Provided by: lvm2_2.03.11-2.1ubuntu4_amd64 bug

NAME

       pvcreate - Initialize physical volume(s) for use by LVM

SYNOPSIS

       pvcreate position_args
           [ option_args ]

DESCRIPTION

       pvcreate  initializes  a  Physical  Volume (PV) on a device so the device is recognized as
       belonging to LVM.  This allows the PV to be used in a Volume  Group  (VG).   An  LVM  disk
       label  is  written  to  the  device,  and LVM metadata areas are initialized.  A PV can be
       placed on a whole device or partition.

       Use vgcreate(8) to create a new VG on the PV, or vgextend(8) to add the PV to an  existing
       VG.  Use pvremove(8) to remove the LVM disk label from the device.

       The  force option will create a PV without confirmation.  Repeating the force option (-ff)
       will forcibly create a PV, overriding checks that normally prevent it, e.g. if the  PV  is
       already in a VG.

       Metadata location, size, and alignment

       The  LVM  disk  label  begins  512 bytes from the start of the device, and is 512 bytes in
       size.

       The LVM metadata area begins at an offset (from the start of the device) equal to the page
       size  of  the machine creating the PV (often 4 KiB.) The metadata area contains a 512 byte
       header and a multi-KiB circular buffer that holds text copies of the VG metadata.

       With default settings, the first physical extent (PE), which contains LV data,  is  1  MiB
       from  the  start  of the device.  This location is controlled by default_data_alignment in
       lvm.conf, which is set to 1 (MiB) by default.  The pe_start will be  a  multiple  of  this
       many MiB.  This location can be checked with:
       pvs -o pe_start PV

       The  size of the LVM metadata area is the space between the the start of the metadata area
       and the first PE.  When metadata begins at 4 KiB and the first PE  is  at  1024  KiB,  the
       metadata area size is 1020 KiB.  This can be checked with:
       pvs -o mda_size PV

       The  mda_size cannot be increased after pvcreate, so if larger metadata is needed, it must
       be set during pvcreate.  Two copies of the VG metadata must always fit within the metadata
       area,  so  the  maximum VG metadata size is around half the mda_size.  This can be checked
       with:
       vgs -o mda_free VG

       A larger metadata area can be set with --metadatasize.   The  resulting  mda_size  may  be
       larger  than  specified  due to default_data_alignment placing pe_start on a MiB boundary,
       and the fact that the metadata area extends to the first PE.  With metadata starting at  4
       KiB  and  default_data_alignment 1 (MiB), setting --metadatasize 2048k results in pe_start
       of 3 MiB and mda_size  of  3068  KiB.   Alternatively,  --metadatasize  2044k  results  in
       pe_start at 2 MiB and mda_size of 2044 KiB.

       The  alignment  of  pe_start  described  above  may be automatically overriden based on md
       device properties or device i/o properties reported in sysfs.  These automatic adjustments
       can    be    enabled/disabled    using    lvm.conf    settings    md_chunk_alignment   and
       data_alignment_offset_detection.

       To use a different pe_start alignment, use the --dataalignment option.  The --metadatasize
       option  would  also  typically  be  used  in this case because the metadata area size also
       determines the location of pe_start.  When using these two options together,  pe_start  is
       calculated as: metadata area start (page size), plus the specified --metadatasize, rounded
       up  to  the  next  multiple  of  --dataalignment.   With  metadata  starting  at  4   KiB,
       --metadatasize  2048k, and --dataalignment 128k, pe_start is 2176 KiB and mda_size is 2172
       KiB.  The pe_start of 2176 KiB is the nearest even multiple of 128 KiB  that  provides  at
       least  2048 KiB of metadata space.  Always check the resulting alignment and metadata size
       when using these options.

       To shift an aligned pe_start value, use the  --dataaligmentoffset  option.   The  pe_start
       alignment   is   calculated  as  described  above,  and  then  the  value  specified  with
       --dataaligmentoffset is added to produce the final pe_start value.

