Server Disk Space Summary

Starting with version 5.0.0, the IP Fabric appliance deploys as a single hard disk installation instead of two disk volumes.

The IP Fabric appliance uses LVM for the root and swap partitions. In a default installation, swap has 16 GB, and root has approximately 72 GB of disk space.

We automatically resize the boot disk as follows:

1. Resize the primary partition to the full size of the disk.
2. Resize the extended partition to the full size of the primary partition.
3. Extend ipfabric-vg/root to +100%FREE.
4. Online resize the ext4 partition.

Increasing Disk Space on IP Fabric Appliance

If you need any help with disk space expansion, please contact our Support team.

Resizing Root/First Disk

The easiest way to resize the IP Fabric system disk is to:

1. Shutdown the VM.
2. Resize the root/first disk to the desired size.
3. Start the VM.

cloud-init will take care of resizing the disk.

Expanding System Volume by Adding Additional Disk(s)

If you want to add a secondary or any additional disk as a system disk, you will need to manually add it to the ipfabric-vg/root volume.

To do that, follow these LVM resources:

• Debian Wiki – LVM
• ArchWiki – LVM

Local Backup Disk

Backup Disk

The backup disk is not present by default! To enable local backups, please add a new virtual disk.

When enabling local backups, a backup tool creates backups in the /backup directory. The tool first checks if the local backup directory exists, and then the backups are created.

Any additional disk (see the hypervisor-specific configurations at the bottom of this page) can be mounted as the backup directory. For local backups, we recommend using an additional disk located on a different datastore than the root volume.

Warning

The backup disk must be partitioned with LVM. Specifically, the /backup directory must be on the logical volume backup of the volume group backup-vg.

Instructions To Mount a Physical Disk to the /backup Directory

Warning

Depending on your system, the name of your backup disk may vary. To find out the name of your backup disk, you can use the lsblk command. In the following steps 2 and 3, we will use vdb as an example of a backup disk name. If your backup disk has a different name, please replace vdb with the correct name in steps 2 and 3.

1. Find a device which you want to use as the /backup directory. In this case, vdb.

   osadmin@ipfabric:~$ lsblk
   NAME                    MAJ:MIN RM  SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINT
   vda                     254:0    0 76,3G  0 disk
   ├─vda1                  254:1    0  487M  0 part /boot
   ├─vda2                  254:2    0    1K  0 part
   └─vda5                  254:5    0 75,8G  0 part
     ├─ipfabric--vg-swap_1 253:0    0   16G  0 lvm  [SWAP]
     └─ipfabric--vg-root   253:1    0 59,8G  0 lvm  /
   vdb                     254:16   0   20G  0 disk             # <-- We want to use this device for the /backup directory.
   

2. Create an LVM physical volume on the disk vdb:

   osadmin@ipfabric:~$ sudo pvcreate /dev/vdb
     Physical volume "/dev/vdb" successfully created.
   

3. Create the volume group backup-vg:

   osadmin@ipfabric:~$ sudo vgcreate backup-vg /dev/vdb
     Volume group "backup-vg" successfully created
   

4. Use the entire size of the volume group backup-vg to create the logical volume backup:

   osadmin@ipfabric:~$ sudo lvcreate -n backup -l 100%FREE backup-vg
     Logical volume "backup" created.
   

5. Create a filesystem (in this example, ext4) on the logical volume backup:

   osadmin@ipfabric:~$ sudo mkfs.ext4 /dev/mapper/backup--vg-backup
   mke2fs 1.46.2 (28-Feb-2021)
   Discarding device blocks: done
   Creating filesystem with 5241856 4k blocks and 1310720 inodes
   Filesystem UUID: 26bf3259-8421-4b67-ad27-71fa55e57af8
   Superblock backups stored on blocks:
     32768, 98304, 163840, 229376, 294912, 819200, 884736, 1605632, 2654208,
     4096000
   
   Allocating group tables: done
   Writing inode tables: done
   Creating journal (32768 blocks): done
   Writing superblocks and filesystem accounting information: done
   

6. Create a new fstab entry (for example, using sudo vi /etc/fstab):

   Info

   We strongly recommend using only LVM partition LABELs and UUIDs in fstab. For more information, see Persistent block device naming.

   /dev/mapper/backup--vg-backup   /backup   ext4   defaults   0   0
   

7. Create the /backup directory:

   sudo mkdir /backup
   

8. The logical volume backup can now be mounted with:

   sudo mount /backup
   

9. Finally, check the output of lsblk:

   osadmin@ipfabric:~$ lsblk
   NAME                    MAJ:MIN RM  SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINT
   vda                     254:0    0 76,3G  0 disk
   ├─vda1                  254:1    0  487M  0 part /boot
   ├─vda2                  254:2    0    1K  0 part
   └─vda5                  254:5    0 75,8G  0 part
     ├─ipfabric--vg-swap_1 253:0    0   16G  0 lvm  [SWAP]
     └─ipfabric--vg-root   253:1    0 59,8G  0 lvm  /
   vdb                     254:16   0   20G  0 disk
   └─backup--vg-backup     253:2    0   20G  0 lvm  /backup
   

Increase Size of Backup Disk

Warning

Depending on your system, the name of your backup disk may vary. To find out the name of your backup disk, you can use the lsblk command. In the following step 6, we will use vdb as an example of a backup disk name. If your backup disk has a different name, please replace vdb with the correct name in step 6.

