disk.

  • was the preferred choice for saving partition table information on x86-based computers.

  • with the arrival of bigger and larger hard drives, a new firmware specification (UEFI) was introduced.

  • still widely used, but its use is diminishing in favor of UEFI.

  • allows the creation of three types of partition on a single disk.

  • primary, extended, and logical

  • only primary and logical can be used for data storage

  • extended is a mere enclosure for holding the logical partitions and it is not meant for data storage.

  • supports the creation of up to four primary partitions numbered 1 through 4 at a time.

  • In case additional partitions are required, one of the primary partitions must be deleted and replaced with an extended partition to be able to add logical partitions (up to 11) within that extended partition.

  • Numbering for logical partitions begins at 5.

  • supports a maximum of 14 usable partitions (3 primary and 11 logical) on a single disk.

  • Cannot address storage space beyond 2TB due to its 32-bit nature and its 512-byte disk sector size.

  • non-redundant; the record it contains is not replicated, resulting in an unbootable system in the event of corruption.

  • If your disk is smaller than 2TB and you don’t intend to build more than 14 usable partitions, you can use MBR without issues.

GUID Partition Table (GPT)

  • ability to construct up to 128 partitions (no concept of extended or logical partitions)
  • utilize disks larger than 2TB
  • use 4KB sector size
  • store a copy of the partition information before the end of the disk for redundancy
  • allows a BIOS-based system to boot from a GPT disk using the bootloader program stored in a protective MBR at the first disk sector
  • UEFI firmware also supports the secure boot feature, which only allows signed binaries to boot

MBR Storage Management with parted

parted (partition editor)

  • can be used to partition disks
  • run interactively or directly from the command prompt.
  • understands and supports both MBR and GPT schemes
  • can be used to create up to 128 partitions on a single GPT disk
  • viewing, labeling, adding, naming, and deleting partitions.

print
Displays the partition table that includes disk geometry and partition number, start and end, size, type, file system type, and relevant flags.

mklabel
Applies a label to the disk. Common labels are gpt and msdos.

mkpart
Makes a new partition

name
Assigns a name to a partition

rm
Removes the specified partition

  • use the print subcommand to ensure you created what you wanted.
  • /proc/partitions file is also updated to reflect the results of partition management operations.

Lab: Create an MBR Partition (server2)

  • Assign partition type “msdos” to /dev/sdb for using it as an MBR disk
  • create and confirm a 100MB primary partition on the disk.

1. Execute parted on /dev/sdb to view the current partition information:

[root@server2 ~]# sudo parted /dev/sdb print
Error: /dev/sdb: unrecognised disk label
Model: ATA VBOX HARDDISK (scsi)                                           
Disk /dev/sdb: 262MB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: unknown
Disk Flags:

There is an error on line 1 of the output, indicating an unrecognized label. disk must be labeled before it can be partitioned.

2. Assign disk label “msdos” to the disk with mklabel. This operation is performed only once on a disk.

[root@server2 ~]# sudo parted /dev/sdb mklabel msdos
Information: You may need to update /etc/fstab.
[root@server2 ~]# sudo parted /dev/sdb print                              
Model: ATA VBOX HARDDISK (scsi)
Disk /dev/sdb: 262MB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: msdos
Disk Flags: 

Number  Start  End  Size  Type  File system  Flags

To use the GPT partition table type, run “sudo parted /dev/sdb mklabel gpt” instead.

3. Create a 100MB primary partition starting at 1MB (beginning of the disk) using mkpart:

[root@server2 ~]# sudo parted /dev/sdb mkpart primary 1 101m
Information: You may need to update /etc/fstab.

4. Verify the new partition with print:

[root@server2 ~]# sudo parted /dev/sdb print                              
Model: ATA VBOX HARDDISK (scsi)
Disk /dev/sdb: 262MB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: msdos
Disk Flags: 

Number  Start   End    Size    Type     File system  Flags
 1      1049kB  101MB  99.6MB  primary

Partition numbering begins at 1 by default.

5. Confirm the new partition with the lsblk command:

[root@server2 ~]# lsblk /dev/sdb
NAME   MAJ:MIN RM  SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINTS
sdb      8:16   0  250M  0 disk 
└─sdb1   8:17   0   95M  0 part

The device file for the first partition on the sdb disk is sdb1 as identified on the bottom line. The partition size is 95MB.

Different tools will have variance in reporting partition sizes. ignore minor differences.

6. Check the /proc/partitions file also:

[root@server2 ~]# cat /proc/partitions | grep sdb
   8       16     256000 sdb
   8       17      97280 sdb1

Exercise 13-3: Delete an MBR Partition (server2)

delete the sdb1 partition that was created in Exercise 13-2 confirm the deletion.

1. Execute parted on /dev/sdb with the rm subcommand to remove partition number 1:

[root@server2 ~]# sudo parted /dev/sdb rm 1
Information: You may need to update /etc/fstab.

2. Confirm the partition deletion with print:

[root@server2 ~]# sudo parted /dev/sdb print                              
Model: ATA VBOX HARDDISK (scsi)
Disk /dev/sdb: 262MB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: msdos
Disk Flags: 

Number  Start  End  Size  Type  File system  Flags

3. Check the /proc/partitions file:

[root@server2 ~]# cat /proc/partitions | grep sdb
   8       16     256000 sdb

can also run the lsblk command for further verification. T

EXAM TIP: Knowing either parted or gdisk for the exam is enough.

GPT Storage Management with gdisk

gdisk (GPT disk) Command

  • partitions disks using the GPT format.

  • text-based, menu-driven program

  • show, add, verify, modify, and delete partitions

  • can create up to 128 partitions on a single disk on systems with UEFI firmware.

  • Main interface of gdisk can be invoked by specifying a disk device name such as /dev/sdc with the command. Type help or ? (question mark) at the prompt to view available subcommands.

[root@server2 ~]# sudo gdisk /dev/sdc
GPT fdisk (gdisk) version 1.0.7

Partition table scan:
  MBR: not present
  BSD: not present
  APM: not present
  GPT: not present

Creating new GPT entries in memory.

Command (? for help): ?
b	back up GPT data to a file
c	change a partition's name
d	delete a partition
i	show detailed information on a partition
l	list known partition types
n	add a new partition
o	create a new empty GUID partition table (GPT)
p	print the partition table
q	quit without saving changes
r	recovery and transformation options (experts only)
s	sort partitions
t	change a partition's type code
v	verify disk
w	write table to disk and exit
x	extra functionality (experts only)
?	print this menu

Command (? for help):

Exercise 13-4: Create a GPT Partition (server2)

  • Assign partition type “gpt” to /dev/sdc for using it as a GPT disk.
  • create and confirm a 200MB partition on the disk.

1. Execute gdisk on /dev/sdc to view the current partition information:

[root@server2 ~]# sudo gdisk /dev/sdc
GPT fdisk (gdisk) version 1.0.7

Partition table scan:
  MBR: not present
  BSD: not present
  APM: not present
  GPT: not present

Creating new GPT entries in memory.

Command (? for help):

The disk currently does not have any partition table on it.

2. Assign “gpt” as the partition table type to the disk using the o subcommand. Enter “y” for confirmation to proceed. This operation is performed only once on a disk.

Command (? for help): o
This option deletes all partitions and creates a new protective MBR.
Proceed? (Y/N): y

3. Run the p subcommand to view disk information and confirm the GUID partition table creation:

Command (? for help): p
Disk /dev/sdc: 512000 sectors, 250.0 MiB
Model: VBOX HARDDISK   
Sector size (logical/physical): 512/512 bytes
Disk identifier (GUID): 9446222A-28AC-4F96-816F-518510F95019
Partition table holds up to 128 entries
Main partition table begins at sector 2 and ends at sector 33
First usable sector is 34, last usable sector is 511966
Partitions will be aligned on 2048-sector boundaries
Total free space is 511933 sectors (250.0 MiB)

Number  Start (sector)    End (sector)  Size       Code  Name

The output returns the assigned GUID and states that the partition table can hold up to 128 partition entries.

4. Create the first partition of size 200MB starting at the default sector with default type “Linux filesystem” using the n subcommand:

Command (? for help): n
Partition number (1-128, default 1): 
First sector (34-511966, default = 2048) or {+-}size{KMGTP}: 
Last sector (2048-511966, default = 511966) or {+-}size{KMGTP}: +200M
Current type is 8300 (Linux filesystem)
Hex code or GUID (L to show codes, Enter = 8300): 
Changed type of partition to 'Linux filesystem'

5. Verify the new partition with p:

Command (? for help): p
Disk /dev/sdc: 512000 sectors, 250.0 MiB
Model: VBOX HARDDISK   
Sector size (logical/physical): 512/512 bytes
Disk identifier (GUID): 9446222A-28AC-4F96-816F-518510F95019
Partition table holds up to 128 entries
Main partition table begins at sector 2 and ends at sector 33
First usable sector is 34, last usable sector is 511966
Partitions will be aligned on 2048-sector boundaries
Total free space is 102333 sectors (50.0 MiB)

Number  Start (sector)    End (sector)  Size       Code  Name
   1            2048          411647   200.0 MiB   8300  Linux filesystem

6. Run w to write the partition information to the partition table and exit out of the interface. Enter “y” to confirm when prompted.

Command (? for help): w

Final checks complete. About to write GPT data. THIS WILL OVERWRITE EXISTING
PARTITIONS!!

Do you want to proceed? (Y/N): y
OK; writing new GUID partition table (GPT) to /dev/sdc.
The operation has completed successfully.

You may need to run the partprobe command after exiting the gdisk utility to inform the kernel of partition table changes.

7. Verify the new partition by issuing either of the following at the command prompt:

[root@server2 ~]# grep sdc /proc/partitions
   8       32     256000 sdc
   8       33     204800 sdc1
   
[root@server2 ~]# lsblk /dev/sdc
NAME   MAJ:MIN RM  SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINTS
sdc      8:32   0  250M  0 disk 
└─sdc1   8:33   0  200M  0 part

Exercise 13-5: Delete a GPT Partition(server2)

  • Delete the sdc1 partition that was created in Exercise 13-4 and confirm the removal.

1. Execute gdisk on /dev/sdc and run d1 at the utility’s prompt to delete partition number 1:

[root@server2 ~]# gdisk /dev/sdc
GPT fdisk (gdisk) version 1.0.7

Partition table scan:
  MBR: protective
  BSD: not present
  APM: not present
  GPT: present

Found valid GPT with protective MBR; using GPT.

