What is the maximum size of an LVM Logical Volume?

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Environment

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10

Situation

Need to know maximum size of LVM Volume
Create LVM volume greater than 256 GB
Need to determine how much a Logical Volume can be expanded.
Find out what extent size is used on LVM Volume

Resolution

For LVM volumes created with lvm2, the limit is determined by the kernel limits (and your disk space).
For LVM volumes created with lvm1, the maximum possible size of an LVM Logical Volume depends on the extent size used. The formula is:

65534 * ExtentSize = Maximum Logical Volume Size

The default extent size with SUSE Linux is 4MB. Therefore, the default maximum size is 4MB * 65534 = 256 GB.

The extent size can be from 8 KB to 16 GB, in powers of 2. If the maximum extent size is used, the maximum volume size is roughly 1 petabyte (PB):

65534 * 16GB = 1,048,544 GB

Note that your filesystem will also need to support sizes as large as your volume. The default filesystem for SLES is Reiserfs, which has a maximum of 16 TB.

If you are looking to expand an existing logical volume, use'vgdisplay' to see what extent size is being used.

Additional Information

lvm2 volumes that were converted from lvm1 are under the lvm1 restrictions.

For more information, see the vgcreate man page, 'man 8 vgcreate', and search for "PhysicalExtentSize".

Disclaimer

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