LVM: Logical Volume Manager. What is its role in the AIX operating System? How does it perform this function? Its role is to control disk resources by mapping data between a more simple and flexible logical view of storage space and the actual physical disks.

How it performs this function is a topic vast enough to fill two books. The first volume, AIX Logical Volume Manager from A to Z: Introduction and Concepts, SG24-5432, describes the basic components and defines physical volumes, volume groups, and logical volumes.

This second volume focuses on the practical aspects of the Logical Volume Manager and describes, in detail, the commands, including some undocumented commands and options. The last section of this volume is on troubleshooting and provides hints on how to handle certain problems, how to investigate them, and what commands are needed to run and solve these problems. Most importantly, this volume discusses what commands not to run in order to avoid ruining your entire system.

This book is aimed at every IT specialist who wants to know more about the core element of AIX, which is the Logical Volume Manager.

Chapter 1. LVM commands

Chapter 2. Problem determination and recovery

Chapter 3. Replacing a drive in a mirrored configuration