Command (? for help): d1
Using 1

2. Confirm the partition deletion with p:

Command (? for help): p
Disk /dev/sdc: 512000 sectors, 250.0 MiB
Model: VBOX HARDDISK   
Sector size (logical/physical): 512/512 bytes
Disk identifier (GUID): 9446222A-28AC-4F96-816F-518510F95019
Partition table holds up to 128 entries
Main partition table begins at sector 2 and ends at sector 33
First usable sector is 34, last usable sector is 511966
Partitions will be aligned on 2048-sector boundaries
Total free space is 511933 sectors (250.0 MiB)

Number  Start (sector)    End (sector)  Size       Code  Name

3. Write the updated partition information to the disk with w and quit gdisk:

Command (? for help): w

Final checks complete. About to write GPT data. THIS WILL OVERWRITE EXISTING
PARTITIONS!!

Do you want to proceed? (Y/N): y
OK; writing new GUID partition table (GPT) to /dev/sdc.
The operation has completed successfully.

4. Verify the partition deletion by issuing either of the following at the command prompt:

[root@server2 ~]# grep sdc /proc/partitions
   8       32     256000 sdc
[root@server2 ~]# lsblk /dev/sdc
NAME MAJ:MIN RM  SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINTS
sdc    8:32   0  250M  0 disk

Disk Partitions

  • Be careful when adding a new partition to elude data corruption with overlapping an extant partition or wasting storage by leaving unused space between adjacent partitions.
  • Disk allocated at the time of installation is recognized as sda (s for SATA, SAS, or SCSI device) disk a, first partition identified as sda1 and the second partition as sda2.
  • Any subsequent disks added to the system will be known as sdb, sdc, sdd, and so on, and will use 1, 2, 3, etc. for partition numbering.

Use lsblk to list disk and partition information.

[root@server1 ~]# lsblk
NAME          MAJ:MIN RM  SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINTS
sda             8:0    0   10G  0 disk 
├─sda1          8:1    0    1G  0 part /boot
└─sda2          8:2    0    9G  0 part 
  ├─rhel-root 253:0    0    8G  0 lvm  /
  └─rhel-swap 253:1    0    1G  0 lvm  [SWAP]
sr0            11:0    1  9.8G  0 rom  /mnt

sr0 represents the ISO image mounted as an optical medium:

[root@server1 ~]# sudo fdisk -l
Disk /dev/sda: 10 GiB, 10737418240 bytes, 20971520 sectors
Disk model: VBOX HARDDISK   
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: dos
Disk identifier: 0xfc8b3804

Device     Boot   Start      End  Sectors Size Id Type
/dev/sda1  *       2048  2099199  2097152   1G 83 Linux
/dev/sda2       2099200 20971519 18872320   9G 8e Linux LVM


Disk /dev/mapper/rhel-root: 8 GiB, 8585740288 bytes, 16769024 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes


Disk /dev/mapper/rhel-swap: 1 GiB, 1073741824 bytes, 2097152 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes

identifiers 83 and 8e are hexadecimal values for the partition types

Storage Management Tools

parted, gdisk, and LVM Partitions created with a combination of most of these tools and toolsets can coexist on the same disk.

parted understands both MBR and GPT formats.

gdisk

  • support the GPT format only
  • may be used as a replacement of parted.

LVM

  • feature-rich logical volume management solution that gives flexibility in storage management.

Self hosting a Nextcloud Server

This is a step-by-step guide to setting up Nextcloud on a Debian server. You will need a server hosted by a VPS like Vultr. And a Domain hosted by a DNS provider such as Cloudflare

What is Nextcloud?

Nextcloud is so many things. It offers so many features and options, it deserves a bulleted list:

  • Free and open source
  • Cloud storage and syncing
  • Email client
  • Custom browser dashboard with widgets
  • Office suite
  • RSS newsfeed
  • Project organization (deck)
  • Notebook
  • Calender
  • Task manager
  • Connect to decentralized social media (like Mastodon)
  • Replacement for all of google’s services
  • Create web forms or surveys

It is also free and open source. This mean the source code is available to all. And hosting yourself means you can guarantee that your data isn’t being shared.

As you can see. Nextcloud is feature packed and offers an all in one solution for many needs. The set up is fairly simple!

Install Dependencies

sudo apt update

Sury Dependencies

sudo apt install software-properties-common ca-certificates lsb-release apt-transport-https

Enable Sury Repository

sudo sh -c 'echo "deb https://packages.sury.org/php/ $(lsb_release -sc) main" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/php.list'

Import the GPG key for the repository

wget -qO - https://packages.sury.org/php/apt.gpg | sudo apt-key add -

Install PHP 8.2

https://computingforgeeks.com/how-to-install-php-8-2-on-debian/?expand_article=1 (This is also part of the other dependencies install command below)

sudo apt install php8.2

Install other dependencies:

apt install -y nginx python3-certbot-nginx mariadb-server php8.2 php8.2-{fpm,bcmath,bz2,intl,gd,mbstring,mysql,zip,xml,curl}

Improving Nextcloud server performance

Adding more child processes for PHP to use:

vim /etc/php/8.2/fpm/pool.d/www.conf

# update the following parameters in the file
pm = dynamic
pm.max_children = 120
pm.start_servers = 12
pm.min_spare_servers = 6
pm.max_spare_servers = 18

Start your MariaDB server:

systemctl enable mariadb --now

Set up a SQL Database

Nextcloud needs some tables setup in order to store information in a database. First set up a secure sql database:

sudo mysql_secure_installation

Say “Yes” to the prompts and enter root password:

Switch to unix_socket authentication [Y/n]: Y
Change the root password? [Y/n]: Y	# enter password.
Remove anonymous users? [Y/n]: Y
Disallow root login remotely? [Y/n]: Y
Remove test database and access to it? [Y/n]: Y
Reload privilege tables now? [Y/n]: Y

Sign in to your SQL database with the password you just chose:

mysql -u root -p

Creating a database for NextCloud

While signed in with the mysql command, enter the commands below one at a time. Make sure to replace the username and password. But leave localhost as is:

CREATE DATABASE nextcloud;
GRANT ALL ON nextcloud.* TO 'david'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY '@Rfanext12!';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

Install SSL with Certbot

Obtain an SSL certificate. See my website setup post for information about Certbot and nginx setup.

certbot certonly --nginx -d nextcloud.example.com

Create a CNAME record for DNS.

You will need to have a domain name set up for your server. I use Cloudflare to manage my DNS records. You will want to make a CNAME record for your nextcloud subdomain.

Just add “nextcloud” as the name and “yourwebsite.com” as the content. This will make it so “nextcloud.yourwebsite.com”. Make sure to select “DNS Only” under proxy status.

Nginx Setup

Edit your sites-available config at /etc/nginx/sites-available/nextcloud. See comments in the following text box:

vim /etc/nginx/sites-available/nextcloud

# Add this to the file:
# replace example.org with your domain name
# use the following vim command to make this easier
# :%s/example.org/perfectdarkmode.com/g
# ^ this will replace all instances of example.org with perfectdarkmode.com. Replace with yur domain

upstream php-handler {
    server unix:/var/run/php/php8.2-fpm.sock;
    server 127.0.0.1:9000;
}
map $arg_v $asset_immutable {
    "" "";
    default "immutable";
}
server {
    listen 80;
    listen [::]:80;
    server_name nextcloud.example.org ;
    return 301 https://$server_name$request_uri;
}
server {
    listen 443      ssl http2;
    listen [::]:443 ssl http2;
    server_name nextcloud.example.org ;
    root /var/www/nextcloud;
    ssl_certificate     /etc/letsencrypt/live/nextcloud.example.org/fullchain.pem ;
    ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/nextcloud.example.org/privkey.pem ;
    client_max_body_size 512M;
    client_body_timeout 300s;
    fastcgi_buffers 64 4K;
    gzip on;
    gzip_vary on;
    gzip_comp_level 4;
    gzip_min_length 256;
    gzip_proxied expired no-cache no-store private no_last_modified no_etag auth;
    gzip_types application/atom+xml application/javascript application/json application/ld+json application/manifest+json application/rss+xml application/vnd.geo+json application/vnd.ms-fontobject application/wasm application/x-font-ttf application/x-web-app-manifest+json application/xhtml+xml application/xml font/opentype image/bmp image/svg+xml image/x-icon text/cache-manifest text/css text/plain text/vcard text/vnd.rim.location.xloc text/vtt text/x-component text/x-cross-domain-policy;
    client_body_buffer_size 512k;
    add_header Referrer-Policy                      "no-referrer"   always;
    add_header X-Content-Type-Options               "nosniff"       always;
    add_header X-Download-Options                   "noopen"        always;
    add_header X-Frame-Options                      "SAMEORIGIN"    always;
    add_header X-Permitted-Cross-Domain-Policies    "none"          always;
    add_header X-Robots-Tag                         "none"          always;
    add_header X-XSS-Protection                     "1; mode=block" always;
    fastcgi_hide_header X-Powered-By;
    index index.php index.html /index.php$request_uri;
    location = / {
        if ( $http_user_agent ~ ^DavClnt ) {
            return 302 /remote.php/webdav/$is_args$args;
        }
    }
    location = /robots.txt {
        allow all;
        log_not_found off;
        access_log off;
    }
    location ^~ /.well-known {
        location = /.well-known/carddav { return 301 /remote.php/dav/; }
        location = /.well-known/caldav  { return 301 /remote.php/dav/; }
        location /.well-known/acme-challenge    { try_files $uri $uri/ =404; }
        location /.well-known/pki-validation    { try_files $uri $uri/ =404; }
        return 301 /index.php$request_uri;
    }
    location ~ ^/(?:build|tests|config|lib|3rdparty|templates|data)(?:$|/)  { return 404; }
    location ~ ^/(?:\.|autotest|occ|issue|indie|db_|console)                { return 404; }
    location ~ \.php(?:$|/) {
        # Required for legacy support
        rewrite ^/(?!index|remote|public|cron|core\/ajax\/update|status|ocs\/v[12]|updater\/.+|oc[ms]-provider\/.+|.+\/richdocumentscode\/proxy) /index.php$request_uri;
        fastcgi_split_path_info ^(.+?\.php)(/.*)$;
        set $path_info $fastcgi_path_info;
        try_files $fastcgi_script_name =404;
        include fastcgi_params;
        fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
        fastcgi_param PATH_INFO $path_info;
        fastcgi_param HTTPS on;
        fastcgi_param modHeadersAvailable true;
        fastcgi_param front_controller_active true;
        fastcgi_pass php-handler;
        fastcgi_intercept_errors on;
        fastcgi_request_buffering off;
        fastcgi_max_temp_file_size 0;
    }
    location ~ \.(?:css|js|svg|gif|png|jpg|ico|wasm|tflite|map)$ {
        try_files $uri /index.php$request_uri;
        add_header Cache-Control "public, max-age=15778463, $asset_immutable";
        access_log off;     # Optional: Don't log access to assets
        location ~ \.wasm$ {
            default_type application/wasm;
        }
    }
    location ~ \.woff2?$ {
        try_files $uri /index.php$request_uri;
        expires 7d;
        access_log off;
    }
    location /remote {
        return 301 /remote.php$request_uri;
    }
    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php$request_uri;
    }
}

Enable the site

Create a link between the file you just made and /etc/nginx/sites-enabled

ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/nextcloud /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/

Install Nextcloud

Download the latest Nextcloud version. Then extract into /var/www/. Also, update the file’s permissions to give nginx access:

wget https://download.nextcloud.com/server/releases/latest.tar.bz2
tar -xjf latest.tar.bz2 -C /var/www
chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/nextcloud
chmod -R 755 /var/www/nextcloud

Start and enable php-fpm on startup

<systemctl enable php8.2fpm --now](><--may not need this.
# Do need this->
sudo systemctl enable php8.2-fpm.service --now

Reload nginx

systemctl reload nginx

Nextcloud occ tool

Here is a built in Nextcloud tool just in case things break. Here is a guide on troubleshooting with occ. The basic command is as follows:

sudo -u www-data php /var/www/nextcloud/occ

Add this as an alias in ~/.bashrc for ease of use.

