logvolumes

Logvolumes, short for logical volumes, are a method of disk partitioning and management used in Linux operating systems. They are part of the Logical Volume Manager (LVM) system, which provides a more flexible alternative to traditional disk partitioning. Logvolumes allow for the creation of partitions that can be resized, moved, and snapshotted without the need to unmount or reboot the system. This flexibility is achieved by abstracting the physical storage into a pool of space that can be allocated to logical volumes as needed.

The LVM system consists of three main components: physical volumes (PVs), volume groups (VGs), and logical volumes (LVs). Physical volumes are the actual storage devices, such as hard drives or SSDs, that are made available to the LVM system. Volume groups are collections of physical volumes that are combined to form a single storage pool. Logical volumes are the partitions created within volume groups, which can be formatted with a filesystem and used like traditional partitions.

One of the key advantages of logvolumes is their ability to resize. If a logical volume is running out of space, it can be resized by allocating more space from the volume group. Similarly, if a logical volume has excess space, it can be resized to free up space for other uses. This resizing can be done online, meaning the logical volume does not need to be unmounted or the system rebooted.

Another advantage is the ability to create snapshots of logical volumes. A snapshot is a point-in-time copy of a logical volume that can be used for backup or recovery purposes. Snapshots are space-efficient, as they only store the changes made to the original logical volume after the snapshot was created.

In summary, logvolumes are a powerful and flexible method of disk partitioning and management in Linux operating systems. They provide the ability to resize, move, and snapshot partitions without the need to unmount or reboot the system, making them a valuable tool for system administrators and users alike.