[linux-lvm] "System ID" entry missing in metadata (LVM2) ?!

[Andreas Octav]

Sorry, i did not express myself correct: I do not want to share the 
logical volumes for the use of a Cluster Filesystem (OCFS etc.). I just 
want to be able to switch the volume groups from one host to another, so 
only one host at a time has access to a specific volume group. But if I 
do an vgimport on a host, every host that sees the VG can use it...
I am going to install several Oracle/SAP instances in different Volume 
Groups and I want to be sure that only one host can access a specific VG 
at a time.
The Veritas Volume Manager for example automatically sets a host id of 
the system that imports a VG (DiskGroup in Veritas terms) during an 
import, so any other system has to "force" an import, resulting in a 
loss of access on the former owner.

Btw: In LVM1 the system ID is used:
..snip..

vgdisplay  VG Name               vg
vgdisplay  System ID             PV_IMPKnoppix1077635774
vgdisplay  Format                lvm1
..snap..

Is this obsolete in LVM2?


Jonathan E Brassow schrieb:
> I think it works in the reverse...
>
> vgexport adds a generic tag to the volume groups metadata, basically 
> saying "ignore me".  Doing a 'vgs' on an exported volume group shows 
> the 'x' attribute; and trying to activate that volume group results in 
> "Volume group "<vgname>" is exported".  So, after performing this 
> operation, no-one can use the volume group (until vgimport is run).
>
> vgimport removes the generic tag, allowing the VG to be activated and 
> used again.  One this command is run, anyone that can see the volume 
> group can use/alter the volume group.
>
> Think of it as "import/export from the set of usable volume groups".
>
> If you want to share the VGs, you have two options:
> 1) Use clustered LVM2.  This is really the best option.
> 2) Set up your logical volumes on one machine (you should only use 
> linear or stripe in this scenario - never mirror or snapshot).  Never 
> change the logical volume layout after creating it unless the other 
> hosts have deactivated the volume groups being  shared.  Run 'vgchange 
> -ay' on all machines that have access to the devices.
>
> Clustered LVM2 makes sure that all changes to a shared volume group 
> are serialized to prevent corruption and makes sure to 
> activate/deactivate volumes on a cluster-wide basis.   If you are 
> never going to change anything (no risk of corruption or 
> inconsistencies), you might be able to get away with using LVM2 as it is.
>
> If you need more specialized access, you can use tags.
>
> Note, if you are sharing a logical volume, the application (or file 
> system) sharing that volume must be cluster-aware.
>
>  brassow
>
> On Oct 18, 2006, at 11:02 AM, Andreas Octav wrote:
>
>> Hi,
>>
>> thanks for your response Jonathan, but I want to share the VGs 
>> between the hosts. So I hoped that there is something like this 
>> functionality:
>> -> "vgimport VG" writes some kind of hostid (system_id?) in the metadata
>> -> other hosts can´t access the VG
>> -> "vgdeport VG" removes the ID, so anyone else can import the VG
>>
>> My C knowledge isn´t very good, but the sources seem to include a 
>> functionality like the one mentioned above.
>>
>>
>> Kind regards,
>> Andreas
>>
>> Jonathan E Brassow schrieb:
>>>
>>>>> Hi,
>>>>>
>>>>> i´m new to LVM2 and wondering if it´s possible to restrict access 
>>>>> to a
>>>>> Volume Group to a single server (e.g. like under vxvm (vxdg
>>>>> import/deport)).
>>>>> If I import a VG by using vgimport it is still possible to access the
>>>>> VG
>>>>> on another node in a shared SAN environment. Can I prevent this
>>>>> somehow?
>>>>>
>>>>> I´m using lvm2-2.01.14-3.6 on servers running SuSE SLES9 SP3 x86_64.
>>>>>
>>>
>>> You can use tags to achieve this, or you can specify specific volume 
>>> groups and logical volumes in lvm.conf under "volume_list".
>>>
>>>  brassow
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
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>>> read the LVM HOW-TO at http://tldp.org/HOWTO/LVM-HOWTO/
>>>
>>
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>>
>
>
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