You are ready to log in to Nextcloud!

Go to your nextcloud domain in a browser. In my case, I head to nextcloud.perfectdarkmode.com. Fill out the form to create your first Nextcloud user:

  • Choose an admin username and secure password.
  • Leave Data folder as the default value.
  • For Database user, enter the user you set for the SQL database.
  • For Database password, enter the password you chose for the new user in MariaDB.
  • For Database name, enter: nextcloud
  • Leave “localhost” as “localhost”.
  • Click Finish.

Now that you are signed in. Here are a few things you can do to start you off:

  • Download the desktop and mobile app and sync all of your data. (covered below)
  • Look at different apps to consolodate your programs all in one place.
  • Put the Nextcloud dashboard as your default browser homepage and customize themes.
  • Set up email integration.

NextCloud desktop synchronization

Install the desktop client (Fedora)

Sudo dnf install nextcloudclient

Install on other distros: https://help.nextcloud.com/t/install-nextcloud-client-for-opensuse-arch-linux-fedora-ubuntu-based-android-ios/13657

  1. Run the nextcloud desktop app and sign in.
  2. Choose folders to sync.
  3. Folder will be ~/Nextcloud.
  4. Move everything into your nextcloud folder.

This may break things with filepaths so beware. Now you are ready to use and explore nextcloud. Here is a video from TechHut to get you started down the NextCloud rabbit hole.

Change max upload size (default is 500mg)

/var/www/nextcloud/.user.ini php_value upload_max_filesize = 16G php_value post_max_size = 16G

Remove file locks

Put Nextcloud in maintenance mode: Edit config/config.php and change this line:
'maintenance' => true,

Empty table oc_file_locks: Use tools such as phpmyadmin or connect directly to your database and run (the default table prefix is oc_, this prefix can be different or even empty):
DELETE FROM oc_file_locks WHERE 1

mysql -u root -p
MariaDB [(none)]> use nextcloud;
MariaDB [nextcloud]> DELETE FROM oc_file_locks WHERE 1;

*figure out redis install if this happens regularly* [https://docs.nextcloud.org/server/13/admin_manual/configuration_server/caching_configuration.html#id4 9.1k](https://docs.nextcloud.org/server/13/admin_manual/configuration_server/caching_configuration.html#id4)

Thin Provisioning and LVM

Thin Provisioning

  • Allows for an economical allocation and utilization of storage space by moving arbitrary data blocks to contiguous locations, which results in empty block elimination.
  • Can create a thin pool of storage space and assign volumes much larger storage space than the physical capacity of the pool.
  • Workloads begin consuming the actual allocated space for data writing.
  • When a preset custom threshold (80%, for instance) on the actual consumption of the physical storage in the pool is reached, expand the pool dynamically by adding more physical storage to it.
  • The volumes will automatically start exploiting the new space right away.
  • helps prevent spending more money upfront.

Logical Volume Manager (LVM)

  • Used for managing block storage in Linux.
  • Provides an abstraction layer between the physical storage and the file system
  • Enables the file system to be resized, span across multiple disks, use arbitrary disk space, etc.
  • Accumulates spaces taken from partitions or entire disks (called Physical Volumes) to form a logical container (called Volume Group) which is then divided into logical partitions (called Logical Volumes).
  • online resizing of volume groups and logical volumes,
  • online data migration between logical volumes and between physical volumes
  • user-defined naming for volume groups and logical volumes
  • mirroring and striping across multiple disks
  • snapshotting of logical volumes.

  • Made up of three key objects called physical volume, volume group, and logical volume.
  • These objects are further virtually broken down into Physical Extents (PEs) and Logical Extents (LEs).

Physical Volume(PV)

  • created when a block storage device such as a partition or an entire disk is initialized and brought under LVM control.
  • This process constructs LVM data structures on the device, including a label on the second sector and metadata shortly thereafter.
  • The label includes the UUID, size, and pointers to the locations of data and metadata areas.
  • Given the criticality of metadata, LVM stores a copy of it at the end of the physical volume as well.
  • The rest of the device space is available for use.

You can use an LVM command called pvs (physical volume scan or summary) to scan and list available physical volumes on server2:

[root@server2 ~]# sudo pvs
  PV         VG   Fmt  Attr PSize   PFree
  /dev/sda2  rhel lvm2 a--  <19.00g    0
  • (a for allocatable under Attr)

Try running this command again with the -v flag to view more information about the physical volume.

Volume Group

  • Created when at least one physical volume is added to it.
  • The space from all physical volumes in a volume group is aggregated to form one large pool of storage, which is then used to build logical volumes.
  • Physical volumes added to a volume group may be of varying sizes.
  • LVM writes volume group metadata on each physical volume that is added to it.
  • The volume group metadata contains its name,date, and time of creation, how it was created, the extent size used, a list of physical and logical volumes, a mapping of physical and logical extents, etc.
  • Can have a custom name assigned to it at the time of its creation.
  • A copy of the volume group metadata is stored and maintained at two distinct locations on each physical volume within the volume group.

Use vgs (volume group scan or summary) to scan and list available volume groups on server2:

[root@server2 ~]# sudo vgs
  VG   #PV #LV #SN Attr   VSize   VFree
  rhel   1   2   0 wz--n- <19.00g    0
  • Status of the volume group under the Attr column (w for writeable, z for resizable, and n for normal),

Try running this command again with the -v flag to view more information about the volume group.

Physical Extent

  • A physical volume is divided into several smaller logical pieces when it is added to a volume group.
  • These logical pieces are known as Physical Extents (PE).
  • An extent is the smallest allocatable unit of space in LVM.
  • At the time of volume group creation, you can either define the size of the PE or leave it to the default value of 4MB.
  • This implies that a 20GB physical volume would have approximately 5,000 PEs.
  • Any physical volumes added to this volume group thereafter will use the same PE size.

Use vgdisplay (volume group display) on server2 and grep for ‘PE Size’ to view the PE size used in the rhel volume group:

[root@server2 ~]# sudo vgdisplay rhel | grep 'PE Size'
  PE Size               4.00 MiB

Logical Volume

  • A volume group consists of a pool of storage taken from one or more physical volumes.
  • This volume group space is used to create one or more Logical Volumes (LVs).
  • A logical volume can be created or weeded out online, expanded or shrunk online, and can use space taken from one or multiple physical volumes inside the volume group.

The default naming convention used for logical volumes is lvol0, lvol1, lvol2, and so on you may assign custom names to them.

Use lvs (logical volume scan or summary) to scan and list available logical volumes on server2:

[root@server2 ~]# sudo lvs
  LV   VG   Attr       LSize   Pool Origin Data%  Meta%  Move Log Cpy%Sync Convert
  root rhel -wi-ao---- <17.00g                                                    
  swap rhel -wi-ao----   2.00g
  • Attr column (w for writeable, i for inherited allocation policy, a for active, and o for open) and their sizes.

Try running this command again with the -v flag to view more information about the logical volumes.

Logical Extent

  • A logical volume is made up of Logical Extents (LE).
  • Logical extents point to physical extents, and they may be random or contiguous.
  • The larger a logical volume is, the more logical extents it will have.
  • Logical extents are a set of physical extents allocated to a logical volume.
  • The LE size is always the same as the PE size in a volume group.
  • The default LE size is 4MB, which corresponds to the default PE size of 4MB.

Use lvdisplay (logical volume display) on server2 to view information about the root logical volume in the rhel volume group.

[root@server30 ~]# lvdisplay /dev/rhel/root
  --- Logical volume ---
  LV Path                /dev/rhel/root
  LV Name                root
  VG Name                rhel
  LV UUID                DhHyeI-VgwM-w75t-vRcC-5irj-AuHC-neryQf
  LV Write Access        read/write
  LV Creation host, time localhost.localdomain, 2024-07-08 17:32:18 -0700
  LV Status              available
  # open                 1
  LV Size                <17.00 GiB
  Current LE             4351
  Segments               1
  Allocation             inherit
  Read ahead sectors     auto
  - currently set to     8192
  Block device           253:0
  • The output does not disclose the LE size; however, you can convert the LV size in MBs (17,000) and then divide the result by the Current LE count (4,351) to get the LE size (which comes close to 4MB).

LVM Operations and Commands

  • Creating and removing a physical volume, volume group, and logical volume
  • Extending and reducing a volume group and logical volume
  • Renaming a volume group and logical volume
  • listing and displaying physical volume, volume group, and logical volume information.

Create and Remove Operations

pvcreate/pvremove

  • Initializes/uninitializes a disk or partition for LVM use

vgcreate/vgremove

  • Creates/removes a volume group

lvcreate/lvremove

  • Creates/removes a logical volume

Extend and Reduce Operations

vgextend/vgreduce

  • Adds/removes a physical volume to/from a volume group

lvextend/lvreduce

  • Extends/reduces the size of a logical volume

lvresize

  • Resizes a logical volume. With the -r option, this command calls the fsadm command to resize the underlying file system as well.

Rename Operations

vgrename

  • Rename a volume group

lvrename

  • Rename a logical volume

List and Display Operations

pvs/pvdisplay

  • Lists/displays physical volume information

vgs/vgdisplay lvs/lvdisplay

  • Lists/displays volume group information Lists/displays logical volume information

  • All the tools accept the -v switch to support verbosity.

Exercise 13-6: Create Physical Volume and Volume Group (server2)

  • initialize one partition sdd1 (90MB) and one disk sde (250MB) for use in LVM.
  • create a volume group called vgbook and add both physical volumes to it use the PE size of 16MB
  • list and display the volume group and the physical volumes.

1. Create a partition of size 90MB on sdd using the parted command and confirm. You need to label the disk first, as it is a new disk.

[root@server2 ~]# sudo parted /dev/sdd mklabel msdos
Information: You may need to update /etc/fstab.

[root@server2 ~]# sudo parted /dev/sdd mkpart primary 1 91m               
Information: You may need to update /etc/fstab.

