# vgcreate

## NAME



           vgcreate — Create a volume group
    


## SYNOPSIS



           **vgcreate** _position_args_
               [ _option_args_ ]
    


## DESCRIPTION



           vgcreate creates a new VG on block devices. If the devices were
           not previously initialized as PVs with pvcreate(8), vgcreate will
           initialize them, making them PVs. The pvcreate options for
           initializing devices are also available with vgcreate.
    
           When vgcreate uses an existing PV, that PV's existing values for
           metadata size, PE start, etc., are used, even if different values
           are specified in the vgcreate command.  To change these values,
           first use pvremove on the device.
    


## USAGE



           **vgcreate** _VG_new PV_ ...
               [ **-A** |**--autobackup y** |**n**]
               [ **-c** |**--clustered y** |**n**]
               [ **-l** |**--maxlogicalvolumes** _Number_ ]
               [ **-p** |**--maxphysicalvolumes** _Number_ ]
               [ **-M** |**--metadatatype lvm2**]
               [ **-s** |**--physicalextentsize** _Size_[m|UNIT] ]
               [ **-f** |**--force**]
               [ **-Z** |**--zero y** |**n**]
               [    **--addtag** _Tag_ ]
               [    **--alloc contiguous** |**cling** |**cling_by_tags** |**normal** |**anywhere** |
               **inherit**]
               [    **--metadataprofile** _String_ ]
               [    **--labelsector** _Number_ ]
               [    **--metadatasize** _Size_[m|UNIT] ]
               [    **--pvmetadatacopies 0** |**1** |**2**]
               [    **--**[**vg**]**metadatacopies all** |**unmanaged** |_Number_ ]
               [    **--reportformat basic** |**json**]
               [    **--dataalignment** _Size_[k|UNIT] ]
               [    **--dataalignmentoffset** _Size_[k|UNIT] ]
               [    **--shared**]
               [    **--systemid** _String_ ]
               [    **--locktype sanlock** |**dlm** |**none**]
               [    **--setautoactivation y** |**n**]
               [ COMMON_OPTIONS ]
    
           Common options for lvm:
               [ **-d** |**--debug**]
               [ **-h** |**--help**]
               [ **-q** |**--quiet**]
               [ **-t** |**--test**]
               [ **-v** |**--verbose**]
               [ **-y** |**--yes**]
               [    **--commandprofile** _String_ ]
               [    **--config** _String_ ]
               [    **--devices** _PV_ ]
               [    **--devicesfile** _String_ ]
               [    **--driverloaded y** |**n**]
               [    **--journal** _String_ ]
               [    **--lockopt** _String_ ]
               [    **--longhelp**]
               [    **--nohints**]
               [    **--nolocking**]
               [    **--profile** _String_ ]
               [    **--version**]
    


## OPTIONS



    
           **--addtag** _Tag_
                  Adds  a  tag to a PV, VG or LV. This option can be repeated
                  to add multiple tags at once. See  lvm(8)  for  information
                  about tags.
    
           **--alloc contiguous** |**cling** |**cling_by_tags** |**normal** |**anywhere** |**inherit**
                  Determines  the  allocation  policy when a command needs to
                  allocate Physical Extents (PEs) from the VG. Each VG and LV
                  has  an  allocation  policy  which  can  be  changed   with
                  vgchange/lvchange, or overridden on the command line.  **nor‐**
                  **mal** applies common sense rules such as not placing parallel
                  stripes  on  the same PV.  **inherit** applies the VG policy to
                  an LV.  **contiguous** requires new PEs be placed  adjacent  to
                  existing  PEs.   **cling** places new PEs on the same PV as ex‐
                  isting PEs in the same stripe of the LV.  If there are suf‐
                  ficient PEs for an allocation,  but  normal  does  not  use
                  them,  **anywhere** will  use  them even if it reduces perfor‐
                  mance, e.g. by placing two stripes on the same PV.  Option‐
                  al positional PV args on the command line can also be  used
                  to  limit  which  PVs  the command will use for allocation.
                  See lvm(8) for more information about allocation.
    
           **-A** |**--autobackup y** |**n**
                  Specifies if metadata should be backed up automatically af‐
                  ter a change.   Enabling  this  is  strongly  advised!  See
                  vgcfgbackup(8) for more information.
    
           **-c** |**--clustered y** |**n**
                  This option was specific to clvm and is now replaced by the
                  --shared option with lvmlockd(8).
    
           **--commandprofile** _String_
                  The  command profile to use for command configuration.  See
                  lvm.conf(5) for more information about profiles.
    
           **--config** _String_
                  Config settings for the command. These override lvm.conf(5)
                  settings.   The  String  arg  uses  the  same   format   as
                  lvm.conf(5),   or   may   use  section/field  syntax.   See
                  lvm.conf(5) for more information about config.
    
           **--dataalignment** _Size_[k|UNIT]
                  Align the start of a PV data area with a multiple  of  this
                  number.   To  see the location of the first Physical Extent
                  (PE) of an existing PV, use pvs -o +pe_start. In  addition,
                  it  may be shifted by an alignment offset, see --dataalign‐
                  mentoffset.  Also specify an appropriate PE size when  cre‐
                  ating a VG.
    
           **--dataalignmentoffset** _Size_[k|UNIT]
                  Shift the start of the PV data area by this additional off‐
                  set.
    
           **-d** |**--debug**...
                  Set  debug  level. Repeat from 1 to 6 times to increase the
                  detail of messages sent to the log file and/or  syslog  (if
                  configured).
    
           **--devices** _PV_
                  Devices  that  the  command can use. This option can be re‐
                  peated or accepts a comma separated list of  devices.  This
                  overrides the devices file.
    
