[linux-lvm] Newbie VFS-lock question

[Greg Freemyer]

Hello all,

I'm new to LVM, but I want to be able to use the snapshot feature with a XFS filesystem.

I tried 

  xfs_freeze -f 
  lvcreate --snapshot
  xfs_freeze -u

but it was not a reliable solution, and lvcreate would often lock up until I executed a xfs_freeze -u on another ssh session.

Adrian Head recommended I use the VFS-lock patch instead of xfs_freeze to accomplish my goal of reliable snapshots.

Since I'm new to LVM, I'm not sure what I need to do.  

I'm running SuSE 8.0 with there 2.4.18-231 kernel.  This is based on the 2.4.19pre1aa1 kernel with some extra patches.  They also have a test kernel based on 2.4.19aa1.

Both have some level of LVM in them, but I don't know which specific version.

Would either of these have the VFS-lock patch already included, or do I need to get the SRPM for one of the above, get the VFS-lock patch from somewhere and apply the patch?

If so, where do I get the patch?

Also, once I get an appropriate kernel, do I need to do anything to invoke this feature prior to creating a snapshot, or is it automatic?


Greg Freemyer
Internet Engineer
Deployment and Integration Specialist
Compaq ASE - Tru64 v4, v5
Compaq Master ASE - SAN Architect
The Norcross Group
www.NorcrossGroup.com