[root@server2 ~]# sudo parted /dev/sdd print                              
Model: ATA VBOX HARDDISK (scsi)
Disk /dev/sdd: 262MB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: msdos
Disk Flags: 

Number  Start   End     Size    Type     File system  Flags
 1      1049kB  91.2MB  90.2MB  primary

2. Initialize the sdd1 partition and the sde disk using the pvcreate command. Note that there is no need to apply a disk label on sde with parted as LVM does not require it.

[root@server2 ~]# sudo pvcreate /dev/sdd1 /dev/sde -v
  Wiping signatures on new PV /dev/sdd1.
  Wiping signatures on new PV /dev/sde.
  Set up physical volume for "/dev/sdd1" with 176128 available sectors.
  Zeroing start of device /dev/sdd1.
  Writing physical volume data to disk "/dev/sdd1".
  Physical volume "/dev/sdd1" successfully created.
  Set up physical volume for "/dev/sde" with 512000 available sectors.
  Zeroing start of device /dev/sde.
  Writing physical volume data to disk "/dev/sde".
  Physical volume "/dev/sde" successfully created.

3. Create vgbook volume group using the vgcreate command and add the two physical volumes to it. Use the -s option to specify the PE size in MBs.

[root@server2 ~]# sudo vgcreate -vs 16 vgbook /dev/sdd1 /dev/sde
  Wiping signatures on new PV /dev/sdd1.
  Wiping signatures on new PV /dev/sde.
  Adding physical volume '/dev/sdd1' to volume group 'vgbook'
  Adding physical volume '/dev/sde' to volume group 'vgbook'
  Creating volume group backup "/etc/lvm/backup/vgbook" (seqno 1).
  Volume group "vgbook" successfully created

4. List the volume group information:

[root@server2 ~]# sudo vgs vgbook
  VG     #PV #LV #SN Attr   VSize   VFree  
  vgbook   2   0   0 wz--n- 320.00m 320.00m

5. Display detailed information about the volume group and the physical volumes it contains:

[root@server2 ~]# sudo vgdisplay -v vgbook
  --- Volume group ---
  VG Name               vgbook
  System ID             
  Format                lvm2
  Metadata Areas        2
  Metadata Sequence No  1
  VG Access             read/write
  VG Status             resizable
  MAX LV                0
  Cur LV                0
  Open LV               0
  Max PV                0
  Cur PV                2
  Act PV                2
  VG Size               320.00 MiB
  PE Size               16.00 MiB
  Total PE              20
  Alloc PE / Size       0 / 0   
  Free  PE / Size       20 / 320.00 MiB
  VG UUID               zRu1d2-ZgDL-bnzV-I9U1-0IFo-uM4x-w4bX0Q
   
  --- Physical volumes ---
  PV Name               /dev/sdd1     
  PV UUID               8x8IgZ-3z5T-ODA8-dofQ-xk5s-QN7I-KwpQ1e
  PV Status             allocatable
  Total PE / Free PE    5 / 5
   
  PV Name               /dev/sde     
  PV UUID               xJU0Hh-W5k9-FyKO-d6Ha-1ofW-ajvh-hJSo8R
  PV Status             allocatable
  Total PE / Free PE    15 / 15

6. List the physical volume information:

[root@server2 ~]# sudo pvs
  PV         VG     Fmt  Attr PSize   PFree  
  /dev/sda2  rhel   lvm2 a--  <19.00g      0 
  /dev/sdd1  vgbook lvm2 a--   80.00m  80.00m
  /dev/sde   vgbook lvm2 a--  240.00m 240.00m

7. Display detailed information about the physical volumes:

[root@server2 ~]# sudo pvdisplay /dev/sdd1
  --- Physical volume ---
  PV Name               /dev/sdd1
  VG Name               vgbook
  PV Size               86.00 MiB / not usable 6.00 MiB
  Allocatable           yes 
  PE Size               16.00 MiB
  Total PE              5
  Free PE               5
  Allocated PE          0
  PV UUID               8x8IgZ-3z5T-ODA8-dofQ-xk5s-QN7I-KwpQ1e
  • Once a partition or disk is initialized and added to a volume group, they are treated identically within the volume group. LVM does not prefer one over the other.

Exercise 13-7: Create Logical Volumes(server2)

  • Create two logical volumes, lvol0 and lvbook1, in the vgbook volume group.
  • Use 120MB for lvol0 and 192MB for lvbook1 from the available pool of space.
  • Display the details of the volume group and the logical volumes.

1. Create a logical volume with the default name lvol0 using the lvcreate command. Use the -L option to specify the logical volume size, 120MB. You may use the -v, -vv, or -vvv option with the command for verbosity.

root@server2 ~]# sudo lvcreate -vL 120 vgbook
  Rounding up size to full physical extent 128.00 MiB
  Creating logical volume lvol0
  Archiving volume group "vgbook" metadata (seqno 1).
  Activating logical volume vgbook/lvol0.
  activation/volume_list configuration setting not defined: Checking only host tags for vgbook/lvol0.
  Creating vgbook-lvol0
  Loading table for vgbook-lvol0 (253:2).
  Resuming vgbook-lvol0 (253:2).
  Wiping known signatures on logical volume vgbook/lvol0.
  Initializing 4.00 KiB of logical volume vgbook/lvol0 with value 0.
  Logical volume "lvol0" created.
  Creating volume group backup "/etc/lvm/backup/vgbook" (seqno 2).

  • Size for the logical volume may be specified in units such as MBs, GBs, TBs, or as a count of LEs

  • MB is the default if no unit is specified

  • The size of a logical volume is always in multiples of the PE size. For instance, logical volumes created in vgbook with the PE size set at 16MB can be 16MB, 32MB, 48MB, 64MB, and so on.

2. Create lvbook1 of size 192MB (16x12) using the lvcreate command. Use the -l switch to specify the size in logical extents and -n for the custom name.

[root@server2 ~]# sudo lvcreate -l 12 -n lvbook1 vgbook
  Logical volume "lvbook1" created.

3. List the logical volume information:

[root@server2 ~]# sudo lvs
  LV      VG     Attr       LSize   Pool Origin Data%  Meta%  Move Log Cpy%Sync Convert
  root    rhel   -wi-ao---- <17.00g                                                    
  swap    rhel   -wi-ao----   2.00g                                                    
  lvbook1 vgbook -wi-a----- 192.00m                                                    
  lvol0   vgbook -wi-a----- 128.00m

4. Display detailed information about the volume group including the logical volumes and the physical volumes:

[root@server2 ~]# sudo vgdisplay -v vgbook
  --- Volume group ---
  VG Name               vgbook
  System ID             
  Format                lvm2
  Metadata Areas        2
  Metadata Sequence No  3
  VG Access             read/write
  VG Status             resizable
  MAX LV                0
  Cur LV                2
  Open LV               0
  Max PV                0
  Cur PV                2
  Act PV                2
  VG Size               320.00 MiB
  PE Size               16.00 MiB
  Total PE              20
  Alloc PE / Size       20 / 320.00 MiB
  Free  PE / Size       0 / 0   
  VG UUID               zRu1d2-ZgDL-bnzV-I9U1-0IFo-uM4x-w4bX0Q
   
  --- Logical volume ---
  LV Path                /dev/vgbook/lvol0
  LV Name                lvol0
  VG Name                vgbook
  LV UUID                9M9ahf-1L3y-c0yk-3Z2O-UzjH-0Amt-QLi4p5
  LV Write Access        read/write
  LV Creation host, time server2, 2024-06-12 02:42:51 -0700
  LV Status              available
  open                 0
  LV Size                128.00 MiB
  Current LE             8
  Segments               1
  Allocation             inherit
  Read ahead sectors     auto
  - currently set to     8192
  Block device           253:2
   
  --- Logical volume ---
  LV Path                /dev/vgbook/lvbook1
  LV Name                lvbook1
  VG Name                vgbook
  LV UUID                pgd8qR-YXXK-3Idv-qmpW-w8Az-WGLR-g2d8Yn
  LV Write Access        read/write
  LV Creation host, time server2, 2024-06-12 02:45:31 -0700
  LV Status              available
  # open                 0
  LV Size                192.00 MiB
  Current LE             12
  Segments               2
  Allocation             inherit
  Read ahead sectors     auto
  - currently set to     8192
  Block device           253:3
   
  --- Physical volumes ---
  PV Name               /dev/sdd1     
  PV UUID               8x8IgZ-3z5T-ODA8-dofQ-xk5s-QN7I-KwpQ1e
  PV Status             allocatable
  Total PE / Free PE    5 / 0
   
  PV Name               /dev/sde     
  PV UUID               xJU0Hh-W5k9-FyKO-d6Ha-1ofW-ajvh-hJSo8R
  PV Status             allocatable
  Total PE / Free PE    15 / 0

Alternatively, you can run the following to view only the logical volume details:

[root@server2 ~]# sudo lvdisplay /dev/vgbook/lvol0
  --- Logical volume ---
  LV Path                /dev/vgbook/lvol0
  LV Name                lvol0
  VG Name                vgbook
  LV UUID                9M9ahf-1L3y-c0yk-3Z2O-UzjH-0Amt-QLi4p5
  LV Write Access        read/write
  LV Creation host, time server2, 2024-06-12 02:42:51 -0700
  LV Status              available
  # open                 0
  LV Size                128.00 MiB
  Current LE             8
  Segments               1
  Allocation             inherit
  Read ahead sectors     auto
  - currently set to     8192
  Block device           253:2
[root@server2 ~]# sudo lvdisplay /dev/vgbook/lvbook1
  --- Logical volume ---
  LV Path                /dev/vgbook/lvbook1
  LV Name                lvbook1
  VG Name                vgbook
  LV UUID                pgd8qR-YXXK-3Idv-qmpW-w8Az-WGLR-g2d8Yn
  LV Write Access        read/write
  LV Creation host, time server2, 2024-06-12 02:45:31 -0700
  LV Status              available
  # open                 0
  LV Size                192.00 MiB
  Current LE             12
  Segments               2
  Allocation             inherit
  Read ahead sectors     auto
  - currently set to     8192
  Block device           253:3

Exercise 13-8: Extend a Volume Group and a Logical Volume(server2)

  • Add another partition sdd2 of size 158MB to vgbook to increase the pool of allocatable space.
  • Initialize the new partition prior to adding it to the volume group.
  • Increase the size of lvbook1 to 336MB.
  • Display basic information for the physical volumes, volume group, and logical volume.

1. Create a partition of size 158MB on sdd using the parted command. Display the new partition to confirm the partition number and size.

[root@server20 ~]# parted /dev/sdd mkpart primary 91 250

[root@server2 ~]# sudo parted /dev/sdd print                              
Model: ATA VBOX HARDDISK (scsi)
Disk /dev/sdd: 262MB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: msdos
Disk Flags: 

Number  Start   End     Size    Type     File system  Flags
 1      1049kB  91.2MB  90.2MB  primary
 2      92.3MB  250MB   157MB   primary               lvm

2. Initialize sdd2 using the pvcreate command:

[root@server2 ~]# sudo pvcreate /dev/sdd2
  Physical volume "/dev/sdd2" successfully created.