USAGE

       pvcreate PV ...
           [ -f|--force ]
           [ -M|--metadatatype lvm2 ]
           [ -u|--uuid String ]
           [ -Z|--zero y|n ]
           [    --dataalignment Size[k|UNIT] ]
           [    --dataalignmentoffset Size[k|UNIT] ]
           [    --bootloaderareasize Size[m|UNIT] ]
           [    --labelsector Number ]
           [    --[pv]metadatacopies 0|1|2 ]
           [    --metadatasize Size[m|UNIT] ]
           [    --metadataignore y|n ]
           [    --norestorefile ]
           [    --setphysicalvolumesize Size[m|UNIT] ]
           [    --reportformat basic|json ]
           [    --restorefile String ]
           [ COMMON_OPTIONS ]

       Common options for lvm:
           [ -d|--debug ]
           [ -h|--help ]
           [ -q|--quiet ]
           [ -t|--test ]
           [ -v|--verbose ]
           [ -y|--yes ]
           [    --commandprofile String ]
           [    --config String ]
           [    --driverloaded y|n ]
           [    --lockopt String ]
           [    --longhelp ]
           [    --nolocking ]
           [    --profile String ]
           [    --version ]

OPTIONS

       --bootloaderareasize Size[m|UNIT]
              Reserve space for the bootloader between the LVM metadata area and the first PE.
              The bootloader area is reserved for bootloaders to embed their own data or
              metadata; LVM will not use it.  The bootloader area begins where the first PE would
              otherwise be located.  The first PE is moved out by the size of the bootloader
              area, and then moved out further if necessary to match the data alignment.  The
              start of the bootloader area is always aligned, see also --dataalignment and
              --dataalignmentoffset. The bootloader area may be larger than requested due to the
              alignment, but it's never less than the requested size.  To see the bootloader area
              start and size of an existing PV use pvs -o +pv_ba_start,pv_ba_size.

       --commandprofile String
              The command profile to use for command configuration.  See lvm.conf(5) for more
              information about profiles.

       --config String
              Config settings for the command. These override lvm.conf settings.  The String arg
              uses the same format as lvm.conf, or may use section/field syntax.  See lvm.conf(5)
              for more information about config.

       --dataalignment Size[k|UNIT]
              Align the start of a PV data area with a multiple of this number.  To see the
              location of the first Physical Extent (PE) of an existing PV, use pvs -o +pe_start.
              In addition, it may be shifted by an alignment offset, see --dataalignmentoffset.
              Also specify an appropriate PE size when creating a VG.

       --dataalignmentoffset Size[k|UNIT]
              Shift the start of the PV data area by this additional offset.

       -d|--debug ...
              Set debug level. Repeat from 1 to 6 times to increase the detail of messages sent
              to the log file and/or syslog (if configured).

       --driverloaded y|n
              If set to no, the command will not attempt to use device-mapper.  For testing and
              debugging.

       -f|--force ...
              Override various checks, confirmations and protections.  Use with extreme caution.

       -h|--help
              Display help text.

       --labelsector Number
              By default the PV is labelled with an LVM2 identifier in its second sector (sector
              1). This lets you use a different sector near the start of the disk (between 0 and
              3 inclusive - see LABEL_SCAN_SECTORS in the source). Use with care.

       --lockopt String
              Used to pass options for special cases to lvmlockd.  See lvmlockd(8) for more
              information.

       --longhelp
              Display long help text.

       --metadataignore y|n
              Specifies the metadataignore property of a PV.  If yes, metadata areas on the PV
              are ignored, and lvm will not store metadata in the metadata areas of the PV.  If
              no, lvm will store metadata on the PV.

       --metadatasize Size[m|UNIT]
              The approximate amount of space used for each VG metadata area.  The size may be
              rounded.

       -M|--metadatatype lvm2
              Specifies the type of on-disk metadata to use.  lvm2 (or just 2) is the current,
              standard format.  lvm1 (or just 1) is no longer used.

       --nolocking
              Disable locking.

       --norestorefile
              In conjunction with --uuid, this allows a uuid to be specified without also
              requiring that a backup of the metadata be provided.

       --profile String
              An alias for --commandprofile or --metadataprofile, depending on the command.

       --[pv]metadatacopies 0|1|2
              The number of metadata areas to set aside on a PV for storing VG metadata.  When 2,
              one copy of the VG metadata is stored at the front of the PV and a second copy is
              stored at the end.  When 1, one copy of the VG metadata is stored at the front of
              the PV.  When 0, no copies of the VG metadata are stored on the given PV.  This may
              be useful in VGs containing many PVs (this places limitations on the ability to use
              vgsplit later.)

       -q|--quiet ...
              Suppress output and log messages. Overrides --debug and --verbose.  Repeat once to
              also suppress any prompts with answer 'no'.

       --reportformat basic|json
              Overrides current output format for reports which is defined globally by the
              report/output_format setting in lvm.conf.  basic is the original format with
              columns and rows.  If there is more than one report per command, each report is
              prefixed with the report name for identification. json produces report output in
              JSON format. See lvmreport(7) for more information.

       --restorefile String
              In conjunction with --uuid, this reads the file (produced by vgcfgbackup), extracts
              the location and size of the data on the PV, and ensures that the metadata produced
              by the program is consistent with the contents of the file, i.e. the physical
              extents will be in the same place and not be overwritten by new metadata. This
              provides a mechanism to upgrade the metadata format or to add/remove metadata
              areas. Use with care.

