[libvirt-users] LVM storage

[Boylan, Ross]

Hi.  I have some narrow questions and a larger one.

If I make an existinig LVM VG a storage pool, can I use some of the LV's for libvirt and some for the host?  Or does the VG needed to be completely dedicated to virtualization?

Assuming mixed use is possible, is it possible to do an LVM snapshot of an LV in use for a VM?  The snapshot would have to be initiated and used on the host, I assume.

How dynamic is this?  If I create a new LV, is it possible to see that immediately from, e.g., virt-manager and add it as a virtual disk to a running VM?  If I resize the LV, will the VM know so that, e.g., I could do an online resize of the filesystem?

My larger question is what the recommendations are for managing disks or LV's with libvirt and KVM on Linux.  In particular, I'd like to be able to grow storage space as the the VM needs grow, and snapshot (in the LVM sense) some of the block devices behind filesystems for backup.  Although it would be nice to grow space while the VM's are running, it's not a requirement.

Following advice on the KVM list, I have been using raw LV's as virtual disks for the VM's.  The host is currently running with a large, encrypted LVM VG.  It would be convenient to use it for the VM's.