3. Extend vgbook by adding the new physical volume to it:

[root@server2 ~]# sudo vgextend vgbook /dev/sdd2
  Volume group "vgbook" successfully extended

4. List the volume group:

[root@server2 ~]# sudo vgs
  VG     #PV #LV #SN Attr   VSize   VFree  
  rhel     1   2   0 wz--n- <19.00g      0 
  vgbook   3   2   0 wz--n- 464.00m 144.00m

5. Extend the size of lvbook1 to 340MB by adding 144MB using the lvextend command:

[root@server2 ~]# sudo lvextend -L +144 /dev/vgbook/lvbook1
  Size of logical volume vgbook/lvbook1 changed from 192.00 MiB (12 extents) to 336.00 MiB (21 extents).
  Logical volume vgbook/lvbook1 successfully resized.

EXAM TIP: Make sure the expansion of a logical volume does not affect the file system and the data it contains.

6. Issue vgdisplay on vgbook with the -v switch for the updated details:

[root@server2 ~]# sudo vgdisplay -v vgbook
  --- Volume group ---
  VG Name               vgbook
  System ID             
  Format                lvm2
  Metadata Areas        3
  Metadata Sequence No  5
  VG Access             read/write
  VG Status             resizable
  MAX LV                0
  Cur LV                2
  Open LV               0
  Max PV                0
  Cur PV                3
  Act PV                3
  VG Size               464.00 MiB
  PE Size               16.00 MiB
  Total PE              29
  Alloc PE / Size       29 / 464.00 MiB
  Free  PE / Size       0 / 0   
  VG UUID               zRu1d2-ZgDL-bnzV-I9U1-0IFo-uM4x-w4bX0Q
   
  --- Logical volume ---
  LV Path                /dev/vgbook/lvol0
  LV Name                lvol0
  VG Name                vgbook
  LV UUID                9M9ahf-1L3y-c0yk-3Z2O-UzjH-0Amt-QLi4p5
  LV Write Access        read/write
  LV Creation host, time server2, 2024-06-12 02:42:51 -0700
  LV Status              available
  open                 0
  LV Size                128.00 MiB
  Current LE             8
  Segments               1
  Allocation             inherit
  Read ahead sectors     auto
  - currently set to     8192
  Block device           253:2
   
  --- Logical volume ---
  LV Path                /dev/vgbook/lvbook1
  LV Name                lvbook1
  VG Name                vgbook
  LV UUID                pgd8qR-YXXK-3Idv-qmpW-w8Az-WGLR-g2d8Yn
  LV Write Access        read/write
  LV Creation host, time server2, 2024-06-12 02:45:31 -0700
  LV Status              available
  # open                 0
  LV Size                336.00 MiB
  Current LE             21
  Segments               3
  Allocation             inherit
  Read ahead sectors     auto
  - currently set to     8192
  Block device           253:3
   
  --- Physical volumes ---
  PV Name               /dev/sdd1     
  PV UUID               8x8IgZ-3z5T-ODA8-dofQ-xk5s-QN7I-KwpQ1e
  PV Status             allocatable
  Total PE / Free PE    5 / 0
   
  PV Name               /dev/sde     
  PV UUID               xJU0Hh-W5k9-FyKO-d6Ha-1ofW-ajvh-hJSo8R
  PV Status             allocatable
  Total PE / Free PE    15 / 0
   
  PV Name               /dev/sdd2     
  PV UUID               1olOnk-o8FH-uJRD-2pJf-8GCy-3K0M-gcf3pF
  PV Status             allocatable
  Total PE / Free PE    9 / 0

7. View a summary of the physical volumes:

root@server2 ~]# sudo pvs
  PV         VG     Fmt  Attr PSize   PFree
  /dev/sda2  rhel   lvm2 a--  <19.00g    0 
  /dev/sdd1  vgbook lvm2 a--   80.00m    0 
  /dev/sdd2  vgbook lvm2 a--  144.00m    0 
  /dev/sde   vgbook lvm2 a--  240.00m    0

8. View a summary of the logical volumes:

[root@server2 ~]# sudo lvs
  LV      VG     Attr       LSize   Pool Origin Data%  Meta%  Move Log Cpy%Sync Convert
  root    rhel   -wi-ao---- <17.00g                                                    
  swap    rhel   -wi-ao----   2.00g                                                    
  lvbook1 vgbook -wi-a----- 336.00m                                                    
  lvol0   vgbook -wi-a----- 128.00m

Exercise 13-9: Rename, Reduce, Extend, and Remove Logical Volumes(server2)

  • Rename lvol0 to lvbook2.
  • Decrease the size of lvbook2 to 50MB using the lvreduce command
  • Add 32MB with the lvresize command.
  • remove both logical volumes.
  • display the summary for the volume groups, logical volumes, and physical volumes.

1. Rename lvol0 to lvbook2 using the lvrename command and confirm with lvs:

[root@server2 ~]# sudo lvrename vgbook lvol0 lvbook2
  Renamed "lvol0" to "lvbook2" in volume group "vgbook"

2. Reduce the size of lvbook2 to 50MB with the lvreduce command. Specify the absolute desired size for the logical volume. Answer “Do you really want to reduce vgbook/lvbook2?” in the affirmative.

[root@server2 ~]# sudo lvreduce -L 50 /dev/vgbook/lvbook2
  Rounding size to boundary between physical extents: 64.00 MiB.
  No file system found on /dev/vgbook/lvbook2.
  Size of logical volume vgbook/lvbook2 changed from 128.00 MiB (8 extents) to 64.00 MiB (4 extents).
  Logical volume vgbook/lvbook2 successfully resized.

3. Add 32MB to lvbook2 with the lvresize command:

[root@server2 ~]# sudo lvresize -L +32 /dev/vgbook/lvbook2
  Size of logical volume vgbook/lvbook2 changed from 64.00 MiB (4 extents) to 96.00 MiB (6 extents).
  Logical volume vgbook/lvbook2 successfully resized.

4. Use the pvs, lvs, vgs, and vgdisplay commands to view the updated allocation.

[root@server2 ~]# pvs
  PV         VG     Fmt  Attr PSize   PFree 
  /dev/sda2  rhel   lvm2 a--  <19.00g     0 
  /dev/sdd1  vgbook lvm2 a--   80.00m     0 
  /dev/sdd2  vgbook lvm2 a--  144.00m     0 
  /dev/sde   vgbook lvm2 a--  240.00m 32.00m
  
[root@server2 ~]# lvs
  LV      VG     Attr       LSize   Pool Origin Data%  Meta%  Move Log Cpy%Sync Convert
  root    rhel   -wi-ao---- <17.00g                                                    
  swap    rhel   -wi-ao----   2.00g                                                    
  lvbook1 vgbook -wi-a----- 336.00m                                                    
  lvbook2 vgbook -wi-a-----  96.00m  
 
[root@server2 ~]# vgs
  VG     #PV #LV #SN Attr   VSize   VFree 
  rhel     1   2   0 wz--n- <19.00g     0 
  vgbook   3   2   0 wz--n- 464.00m 32.00m
  
[root@server2 ~]# vgdisplay
  --- Volume group ---
  VG Name               vgbook
  System ID             
  Format                lvm2
  Metadata Areas        3
  Metadata Sequence No  8
  VG Access             read/write
  VG Status             resizable
  MAX LV                0
  Cur LV                2
  Open LV               0
  Max PV                0
  Cur PV                3
  Act PV                3
  VG Size               464.00 MiB
  PE Size               16.00 MiB
  Total PE              29
  Alloc PE / Size       27 / 432.00 MiB
  Free  PE / Size       2 / 32.00 MiB
  VG UUID               zRu1d2-ZgDL-bnzV-I9U1-0IFo-uM4x-w4bX0Q
   
  --- Volume group ---
  VG Name               rhel
  System ID             
  Format                lvm2
  Metadata Areas        1
  Metadata Sequence No  3
  VG Access             read/write
  VG Status             resizable
  MAX LV                0
  Cur LV                2
  Open LV               2
  Max PV                0
  Cur PV                1
  Act PV                1
  VG Size               <19.00 GiB
  PE Size               4.00 MiB
  Total PE              4863
  Alloc PE / Size       4863 / <19.00 GiB
  Free  PE / Size       0 / 0   
  VG UUID               UiK3fy-FGOc-2fnP-C1Y6-JS0l-irEe-Sq3c4h

5. Remove both lvbook1 and lvbook2 logical volumes using the lvremove command. Use the -f option to suppress the “Do you really want to remove active logical volume” message.

[root@server2 ~]# sudo lvremove /dev/vgbook/lvbook1 -f
  Logical volume "lvbook1" successfully removed.
[root@server2 ~]# sudo lvremove /dev/vgbook/lvbook2 -f
  Logical volume "lvbook2" successfully removed.
  • Removing an LV is destructive
  • Backup any data in the target LV before deleting it.
  • You will need to unmount the file system or disable swap in the logical volume.
    6. Execute the vgdisplay command and grep for “Cur LV” to see the number of logical volumes currently available in vgbook. It should show 0, as you have removed both logical volumes.
[root@server2 ~]# sudo vgdisplay vgbook | grep 'Cur LV'
  Cur LV                0

Exercise 13-10: Reduce and Remove a Volume Group(server2)

\

  • Reduce vgbook by removing the sdd1 and sde physical volumes from it
  • Remove the volume group.
  • Confirm the deletion of the volume group and the logical volumes at the end.

1. Remove sdd1 and sde physical volumes from vgbook by issuing the vgreduce command:

[root@server2 ~]# sudo vgreduce vgbook /dev/sdd1 /dev/sde
  Removed "/dev/sdd1" from volume group "vgbook"
  Removed "/dev/sde" from volume group "vgbook"

2. Remove the volume group using the vgremove command. This will also remove the last physical volume, sdd2, from it.

[root@server2 ~]# sudo vgremove vgbook
  Volume group "vgbook" successfully removed
  • Use the -f option with the vgremove command to force the volume group removal even if it contains any number of logical and physical volumes in it.

3. Execute the vgs and lvs commands for confirmation:

[root@server2 ~]# sudo vgs
  VG   #PV #LV #SN Attr   VSize   VFree
  rhel   1   2   0 wz--n- <19.00g    0 
[root@server2 ~]# sudo lvs
  LV   VG   Attr       LSize   Pool Origin Data%  Meta%  Move Log Cpy%Sync Convert
  root rhel -wi-ao---- <17.00g                                                    
  swap rhel -wi-ao----   2.00g

Exercise 13-11: Uninitialize Physical Volumes (Server2)\

  • Uninitialize all three physical volumes—sdd1, sdd2, and sde—by deleting the LVM structural information from them.
  • Use the pvs command for confirmation.
  • Remove the partitions from the sdd disk and
  • Verify that all disks used in Exercises 13-6 to 13-10 are now in their original raw state.

