Online ext3 grow / resize with lvm

Tags: ext3, extend, grow, linux, lvm, online, resize, resize2fs, storage, sysadmin

If you have been a Linux sysadmin for a long time you probably consider ext3 a fairly inflexible file system. Fortunately, enhancements incorporated in the not so distant past have raised the bar in terms of functionality. It is possible now to perform online resizing with an ext3 formatted file system and if your system is using LVM online grow is as simple as two commands. Here is how to perform an online grow of a file system that is backed by a LVM volume.

Growing the LVM volume

[root@host ~]# df -h | grep mysql
/dev/mapper/vg0-vol_mysql
                      9.9G  7.5G  1.9G  80% /var/lib/mysql
 
[root@host ~]# lvextend -L +1G /dev/vg0/vol_mysql
  Extending logical volume vol_mysql to 11.00 GB
  Logical volume vol_mysql successfully resized

Online resizing the ext3 file system

[root@host ~]# resize2fs /dev/vg0/vol_mysql 
resize2fs 1.39 (29-May-2006)
Filesystem at /dev/vg0/vol_mysql is mounted on /var/lib/mysql; on-line resizing required
Performing an on-line resize of /dev/vg0/vol_mysql to 2883584 (4k) blocks.
The filesystem on /dev/vg0/vol_mysql is now 2883584 blocks long.
 
[root@host ~]# df -h | grep mysql
/dev/mapper/vg0-vol_mysql
                       11G  7.5G  2.9G  73% /var/lib/mysql

As you can see we increased the file system from 10G to 11G which took us from 80% utilization down to a more comfortable 73%.