Suppose you prepared a backup disk with size of 20 GB with the instructions above, and you would like to increase its size (for example, to 40 GB).

1. Shutdown the IP Fabric appliance.

2. Increase the backup disk’s size at the hypervisor level (for example, to 40 GB).

3. Start the IP Fabric appliance.

4. Log in to the CLI as the osadmin user.

5. Check the status with lsblk – notice that the disk vdb in this case has 40 GB, but the LVM logical volume backup still has only 20 GB:

   osadmin@ipfabric:~$ lsblk
   NAME                    MAJ:MIN RM  SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINT
   vda                     254:0    0 76,3G  0 disk 
   ├─vda1                  254:1    0  487M  0 part /boot
   ├─vda2                  254:2    0    1K  0 part 
   └─vda5                  254:5    0 75,8G  0 part 
     ├─ipfabric--vg-swap_1 253:1    0   16G  0 lvm  [SWAP]
     └─ipfabric--vg-root   253:2    0 59,8G  0 lvm  /
   vdb                     254:16   0   40G  0 disk 
   └─backup--vg-backup     253:0    0   20G  0 lvm  /backup
   

6. Resize the LVM physical volume:

   osadmin@ipfabric:~$ sudo pvresize /dev/vdb
     Physical volume "/dev/vdb" changed
     1 physical volume(s) resized or updated / 0 physical volume(s) not resized
   

7. Resize the LVM logical volume:

   osadmin@ipfabric:~$ sudo lvextend -l +100%FREE /dev/backup-vg/backup
     Size of logical volume backup-vg/backup changed from <20,00 GiB (5119 extents) to <40,00 GiB (10239 extents).
     Logical volume backup-vg/backup successfully resized.
   

8. Resize the filesystem:

   osadmin@ipfabric:~$ sudo resize2fs /dev/mapper/backup--vg-backup
   resize2fs 1.46.2 (28-Feb-2021)
   Filesystem at /dev/mapper/backup--vg-backup is mounted on /backup; on-line resizing required
   old_desc_blocks = 3, new_desc_blocks = 5
   The filesystem on /dev/mapper/backup--vg-backup is now 10484736 (4k) blocks long.
   

9. Re-check the status with lsblk:

   osadmin@ipfabric:~$ lsblk
   NAME                    MAJ:MIN RM  SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINT
   vda                     254:0    0 76,3G  0 disk 
   ├─vda1                  254:1    0  487M  0 part /boot
   ├─vda2                  254:2    0    1K  0 part 
   └─vda5                  254:5    0 75,8G  0 part 
     ├─ipfabric--vg-swap_1 253:1    0   16G  0 lvm  [SWAP]
     └─ipfabric--vg-root   253:2    0 59,8G  0 lvm  /
   vdb                     254:16   0   40G  0 disk 
   └─backup--vg-backup     253:0    0   40G  0 lvm  /backup
   

10. Also, check the size of the filesystem:

    osadmin@ipfabric:~$ df -h /backup
    Filesystem                     Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
    /dev/mapper/backup--vg-backup   40G   19M   38G   1% /backup
    

Remove Backup Disk

Danger

After following the instructions, all data on the backup disk will be lost!

Warning

Depending on your system, the name of your backup disk may vary. To find out the name of your backup disk, you can use the lsblk command. In the following step 6, we will use vdb as an example of a backup disk name. If your backup disk has a different name, please replace vdb with the correct name in step 6.

Suppose you have a backup disk prepared with the instructions above, and now you would like to remove it.

1. Find the backup disk you want to remove. In this case, vdb.

   osadmin@ipfabric:~$ lsblk
   NAME                    MAJ:MIN RM  SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINT
   vda                     254:0    0 76.3G  0 disk 
   ├─vda1                  254:1    0  487M  0 part /boot
   ├─vda2                  254:2    0    1K  0 part 
   └─vda5                  254:5    0 75.8G  0 part 
     ├─ipfabric--vg-swap_1 253:1    0   16G  0 lvm  [SWAP]
     └─ipfabric--vg-root   253:2    0 59.8G  0 lvm  /
   vdb                     254:16   0   20G  0 disk             # <-- We want to unconfigure and remove this device.
   └─backup--vg-backup     253:0    0   20G  0 lvm  /backup
   

2. Remove the fstab entry (for example, using sudo vi /etc/fstab):

   /dev/mapper/backup--vg-backup   /backup   ext4   defaults   0   0
   

3. Unmount the LVM logical volume backup:

   sudo umount /backup
   

4. Disable and remove the LVM logical volume backup (you may check the sudo lvdisplay outputs before and after running the commands):

   osadmin@ipfabric:~$ sudo lvchange -an /dev/backup-vg/backup
   
   osadmin@ipfabric:~$ sudo lvremove /dev/backup-vg/backup
     Logical volume "backup" successfully removed
   

5. Disable and remove the LVM volume group backup-vg (you may check the sudo vgdisplay outputs before and after running the commands):

   osadmin@ipfabric:~$ sudo vgchange -an backup-vg
     0 logical volume(s) in volume group "backup-vg" now active
   
   osadmin@ipfabric:~$ sudo vgremove backup-vg
     Volume group "backup-vg" successfully removed
   

6. Remove the LVM physical volume on the disk vdb (you may check the sudo pvdisplay outputs before and after running the command):

   osadmin@ipfabric:~$ sudo pvremove /dev/vdb
     Labels on physical volume "/dev/vdb" successfully wiped.
   

