Re: LVM-Cache on fresh Ubuntu server install

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Author: Matt Graham
Date:  
To: Main PLUG discussion list
Subject: Re: LVM-Cache on fresh Ubuntu server install
On 2016-07-08 10:00, Stephen Partington wrote:
> 1T spinning disk and 128G SSD installed. [...] going with LVM-Cache
> Sadly the Ubuntu server installation does not have the option of
> setting up LVM for anything other than its most basic configuration


LVM is complicated, and using LVM-cache is a bit more complicated than
just making some PVs and putting them into a VG and then making LVs.

> What I understand about LVM is that you can build your LVM group and
> then migrate/expand it without a full install/wipe or 3rd disk device
> to host your core os installation. Can this be done for LVM cache as
> well?


Yes. Your setup would be something like this: 2 PVs, one on the fast
disk, one on the slow disk[0]. One VG with both PVs in it. Multiple
LVs. One named root on the fast disk (mounted at / obviously), one
small one named cache-meta on the fast disk, one larger one named cache
on the fast disk, and finally one larger one named origin on the slow
disk. You'd probably mount the last one on /data or /home or wherever
makes sense to put the large amount of stuff you want to serve up. I
suppose you could put / on the spinny-disk and use almost all of the SSD
for cache too. Your call.

If you already have some PVs and LVs set up, you might need to use
pvmove and lvresize and resize2fs to resize filesystems and LVs and move
them to the appropriate PV. These things are of course doable from a
running system and should not cause any problems.

https://rwmj.wordpress.com/2014/05/22/using-lvms-new-cache-feature/
describes all the commands you'd need to run to make this stuff happen.
And getting an additional 4G or 8G of RAM might help more than using an
SSD as a cache, depending on what exactly is going on.

(I haven't actually tried this, but I've got a 32G unused partition on
my SSD right now, and this could be a fun weekend project. I will let
you know if I run into any problems.)

[0] With 1T disks as cheap as they are, consider a softRAID-1 instead
of a single spinny disk. Disk failures are No Fun At All.

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