1. Remove the LVM structures from sdd1, sdd2, and sde using the pvremove command:

[root@server2 ~]# sudo pvremove /dev/sdd1 /dev/sdd2 /dev/sde
  Labels on physical volume "/dev/sdd1" successfully wiped.
  Labels on physical volume "/dev/sdd2" successfully wiped.
  Labels on physical volume "/dev/sde" successfully wiped.

2. Confirm the removal using the pvs command:

[root@server2 ~]# sudo pvs
  PV         VG   Fmt  Attr PSize   PFree
  /dev/sda2  rhel lvm2 a--  <19.00g    0

The partitions and the disk are now back to their raw state and can be repurposed.

3. Remove the partitions from sdd using the parted command:

[root@server2 ~]# sudo parted /dev/sdd rm 1 ; sudo parted /dev/sdd rm 2
Information: You may need to update /etc/fstab.

Information: You may need to update /etc/fstab.

4. Verify that all disks used in previous exercises have returned to their original raw state using the lsblk command:

[root@server2 ~]# lsblk                                                   
NAME          MAJ:MIN RM  SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINTS
sda             8:0    0   20G  0 disk 
├─sda1          8:1    0    1G  0 part /boot
└─sda2          8:2    0   19G  0 part 
  ├─rhel-root 253:0    0   17G  0 lvm  /
  └─rhel-swap 253:1    0    2G  0 lvm  [SWAP]
sdb             8:16   0  250M  0 disk 
sdc             8:32   0  250M  0 disk 
sdd             8:48   0  250M  0 disk 
sde             8:64   0  250M  0 disk 
sdf             8:80   0    5G  0 disk 
sr0            11:0    1  9.8G  0 rom

Virtual Data Optimizer (VDO)

  • Used for storage optimization
  • Device driver layer that sits between the Linux kernel and the physical storage devices.
  • Conserve disk space, improve data throughput, and save on storage cost.
  • Employs thin provisioning, de-duplication, and compression technologies to help realize the goals.

How VDO Conserves Storage

Stage 1

  • Makes use of thin provisioning to identify and eliminate empty (zero-byte) data blocks. (zero-block elimination)
  • Removes randomization of data blocks by moving in-use data blocks to contiguous locations on the storage device.

Stage 2

  • If it detects that new data is an identical copy of some existing data, it makes an internal note of it but does not actually write the redundant data to the disk. (de-duplication)
  • Implemented with the inclusion of a kernel module called UDS (Universal De-duplication Service).

Stage 3

  • Calls upon another kernel module called kvdo, which compresses the residual data blocks and consolidates them on a lower number of blocks.
  • Results in a further drop in storage space utilization.
  • Runs in the background and processes inbound data through the three stages on VDO-enabled volumes.
  • Not a CPU or memory-intensive process

VDO Integration with LVM

  • LVM utilities have been enhanced to include options to support VDO volumes.

VDO Components

  • Utilizes the concepts of pool and volume. pool
  • logical volume that is created inside an LVM volume group using a deduplicated storage space. volume
  • Just like a regular LVM logical volume, but it is provisioned in a pool.
  • Needs to be formatted with file system structures before it can be used.

vdo and kmod-kvdo Commands

  • Create, mount, and manage LVM VDO volumes
  • Installed on the system by default.

vdo

  • Installs the tools necessary to support the creation and management of VDO volumes

kmod-kvdo

  • Implements fine-grained storage virtualization, thin provisioning, and compression. Not installed by default?

Exercise 13-12: Create an LVM VDO Volume

  • Initialize the 5GB disk (sdf) for use in LVM VDO.
  • Create a volume group called vgvdo and add the physical volume to it.
  • List and display the volume group and the physical volume.
  • Create a VDO volume called lvvdo with a virtual size of 20GB.

1. Initialize the sdf disk using the pvcreate command:

[root@server2 ~]# sudo pvcreate /dev/sdf
  Physical volume "/dev/sdf" successfully created.

2. Create vgvdo volume group using the vgcreate command:

[root@server2 ~]# sudo vgcreate vgvdo /dev/sdf
  Volume group "vgvdo" successfully created

3. Display basic information about the volume group:

[root@server2 ~]# sudo vgdisplay vgvdo
  Devices file sys_wwid t10.ATA_VBOX_HARDDISK_VB428913dd-446a194f PVID none last seen on /dev/sdd1 not found.
  Devices file sys_wwid t10.ATA_VBOX_HARDDISK_VB428913dd-446a194f PVID none last seen on /dev/sdd2 not found.
  --- Volume group ---
  VG Name               vgvdo
  System ID             
  Format                lvm2
  Metadata Areas        1
  Metadata Sequence No  1
  VG Access             read/write
  VG Status             resizable
  MAX LV                0
  Cur LV                0
  Open LV               0
  Max PV                0
  Cur PV                1
  Act PV                1
  VG Size               <5.00 GiB
  PE Size               4.00 MiB
  Total PE              1279
  Alloc PE / Size       0 / 0   
  Free  PE / Size       1279 / <5.00 GiB
  VG UUID               tED1vC-Ylec-fpeR-KM8F-8FzP-eaQ4-AsFrgc

4. Create a VDO volume called lvvdo using the lvcreate command. Use the -l option to specify the number of logical extents (1279) to be allocated and the -V option for the amount of virtual space.

[root@server2 ~]# sudo dnf install kmod-kvdo
[root@server2 ~]# sudo lvcreate --type vdo -l 1279 -n lvvdo -V 20G vgvdo
    The VDO volume can address 2 GB in 1 data slab.
    It can grow to address at most 16 TB of physical storage in 8192 slabs.
    If a larger maximum size might be needed, use bigger slabs.
  Logical volume "lvvdo" created.

5. Display detailed information about the volume group including the logical volume and the physical volume:

[root@server2 ~]# sudo vgdisplay -v vgvdo
  Devices file sys_wwid t10.ATA_VBOX_HARDDISK_VB428913dd-446a194f PVID none last seen on /dev/sdd1 not found.
  Devices file sys_wwid t10.ATA_VBOX_HARDDISK_VB428913dd-446a194f PVID none last seen on /dev/sdd2 not found.
  --- Volume group ---
  VG Name               vgvdo
  System ID             
  Format                lvm2
  Metadata Areas        1
  Metadata Sequence No  3
  VG Access             read/write
  VG Status             resizable
  MAX LV                0
  Cur LV                2
  Open LV               0
  Max PV                0
  Cur PV                1
  Act PV                1
  VG Size               <5.00 GiB
  PE Size               4.00 MiB
  Total PE              1279
  Alloc PE / Size       1279 / <5.00 GiB
  Free  PE / Size       0 / 0   
  VG UUID               tED1vC-Ylec-fpeR-KM8F-8FzP-eaQ4-AsFrgc
   
  --- Logical volume ---
  LV Path                /dev/vgvdo/vpool0
  LV Name                vpool0
  VG Name                vgvdo
  LV UUID                yGAsK2-MruI-QGy2-Q1IF-CDDC-XPNT-qkjJ9t
  LV Write Access        read/write
  LV Creation host, time server2, 2024-06-16 09:35:46 -0700
  LV VDO Pool data       vpool0_vdata
  LV VDO Pool usage      60.00%
  LV VDO Pool saving     100.00%
  LV VDO Operating mode  normal
  LV VDO Index state     online
  LV VDO Compression st  online
  LV VDO Used size       <3.00 GiB
  LV Status              NOT available
  LV Size                <5.00 GiB
  Current LE             1279
  Segments               1
  Allocation             inherit
  Read ahead sectors     auto
   
  --- Logical volume ---
  LV Path                /dev/vgvdo/lvvdo
  LV Name                lvvdo
  VG Name                vgvdo
  LV UUID                nnGTW5-tVFa-T3Cy-9nHj-sozF-2KpP-rVfnSq
  LV Write Access        read/write
  LV Creation host, time server2, 2024-06-16 09:35:47 -0700
  LV VDO Pool name       vpool0
  LV Status              available
  # open                 0
  LV Size                20.00 GiB
  Current LE             5120
  Segments               1
  Allocation             inherit
  Read ahead sectors     auto
  - currently set to     8192
  Block device           253:4
   
  --- Physical volumes ---
  PV Name               /dev/sdf     
  PV UUID               0oAXHG-C4ub-Myou-5vZf-QxIX-KVT3-ipMZCp
  PV Status             allocatable
  Total PE / Free PE    1279 / 0

The output reflects the creation of two logical volumes: a pool called /dev/vgvdo/vpool0 and a volume called /dev/vgvdo/lvvdo.

Exercise 13-13: Remove a Volume Group and Uninitialize Physical Volume(Server2)

  • remove the vgvdo volume group along with the VDO volumes
  • uninitialize the physical volume /dev/sdf.
  • confirm the deletion.

1. Remove the volume group along with the VDO volumes using the vgremove command:

[root@server2 ~]# sudo vgremove vgvdo -f
  Logical volume "lvvdo" successfully removed.
  Volume group "vgvdo" successfully removed

Remember to proceed with caution whenever you perform erase operations.

2. Execute sudo vgs and sudo lvs commands for confirmation.

[root@server2 ~]# sudo vgs
  Devices file sys_wwid t10.ATA_VBOX_HARDDISK_VB428913dd-446a194f PVID none last seen on /dev/sdd1 not found.
  Devices file sys_wwid t10.ATA_VBOX_HARDDISK_VB428913dd-446a194f PVID none last seen on /dev/sdd2 not found.
  VG   #PV #LV #SN Attr   VSize   VFree
  rhel   1   2   0 wz--n- <19.00g    0 
  
[root@server2 ~]# sudo lvs
  Devices file sys_wwid t10.ATA_VBOX_HARDDISK_VB428913dd-446a194f PVID none last seen on /dev/sdd1 not found.
  Devices file sys_wwid t10.ATA_VBOX_HARDDISK_VB428913dd-446a194f PVID none last seen on /dev/sdd2 not found.
  LV   VG   Attr       LSize   Pool Origin Data%  Meta%  Move Log Cpy%Sync Convert
  root rhel -wi-ao---- <17.00g                                                    
  swap rhel -wi-ao----   2.00g

3. Remove the LVM structures from sdf using the pvremove command:

[root@server2 ~]# sudo pvremove /dev/sdf
  Labels on physical volume "/dev/sdf" successfully wiped.

4. Confirm the removal by running sudo pvs.

[root@server2 ~]# sudo pvs
  Devices file sys_wwid t10.ATA_VBOX_HARDDISK_VB428913dd-446a194f PVID none last seen on /dev/sdd1 not found.
  Devices file sys_wwid t10.ATA_VBOX_HARDDISK_VB428913dd-446a194f PVID none last seen on /dev/sdd2 not found.
  PV         VG   Fmt  Attr PSize   PFree
  /dev/sda2  rhel lvm2 a--  <19.00g    0

The disk is now back to its raw state and can be repurposed.