7. Verify with lsblk that the disk vdb has been unconfigured:

   osadmin@ipfabric:~# lsblk
   NAME                    MAJ:MIN RM  SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINT
   vda                     254:0    0 76.3G  0 disk 
   ├─vda1                  254:1    0  487M  0 part /boot
   ├─vda2                  254:2    0    1K  0 part 
   └─vda5                  254:5    0 75.8G  0 part 
     ├─ipfabric--vg-swap_1 253:1    0   16G  0 lvm  [SWAP]
     └─ipfabric--vg-root   253:2    0 59.8G  0 lvm  /
   vdb                     254:16   0   20G  0 disk 
   

8. Shutdown the IP Fabric VM.

9. Remove the disk vdb from the VM at the hypervisor level.

10. Start the VM.

11. Verify with lsblk that the disk vdb is no longer present:

    osadmin@ipfabric:~$ lsblk
    NAME                    MAJ:MIN RM  SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINT
    vda                     254:0    0 76.3G  0 disk 
    ├─vda1                  254:1    0  487M  0 part /boot
    ├─vda2                  254:2    0    1K  0 part 
    └─vda5                  254:5    0 75.8G  0 part 
      ├─ipfabric--vg-swap_1 253:0    0   16G  0 lvm  [SWAP]
      └─ipfabric--vg-root   253:1    0 59.8G  0 lvm  /
    

Deprecated Resize Wizard

The IP Fabric appliance with a version lower than 5.0 used two LVM volumes by default: ipfabric-vg/root for system and data, and backup-vg/backup for /backup.

The system and data volume was extended over two disks (usually the first two). For additional disks, you could choose to extend the root or backup volume. This option was discontinued in favor of one system/data disk with the possibility of adding a backup disk.

The original script is still present in the system, but we discourage its use as it expects only the boot disk to be sda, sdb as extended ipfabic-vg/root, and you could choose how sd[c-z] would be used. The new approach with one disk is more versatile and is not limited to sd[a-z] disks.

Deprecated Script

This script should not be used anymore. You should run it only when you know what you are doing.

Script location: /opt/nimpee/sys-lvm-resize.sh

Increase Disk Space for VMware

Extend Existing Virtual Disk (for System and Data)

1. Open the VMware vSphere web console.
2. Right-click the VM name and select Edit Settings.
3. Select Hard disk and change its size.
4. Click OK.
5. Restart the VM (using CLI or web UI).
6. The disk space is automatically increased if you resized the first disk.

Add New Virtual Disk (as an Additional Backup Disk)

1. Open the VMware vSphere web console.
2. Right-click the VM name and select Edit Settings.
3. Click Add New Device → New Hard disk.
4. Specify the size.
5. Specify the Location:
   1. For system disk expansion, it is recommended to select Store with the virtual machine.
   2. For the backup volume, it is recommended to select a different datastore, ideally on different physical storage.
6. Click OK.
7. Launch the Remote (Web) Console.
8. Reboot (the Send Ctrl+Alt+Delete function can be also used) or power on the IP Fabric VM.
9. Follow Adding additional disk(s) or Example adding disk to backup.

Increase Disk Space for Hyper-V

Extend Existing Virtual Disk (for System and Data)

1. Open Hyper-V Manager.
2. Shutdown the VM. (When started, Hyper-V won’t let you change any hardware settings.)
3. Right-click the VM name and select Settings.
4. Select IDE Controller → Hard Drive → ipfabric-x-x-x-disk1.vhdx.
5. Click Edit – Choose Action – select the option Expand, click Next.
6. Set up the required disk size and click Finish.
7. Start the VM.
8. The disk space is automatically increased if you resized the first disk.

Add New Virtual Disk (as an Additional Backup Disk)

1. Open Hyper-V Manager.
2. Shutdown the VM. (When started, Hyper-V won’t let you change any hardware settings.)
3. Right-click the VM name and select Settings.
4. Select IDE Controller 1 → Hard Drive and click Add.
5. Select Virtual hard disk and click New. In the Choose Disk Format step, select VHDX and click Next.
6. In the Choose Disk Type step, select Dynamically expanding and click Next.
7. Specify the name and location of the disk and click Next.
8. In the Configure Disk step, select Create a new blank virtual hard disk, change the Size to the required value, and click Finish.
9. Apply the new disk in the Settings window and close Settings.
10. Start the VM.
11. Follow Adding additional disk(s) or Example adding disk to backup.