LVM Naming Scheme

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Everyone has their preferred scheme, this is mine.

Scheme

Volume Groups

<function>_<hostname>_vg<number>

Function - Short 2-4 letter word or acronym which is the purpose of this Volume Group. boot, data, db, vdo, etc.

Hostname - The systems short hostname, that which is returned by hostname -s | tr -d '-'. This is a crucial portion of the Volume Group name as it assists in identifying VGs if a disk is ever moved to a different host. Without this a volume named boot_vg1 which is moved to a different system may cause issues during boot.

vg# - Identifies this is a Volume Group, and which instance it is. The vg assists in easily identifying devices in /dev/mapper/, while the number helps avoid VGs being named things like new when migrating VGs.

Note: Avoid using - in Volume Group names as it will create confusing names within /dev/mapper/.

Example Volume Group Names

VG: - boot_attemptare_vg1 - data_attemptare_vg1 - demo_attemptare_vg1

VG, with LV naming, in /dev/mapper: - /dev/mapper/boot_attemptare_vg1-root_lv1 - /dev/mapper/boot_attemptare_vg1-var_log_lv1

Logical Volumes

<function><_subfunction>_lv<number>

Function - Short 2-4 letter word or acronym which is the purpose of this Logical Volume. This can also be the mountpoint name. boot, var, home, temp, etc.

Subfunction - Optional 2-4 letter word to further identify this volumes purpose. When using thin LVs this should be thin, making the start of the LV name boot_thin, or if this is a subdirectory mountpoint it could be var_log, etc.

lv# - Identifies this is a Logical Volume, and which instance it is. The lv assists in easily identifying devices in /dev/mapper/, while the number helps avoid LVs being named things like new when migrating LVs.

Example Logical Volume Names

LV: - boot_attemptare_thin_lv1 - home_lv1 - root_lv1 - var_log_lv1

VG, with LV naming, in /dev/mapper: - /dev/mapper/boot_attemptare_vg1-home_lv1 - /dev/mapper/boot_attemptare_vg1-root_lv1 - /dev/mapper/boot_attemptare_vg1-var_log_lv1