Ubuntu Manpage: lvm.conf — Configuration file for LVM2

Provided by: lvm2_2.03.16-1ubuntu1_amd64

NAME

       lvm.conf — Configuration file for LVM2

SYNOPSIS

       /etc/lvm/lvm.conf

DESCRIPTION

lvm.conf is loaded during the initialisation phase of lvm(8). This file can in turn lead
to other files being loaded - settings read in later override earlier settings. File
timestamps are checked between commands and if any have changed, all the files are
reloaded.

For a description of each lvm.conf(5) setting, run:

lvmconfig --typeconfig default --withcomments --withspaces

The settings defined in lvm.conf can be overridden by any of these extended configuration
methods:

direct config override on command line
The --config ConfigurationString command line option takes the ConfigurationString
as direct string representation of the configuration to override the existing
configuration. The ConfigurationString is of exactly the same format as used in any
LVM configuration file.

profile config
A profile is a set of selected customizable configuration settings that are aimed
to achieve a certain characteristics in various environments or uses. It's used to
override existing configuration. Normally, the name of the profile should reflect
that environment or use.

There are two groups of profiles recognised: command profiles and metadata profiles.

The command profile is used to override selected configuration settings at global LVM
command level - it is applied at the very beginning of LVM command execution and it is
used throughout the whole time of LVM command execution. The command profile is applied by
using the --commandprofile ProfileName command line option that is recognised by all LVM2
commands.

The metadata profile is used to override selected configuration settings at Volume
Group/Logical Volume level - it is applied independently for each Volume Group/Logical
Volume that is being processed. As such, each Volume Group/Logical Volume can store the
profile name used in its metadata so next time the Volume Group/Logical Volume is
processed, the profile is applied automatically. If Volume Group and any of its Logical
Volumes have different profiles defined, the profile defined for the Logical Volume is
preferred. The metadata profile can be attached/detached by using the lvchange and
vgchange commands and their --metadataprofile ProfileName and --detachprofile options or
the --metadataprofile option during creation when using vgcreate or lvcreate command. The
vgs and lvs reporting commands provide -o vg_profile and -o lv_profile output options to
show the metadata profile currently attached to a Volume Group or a Logical Volume.

The set of options allowed for command profiles is mutually exclusive when compared to the
set of options allowed for metadata profiles. The settings that belong to either of these
two sets can't be mixed together and LVM tools will reject such profiles.

LVM itself provides a few predefined configuration profiles. Users are allowed to add
more profiles with different values if needed. For this purpose, there's the
command_profile_template.profile (for command profiles) and
metadata_profile_template.profile (for metadata profiles) which contain all settings that
are customizable by profiles of certain type. Users are encouraged to copy these template
profiles and edit them as needed. Alternatively, the lvmconfig --file
<ProfileName.profile> --type profilable-command <section> or lvmconfig --file
<ProfileName.profile> --type profilable-metadata <section> can be used to generate a
configuration with profilable settings in either of the type for given section and save it
to new ProfileName.profile (if the section is not specified, all profilable settings are
reported).

The profiles are stored in /etc/lvm/profile directory by default. This location can be
changed by using the config/profile_dir setting. Each profile configuration is stored in
ProfileName.profile file in the profile directory. When referencing the profile, the
.profile suffix is left out.

tag config
See tags configuration setting description below.

When several configuration methods are used at the same time and when LVM looks for the
value of a particular setting, it traverses this config cascade from left to right:

direct config override on command line → command profile config → metadata profile config
→ tag config → lvmlocal.conf → lvm.conf

No part of this cascade is compulsory. If there's no setting value found at the end of the
cascade, a default value is used for that setting. Use lvmconfig to check what settings
are in use and what the default values are.

SYNTAX

       This section describes the configuration file syntax.

       Whitespace is not significant unless it is within quotes.  This provides a wide choice  of
       acceptable indentation styles.  Comments begin with # and continue to the end of the line.
       They are treated as whitespace.

       Here is an informal grammar:

       file = value*
              A configuration file consists of a set of values.

       value = section | assignment
              A value can either be a new section, or an assignment.

       section = identifier '{' value* '}'
              A section groups associated values together. If the  same  section  is  encountered
              multiple  times,  the  contents  of  all instances are concatenated together in the
              order of appearance.
              It is denoted by a name and delimited by curly brackets.
              e.g. backup {
                        ...
                   }

       assignment = identifier '=' ( array | type )
              An assignment associates a type with an  identifier.  If  the  identifier  contains
              forward   slashes,   those  are  interpreted  as  path  delimiters.  The  statement
              section/key = value is equivalent to section { key = value }. If multiple instances
              of  the  same  key  are  encountered, only the last value is used (and a warning is
              issued).
              e.g. level = 7

       array =  '[' ( type ',')* type ']' | '[' ']'
              Inhomogeneous arrays are supported.
              Elements must be separated by commas.
              An empty array is acceptable.

       type = integer|float|string
              integer = [0-9]*
              float = [0-9]*'.'[0-9]*
              string = '"' .* '"'

              Strings with spaces must be enclosed in double quotes, single words that start with
              a letter can be left unquoted.

SETTINGS

       The  lvmconfig command prints the LVM configuration settings in various ways.  See the man
       page lvmconfig(8).

       Command to print a list of all possible config settings, with their default values:
       lvmconfig --type default

       Command to print a list of all possible config settings, with their default values, and  a
       full description of each as a comment:
       lvmconfig --type default --withcomments

       Command  to  print  a  list  of  all  possible  config settings, with their current values
       (configured, non-default values are shown):
       lvmconfig --type current

       Command to print all config settings that have been configured with a different value than
       the default (configured, non-default values are shown):
       lvmconfig --type diff

       Command  to print a single config setting, with its default value, and a full description,
       where "Section" refers to the config section, e.g. global, and  "Setting"  refers  to  the
       name of the specific setting, e.g. umask:
       lvmconfig --type default --withcomments Section/Setting

FILES