       --setphysicalvolumesize Size[m|UNIT]
              Overrides the automatically detected size of the PV.  Use with care, or prior to
              reducing the physical size of the device.

       -t|--test
              Run in test mode. Commands will not update metadata.  This is implemented by
              disabling all metadata writing but nevertheless returning success to the calling
              function. This may lead to unusual error messages in multi-stage operations if a
              tool relies on reading back metadata it believes has changed but hasn't.

       -u|--uuid String
              Specify a UUID for the device.  Without this option, a random UUID is generated.
              This option is needed before restoring a backup of LVM metadata onto a replacement
              device; see vgcfgrestore(8). As such, use of --restorefile is compulsory unless the
              --norestorefile is used.  All PVs must have unique UUIDs, and LVM will prevent
              certain operations if multiple devices are seen with the same UUID.  See
              vgimportclone(8) for more information.

       -v|--verbose ...
              Set verbose level. Repeat from 1 to 4 times to increase the detail of messages sent
              to stdout and stderr.

       --version
              Display version information.

       -y|--yes
              Do not prompt for confirmation interactively but always assume the answer yes. Use
              with extreme caution.  (For automatic no, see -qq.)

       -Z|--zero y|n
              Controls if the first 4 sectors (2048 bytes) of the device are wiped.  The default
              is to wipe these sectors unless either or both of --restorefile or --uuid are
              specified.

VARIABLES

       PV
              Physical Volume name, a device path under /dev.   For  commands  managing  physical
              extents,  a  PV  positional  arg  generally accepts a suffix indicating a range (or
              multiple ranges) of physical extents (PEs).  When  the  first  PE  is  omitted,  it
              defaults to the start of the device, and when the last PE is omitted it defaults to
              end.  Start and end  range  (inclusive):  PV[:PE-PE]...   Start  and  length  range
              (counting from 0): PV[:PE+PE]...

       String
              See the option description for information about the string content.

       Size[UNIT]
              Size  is  an  input  number  that accepts an optional unit.  Input units are always
              treated as base two values, regardless of capitalization, e.g.  'k'  and  'K'  both
              refer  to  1024.  The default input unit is specified by letter, followed by |UNIT.
              UNIT represents other possible input units: bBsSkKmMgGtTpPeE.  b|B is bytes, s|S is
              sectors  of  512 bytes, k|K is KiB, m|M is MiB, g|G is GiB, t|T is TiB, p|P is PiB,
              e|E is EiB.  (This should not be confused with the output  control  --units,  where
              capital letters mean multiple of 1000.)

ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES

       See  lvm(8)  for  information  about  environment  variables  used  by  lvm.  For example,
       LVM_VG_NAME can generally be substituted for a required VG parameter.

EXAMPLES

       Initialize a partition and a full device.
       pvcreate /dev/sdc4 /dev/sde

       If a device is a 4KiB sector drive that compensates for windows partitioning (sector 7  is
       the  lowest  aligned  logical  block,  the  4KiB sectors start at LBA -1, and consequently
       sector 63 is aligned on a 4KiB boundary) manually account for this when  initializing  for
       use by LVM.
       pvcreate --dataalignmentoffset 7s /dev/sdb

SEE ALSO

       lvm(8) lvm.conf(5) lvmconfig(8)

       pvchange(8)  pvck(8)  pvcreate(8)  pvdisplay(8)  pvmove(8)  pvremove(8) pvresize(8) pvs(8)
       pvscan(8)

       vgcfgbackup(8) vgcfgrestore(8) vgchange(8) vgck(8) vgcreate(8)  vgconvert(8)  vgdisplay(8)
       vgexport(8)  vgextend(8)  vgimport(8) vgimportclone(8) vgmerge(8) vgmknodes(8) vgreduce(8)
       vgremove(8) vgrename(8) vgs(8) vgscan(8) vgsplit(8)

       lvcreate(8) lvchange(8)  lvconvert(8)  lvdisplay(8)  lvextend(8)  lvreduce(8)  lvremove(8)
       lvrename(8) lvresize(8) lvs(8) lvscan(8)

       lvm-fullreport(8) lvm-lvpoll(8) lvm2-activation-generator(8) blkdeactivate(8) lvmdump(8)

       dmeventd(8) lvmpolld(8) lvmlockd(8) lvmlockctl(8) cmirrord(8) lvmdbusd(8)

       lvmsystemid(7) lvmreport(7) lvmraid(7) lvmthin(7) lvmcache(7)