5. Verify that the sdf disk used in the previous exercises has returned to its original raw state using the lsblk command:

[root@server2 ~]# lsblk
NAME          MAJ:MIN RM  SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINTS
sda             8:0    0   20G  0 disk 
├─sda1          8:1    0    1G  0 part /boot
└─sda2          8:2    0   19G  0 part 
  ├─rhel-root 253:0    0   17G  0 lvm  /
  └─rhel-swap 253:1    0    2G  0 lvm  [SWAP]
sdb             8:16   0  250M  0 disk 
sdc             8:32   0  250M  0 disk 
sdd             8:48   0  250M  0 disk 
sde             8:64   0  250M  0 disk 
sdf             8:80   0    5G  0 disk 
sr0            11:0    1  9.8G  0 rom

This brings the exercise to an end.

Storage DYI Labs

Lab 13-1: Create and Remove Partitions with parted

Create a 100MB primary partition on one of the available 250MB disks (lsblk) by invoking the parted utility directly at the command prompt. Apply label “msdos” if the disk is new.

[root@server20 ~]# sudo parted /dev/sdb mklabel msdos
Warning: The existing disk label on /dev/sdb will be destroyed and all data on this disk will be lost. Do you want to
continue?
Yes/No? yes                                                               
Information: You may need to update /etc/fstab.

[root@server20 ~]# sudo parted /dev/sdb mkpart primary 1 101m             
Information: You may need to update /etc/fstab.

Create another 100MB partition by running parted interactively while ensuring that the second partition won’t overlap the first.

[root@server20 ~]# parted /dev/sdb
GNU Parted 3.5
Using /dev/sdb
Welcome to GNU Parted! Type 'help' to view a list of commands.
(parted) mkpart primary 101 201m

Verify the label and the partitions.

(parted) print                                                            
Model: ATA VBOX HARDDISK (scsi)
Disk /dev/sdb: 262MB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: msdos
Disk Flags: 

Number  Start   End    Size    Type     File system  Flags
 1      1049kB  101MB  99.6MB  primary
 2      101MB   201MB  101MB   primary

Remove both partitions at the command prompt.

[root@server20 ~]# sudo parted /dev/sdb rm 1 rm 2

Lab 13-2: Create and Remove Partitions with gdisk

Create two 80MB partitions on one of the 250MB disks (lsblk) using the gdisk utility. Make sure the partitions won’t overlap.

Command (? for help): o
This option deletes all partitions and creates a new protective MBR.
Proceed? (Y/N): y

Command (? for help): p
Disk /dev/sdb: 512000 sectors, 250.0 MiB
Model: VBOX HARDDISK   
Sector size (logical/physical): 512/512 bytes
Disk identifier (GUID): 226F7476-7F8C-4445-9025-53B6737AD1E4
Partition table holds up to 128 entries
Main partition table begins at sector 2 and ends at sector 33
First usable sector is 34, last usable sector is 511966
Partitions will be aligned on 2048-sector boundaries
Total free space is 511933 sectors (250.0 MiB)

Number  Start (sector)    End (sector)  Size       Code  Name

Command (? for help): n
Partition number (1-128, default 1): 
First sector (34-511966, default = 2048) or {+-}size{KMGTP}: 
Last sector (2048-511966, default = 511966) or {+-}size{KMGTP}: +80M
Current type is 8300 (Linux filesystem)
Hex code or GUID (L to show codes, Enter = 8300): 
Changed type of partition to 'Linux filesystem'

Command (? for help): n
Partition number (2-128, default 2): 2
First sector (34-511966, default = 165888) or {+-}size{KMGTP}: 165888
Last sector (165888-511966, default = 511966) or {+-}size{KMGTP}: +80M
Current type is 8300 (Linux filesystem)
Hex code or GUID (L to show codes, Enter = 8300): 
Changed type of partition to 'Linux filesystem'

Verify the partitions.

Command (? for help): p
Disk /dev/sdb: 512000 sectors, 250.0 MiB
Model: VBOX HARDDISK   
Sector size (logical/physical): 512/512 bytes
Disk identifier (GUID): 226F7476-7F8C-4445-9025-53B6737AD1E4
Partition table holds up to 128 entries
Main partition table begins at sector 2 and ends at sector 33
First usable sector is 34, last usable sector is 511966
Partitions will be aligned on 2048-sector boundaries
Total free space is 184253 sectors (90.0 MiB)

Number  Start (sector)    End (sector)  Size       Code  Name
   1            2048          165887   80.0 MiB    8300  Linux filesystem
   2          165888          329727   80.0 MiB    8300  Linux filesystem

Save

Command (? for help): w

Final checks complete. About to write GPT data. THIS WILL OVERWRITE EXISTING
PARTITIONS!!

Do you want to proceed? (Y/N): y
OK; writing new GUID partition table (GPT) to /dev/sdb.
The operation has completed successfully.

Delete the partitions

Command (? for help): d  
Partition number (1-2): 1

Command (? for help): d
Using 2

Command (? for help): w

Final checks complete. About to write GPT data. THIS WILL OVERWRITE EXISTING
PARTITIONS!!

Do you want to proceed? (Y/N): y
OK; writing new GUID partition table (GPT) to /dev/sdb.
The operation has completed successfully.

Lab 13-3: Create Volume Group and Logical Volumes

initialize 1x250MB disk for use in LVM (use lsblk to identify available disks).

root@server2 ~]# sudo parted /dev/sdd mklabel msdos
Warning: The existing disk label on /dev/sdd will be destroyed and all data
on this disk will be lost. Do you want to continue?
Yes/No? yes                                                               
Information: You may need to update /etc/fstab.

[root@server2 ~]# sudo parted /dev/sdd mkpart primary 1 250m              
Information: You may need to update /etc/fstab.

[root@server2 ~]# sudo parted /dev/sdd print                              
Model: ATA VBOX HARDDISK (scsi)
Disk /dev/sdd: 262MB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: msdos
Disk Flags: 

Number  Start   End    Size   Type     File system  Flags
 1      1049kB  250MB  249MB  primary
 
[root@server2 ~]# sudo pvcreate /dev/sdd1
  Physical volume "/dev/sdd1" successfully created.

(Can also just use the full disk without making it into a partition first.)

Create volume group vg100 with PE size 16MB and add the physical volume.

[root@server2 ~]# sudo vgcreate -vs 16 vg100 /dev/sdd1
  Wiping signatures on new PV /dev/sdd1.
  Adding physical volume '/dev/sdd1' to volume group 'vg100'
  Creating volume group backup "/etc/lvm/backup/vg100" (seqno 1).
  Volume group "vg100" successfully created

Create two logical volumes lvol0 and swapvol of sizes 90MB and 120MB.

[root@server2 ~]# sudo lvcreate -vL 90 vg100
  Creating logical volume lvol0
  Archiving volume group "vg100" metadata (seqno 1).
  Activating logical volume vg100/lvol0.
  activation/volume_list configuration setting not defined: Checking only host tags for vg100/lvol0.
  Creating vg100-lvol0
  Loading table for vg100-lvol0 (253:2).
  Resuming vg100-lvol0 (253:2).
  Wiping known signatures on logical volume vg100/lvol0.
  Initializing 4.00 KiB of logical volume vg100/lvol0 with value 0.
  Logical volume "lvol0" created.
  Creating volume group backup "/etc/lvm/backup/vg100" (seqno 2).

[root@server2 ~]# sudo lvcreate -l 8 -n swapvol vg100
  Logical volume "swapvol" created.

Use the vgs, pvs, lvs, and vgdisplay commands for verification.

[root@server2 ~]# lvs
  Devices file sys_wwid t10.ATA_VBOX_HARDDISK_VB428913dd-446a194f PVID none last seen on /dev/sdd1 not found.
  Devices file sys_wwid t10.ATA_VBOX_HARDDISK_VB428913dd-446a194f PVID none last seen on /dev/sdd2 not found.
  LV      VG    Attr       LSize   Pool Origin Data%  Meta%  Move Log Cpy%Sync Convert
  root    rhel  -wi-ao---- <17.00g                                                    
  swap    rhel  -wi-ao----   2.00g                                                    
  lvol0   vg100 -wi-a-----  90.00m                                                    
  swapvol vg100 -wi-a----- 120.00m                                                    
[root@server2 ~]# vgs
  Devices file sys_wwid t10.ATA_VBOX_HARDDISK_VB428913dd-446a194f PVID none last seen on /dev/sdd1 not found.
  Devices file sys_wwid t10.ATA_VBOX_HARDDISK_VB428913dd-446a194f PVID none last seen on /dev/sdd2 not found.
  VG    #PV #LV #SN Attr   VSize   VFree 
  rhel    1   2   0 wz--n- <19.00g     0 
  vg100   1   2   0 wz--n- 225.00m 15.00m
  
[root@server2 ~]# pvs
  Devices file sys_wwid t10.ATA_VBOX_HARDDISK_VB428913dd-446a194f PVID none last seen on /dev/sdd1 not found.
  Devices file sys_wwid t10.ATA_VBOX_HARDDISK_VB428913dd-446a194f PVID none last seen on /dev/sdd2 not found.
  PV         VG    Fmt  Attr PSize   PFree 
  /dev/sda2  rhel  lvm2 a--  <19.00g     0 
  /dev/sdd1  vg100 lvm2 a--  225.00m 15.00m
  
[root@server2 ~]# vgdisplay
  Devices file sys_wwid t10.ATA_VBOX_HARDDISK_VB428913dd-446a194f PVID none last seen on /dev/sdd1 not found.
  Devices file sys_wwid t10.ATA_VBOX_HARDDISK_VB428913dd-446a194f PVID none last seen on /dev/sdd2 not found.
  --- Volume group ---
  VG Name               vg100
  System ID             
  Format                lvm2
  Metadata Areas        1
  Metadata Sequence No  5
  VG Access             read/write
  VG Status             resizable
  MAX LV                0
  Cur LV                2
  Open LV               0
  Max PV                0
  Cur PV                1
  Act PV                1
  VG Size               225.00 MiB
  PE Size               15.00 MiB
  Total PE              15
  Alloc PE / Size       14 / 210.00 MiB
  Free  PE / Size       1 / 15.00 MiB
  VG UUID               fEUf8R-nxKF-Uxud-7rmm-JvSQ-PsN1-Mrs3zc
   
  --- Volume group ---
  VG Name               rhel
  System ID             
  Format                lvm2
  Metadata Areas        1
  Metadata Sequence No  3
  VG Access             read/write
  VG Status             resizable
  MAX LV                0
  Cur LV                2
  Open LV               2
  Max PV                0
  Cur PV                1
  Act PV                1
  VG Size               <19.00 GiB
  PE Size               4.00 MiB
  Total PE              4863
  Alloc PE / Size       4863 / <19.00 GiB
  Free  PE / Size       0 / 0   
  VG UUID               UiK3fy-FGOc-2fnP-C1Y6-JS0l-irEe-Sq3c4h

Lab 13-4: Expand Volume Group and Logical Volume

Create a partition on an available 250MB disk and initialize it for use in LVM (use lsblk to identify available disks).

[root@server2 ~]# parted /dev/sdb mklabel msdos
Warning: The existing disk label on /dev/sdb will be destroyed and all data on this disk will be lost. Do you want to continue?
Yes/No? yes                                                               
Information: You may need to update /etc/fstab.

[root@server2 ~]# parted /dev/sdb mkpart primary 1 250m                   
Information: You may need to update /etc/fstab.

Add the new physical volume to vg100.

[root@server2 ~]# sudo vgextend vg100 /dev/sdb1
  Device /dev/sdb1 has updated name (devices file /dev/sdd1)
  Physical volume "/dev/sdb1" successfully created.
  Volume group "vg100" successfully extended

Expand the lvol0 logical volume to size 300MB.

[root@server2 ~]# lvextend -L +210 /dev/vg100/lvol0
  Size of logical volume vg100/lvol0 changed from 90.00 MiB (6 extents) to 300.00 MiB (20 extents).
  Logical volume vg100/lvol0 successfully resized.

Use the vgs, pvs, lvs, and vgdisplay commands for verification.

[[root@server2 ~]# lvs
  Devices file sys_wwid t10.ATA_VBOX_HARDDISK_VB428913dd-446a194f PVID none last seen on /dev/sdd2 not found.
  LV      VG    Attr       LSize   Pool Origin Data%  Meta%  Move Log Cpy%Sync Convert
  root    rhel  -wi-ao---- <17.00g                                                    
  swap    rhel  -wi-ao----   2.00g                                                    
  lvol0   vg100 -wi-a-----  90.00m                                                    
  swapvol vg100 -wi-a----- 120.00m](<[root@server20 ~]# lvs
  LV      VG    Attr       LSize   Pool Origin Data%  Meta%  Move Log Cpy%Sync Convert
  root    rhel  -wi-ao---- %3C17.00g                                                    
  swap    rhel  -wi-ao----   2.00g                                                    
  lvol0   vg100 -wi-a----- 300.00m                                                    
  swapvol vg100 -wi-a----- 120.00m>)                                                  
[root@server2 ~]# vgs
  Devices file sys_wwid t10.ATA_VBOX_HARDDISK_VB428913dd-446a194f PVID none last seen on /dev/sdd2 not found.
  VG    #PV #LV #SN Attr   VSize   VFree 
  rhel    1   2   0 wz--n- <19.00g     0 
  vg100   2   2   0 wz--n- 450.00m 30.00m
  
[root@server2 ~]# pvs
  Devices file sys_wwid t10.ATA_VBOX_HARDDISK_VB428913dd-446a194f PVID none last seen on /dev/sdd2 not found.
  PV         VG    Fmt  Attr PSize   PFree 
  /dev/sda2  rhel  lvm2 a--  <19.00g     0 
  /dev/sdb1  vg100 lvm2 a--  225.00m 30.00m
  /dev/sdd1  vg100 lvm2 a--  225.00m     0 
  
[root@server2 ~]# lvs
  Devices file sys_wwid t10.ATA_VBOX_HARDDISK_VB428913dd-446a194f PVID none last seen on /dev/sdd2 not found.
  LV      VG    Attr       LSize   Pool Origin Data%  Meta%  Move Log Cpy%Sync Convert
  root    rhel  -wi-ao---- <17.00g                                                    
  swap    rhel  -wi-ao----   2.00g                                                    
  lvol0   vg100 -wi-a----- 300.00m                                                    
  swapvol vg100 -wi-a----- 120.00m                                                    
[root@server2 ~]# vgdisplay
  Devices file sys_wwid t10.ATA_VBOX_HARDDISK_VB428913dd-446a194f PVID none last seen on /dev/sdd2 not found.
  --- Volume group ---
  VG Name               vg100
  System ID             
  Format                lvm2
  Metadata Areas        2
  Metadata Sequence No  7
  VG Access             read/write
  VG Status             resizable
  MAX LV                0
  Cur LV                2
  Open LV               0
  Max PV                0
  Cur PV                2
  Act PV                2
  VG Size               450.00 MiB
  PE Size               15.00 MiB
  Total PE              30
  Alloc PE / Size       28 / 420.00 MiB
  Free  PE / Size       2 / 30.00 MiB
  VG UUID               fEUf8R-nxKF-Uxud-7rmm-JvSQ-PsN1-Mrs3zc
   
  --- Volume group ---
  VG Name               rhel
  System ID             
  Format                lvm2
  Metadata Areas        1
  Metadata Sequence No  3
  VG Access             read/write
  VG Status             resizable
  MAX LV                0
  Cur LV                2
  Open LV               2
  Max PV                0
  Cur PV                1
  Act PV                1
  VG Size               <19.00 GiB
  PE Size               4.00 MiB
  Total PE              4863
  Alloc PE / Size       4863 / <19.00 GiB
  Free  PE / Size       0 / 0   
  VG UUID               UiK3fy-FGOc-2fnP-C1Y6-JS0l-irEe-Sq3c4h

Lab 13-5: Add a VDO Logical Volume

initialize the sdf disk for use in LVM and add it to vgvdo1.

[root@server2 ~]# pvcreate /dev/sdc
  Physical volume "/dev/sdc" successfully created.
  
[root@server2 ~]# sudo vgextend vgvdo1 /dev/sdc
  Volume group "vgvdo1" successfully extended

Create a VDO logical volume named vdovol using the entire disk capacity.

[root@server2 ~]# lvcreate --type vdo -n vdovol -l 100%FREE vgvdo1
WARNING: LVM2_member signature detected on /dev/vgvdo1/vpool0 at offset 536. Wipe it? [y/n]: y
  Wiping LVM2_member signature on /dev/vgvdo1/vpool0.
    Logical blocks defaulted to 523108 blocks.
    The VDO volume can address 2 GB in 1 data slab.
    It can grow to address at most 16 TB of physical storage in 8192 slabs.
    If a larger maximum size might be needed, use bigger slabs.
  Logical volume "vdovol" created.

Use the vgs, pvs, lvs, and vgdisplay commands for verification.

[root@server2 ~]# vgs
  Devices file sys_wwid t10.ATA_VBOX_HARDDISK_VB428913dd-446a194f PVID none last seen on /dev/sdd2 not found.
  Devices file sys_wwid t10.ATA_VBOX_HARDDISK_VB123ecea1-63467dee PVID RjcGRyHDIWY0OqAgfIHC93WT03Na1WoO last seen on /dev/sdd1 not found.
  Devices file sys_wwid t10.ATA_VBOX_HARDDISK_VBa5e3cbf7-10921e08 PVID qeP9dCevNnTy422I8p18NxDKQ2WyDodU last seen on /dev/sdf1 not found.
  Devices file sys_wwid t10.ATA_VBOX_HARDDISK_VB428913dd-446a194f PVID brKVLFEG3AoBzhWoso0Sa1gLYHgNZ4vL last seen on /dev/sdb1 not found.
  VG     #PV #LV #SN Attr   VSize   VFree  
  rhel     1   2   0 wz--n- <19.00g      0 
  vgvdo1   2   2   0 wz--n-  <5.24g 248.00m

Lab 13-6: Reduce and Remove Logical Volumes

reduce the size of vdovol logical volume to 80MB.

[root@server2 ~]# lvreduce -L 80 /dev/vgvdo1/vdovol
  No file system found on /dev/vgvdo1/vdovol.
  WARNING: /dev/vgvdo1/vdovol: Discarding 1.91 GiB at offset 83886080, please wait...
  Size of logical volume vgvdo1/vdovol changed from 1.99 GiB (510 extents) to 80.00 MiB (20 extents).
  Logical volume vgvdo1/vdovol successfully resized.
[root@server2 ~]# lvs
  Devices file sys_wwid t10.ATA_VBOX_HARDDISK_VB428913dd-446a194f PVID none last seen on /dev/sdd2 not found.
  Devices file sys_wwid t10.ATA_VBOX_HARDDISK_VB123ecea1-63467dee PVID RjcGRyHDIWY0OqAgfIHC93WT03Na1WoO last seen on /dev/sdd1 not found.
  Devices file sys_wwid t10.ATA_VBOX_HARDDISK_VBa5e3cbf7-10921e08 PVID qeP9dCevNnTy422I8p18NxDKQ2WyDodU last seen on /dev/sdf1 not found.
  Devices file sys_wwid t10.ATA_VBOX_HARDDISK_VB428913dd-446a194f PVID brKVLFEG3AoBzhWoso0Sa1gLYHgNZ4vL last seen on /dev/sdb1 not found.
  LV     VG     Attr       LSize   Pool   Origin Data%  Meta%  Move Log Cpy%Sync Convert
  root   rhel   -wi-ao---- <17.00g                                                      
  swap   rhel   -wi-ao----   2.00g                                                      
  vdovol vgvdo1 vwi-a-v---  80.00m vpool0        0.00                                   
  vpool0 vgvdo1 dwi-------  <5.00g               60.00                                  
[root@server2 ~]#

erase logical volume vdovol.

[root@server2 ~]# lvremove /dev/vgvdo1/vdovol
Do you really want to remove active logical volume vgvdo1/vdovol? [y/n]: y
  Logical volume "vdovol" successfully removed.

Confirm the deletion with vgs, pvs, lvs, and vgdisplay commands.

Lab 13-7: Remove Volume Group and Physical Volumes

\remove the volume group and uninitialized the physical volumes.

[root@server2 ~]# vgremove vgvdo1
  Volume group "vgvdo1" successfully removed
[root@server2 ~]# pvremove /dev/sdc
  Labels on physical volume "/dev/sdc" successfully wiped.
[root@server2 ~]# pvremove /dev/sdf
  Labels on physical volume "/dev/sdf" successfully wiped.

Confirm the deletion with vgs, pvs, lvs, and vgdisplay commands.

Use the lsblk command and verify that the disks used for the LVM labs no longer show LVM information.

[root@server2 ~]# lsblk
NAME          MAJ:MIN RM  SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINTS
sda             8:0    0   20G  0 disk 
├─sda1          8:1    0    1G  0 part /boot
└─sda2          8:2    0   19G  0 part 
  ├─rhel-root 253:0    0   17G  0 lvm  /
  └─rhel-swap 253:1    0    2G  0 lvm  [SWAP]
sdb             8:16   0  250M  0 disk 
sdc             8:32   0  250M  0 disk 
sdd             8:48   0  250M  0 disk 
sde             8:64   0  250M  0 disk 
sdf             8:80   0    5G  0 disk 
sr0            11:0    1  9.8G  0 rom