           **--devicesfile** _String_
                  A  file listing devices that LVM should use.  The file must
                  exist  in  _/etc/lvm/devices/_  and  is  managed   with   the
                  lvmdevices(8)  command.  This overrides the lvm.conf(5) **de‐**
                  **vices/devicesfile** and **devices/use_devicesfile** settings.
    
           **--driverloaded y** |**n**
                  If set to no, the command will not attempt to  use  device-
                  mapper.  For testing and debugging.
    
           **-f** |**--force**...
                  Override  various  checks,  confirmations  and protections.
                  Use with extreme caution.
    
           **-h** |**--help**
                  Display help text.
    
           **--journal** _String_
                  Record information in the systemd journal.   This  informa‐
                  tion  is in addition to information enabled by the lvm.conf
                  log/journal setting.  command: record information about the
                  command.  output: record the default command  output.   de‐
                  bug: record full command debugging.
    
           **--labelsector** _Number_
                  By  default  the  PV is labelled with an LVM2 identifier in
                  its second sector (sector 1). This lets you use a different
                  sector near the start of the disk (between 0 and  3  inclu‐
                  sive  -  see  LABEL_SCAN_SECTORS  in  the source). Use with
                  care.
    
           **--lockopt** _String_
                  Used to pass options for special cases  to  lvmlockd.   See
                  lvmlockd(8) for more information.
    
           **--locktype sanlock** |**dlm** |**none**
                  Specify  the  VG  lock  type  directly  in  place  of using
                  --shared.  See lvmlockd(8) for more information.
    
           **--longhelp**
                  Display long help text.
    
           **-l** |**--maxlogicalvolumes** _Number_
                  Sets the maximum number of LVs allowed in a VG.
    
           **-p** |**--maxphysicalvolumes** _Number_
                  Sets the maximum number of PVs that can belong to  the  VG.
                  The  value  0 removes any limitation.  For large numbers of
                  PVs, also see options --pvmetadatacopies, and --vgmetadata‐
                  copies for improving performance.
    
           **--metadataprofile** _String_
                  The metadata profile to use for command configuration.  See
                  lvm.conf(5) for more information about profiles.
    
           **--metadatasize** _Size_[m|UNIT]
                  The approximate amount of space used for each  VG  metadata
                  area.  The size may be rounded.
    
           **-M** |**--metadatatype lvm2**
                  Specifies  the  type  of on-disk metadata to use.  **lvm2**(or
                  just **2**) is the current, standard format.  **lvm1**(or just  **1**)
                  is no longer used.
    
           **--nohints**
                  Do not use the hints file to locate devices for PVs. A com‐
                  mand  may  read more devices to find PVs when hints are not
                  used. The command will still perform standard hint file in‐
                  validation where appropriate.
    
           **--nolocking**
                  Disable locking.
    
           **-s** |**--physicalextentsize** _Size_[m|UNIT]
                  Sets the physical extent size of PVs in the VG.  The  value
                  must be either a power of 2 of at least 1 sector (where the
                  sector size is the largest sector size of the PVs currently
                  used  in  the VG), or at least 128KiB.  Once this value has
                  been set, it is difficult to change without recreating  the
                  VG, unless no extents need moving.
    
           **--profile** _String_
                  An alias for --commandprofile or --metadataprofile, depend‐
                  ing on the command.
    
           **--pvmetadatacopies 0** |**1** |**2**
                  The number of metadata areas to set aside on a PV for stor‐
                  ing  VG  metadata.   When 2, one copy of the VG metadata is
                  stored at the front of the PV and a second copy  is  stored
                  at  the end.  When 1, one copy of the VG metadata is stored
                  at the front of the PV.  When 0, no copies of the VG  meta‐
                  data are stored on the given PV.  This may be useful in VGs
                  containing many PVs (this places limitations on the ability
                  to use vgsplit later.)
    
           **-q** |**--quiet**...
                  Suppress  output  and  log  messages. Overrides --debug and
                  --verbose.  Repeat once to also suppress any  prompts  with
                  answer 'no'.
    
           **--reportformat basic** |**json**
                  Overrides  current  output  format for reports which is de‐
                  fined  globally  by  the  report/output_format  setting  in
                  lvm.conf(5).  **basic** is the original format with columns and
                  rows.   If  there is more than one report per command, each
                  report is prefixed with the report name for identification.
                  **json** produces  report   output   in   JSON   format.   See
                  lvmreport(7) for more information.
    
           **--setautoactivation y** |**n**
                  Set the autoactivation property on a VG or LV.  Display the
                  property with vgs or lvs "-o autoactivation".  When the au‐
                  toactivation property is disabled, the VG or LV will not be
                  activated  by  a  command  doing  autoactivation (vgchange,
                  lvchange, or pvscan using -aay.)  If autoactivation is dis‐
                  abled on a VG, no LVs will be autoactivated in that VG, and
                  the LV autoactivation property has no effect.  If autoacti‐
                  vation is enabled on a VG, autoactivation can  be  disabled
                  for individual LVs.
    
           **--shared**
                  Create  a  shared VG using lvmlockd if LVM is compiled with
                  lockd support.  lvmlockd will select lock type  sanlock  or
                  dlm depending on which lock manager is running. This allows
                  multiple  hosts  to  share a VG on shared devices. lvmlockd
                  and a lock manager must be  configured  and  running.   See
                  lvmlockd(8) for more information about shared VGs.
    
           **--systemid** _String_
                  Specifies  the  system ID that will be given to the new VG,
                  overriding the system ID of the host running the command. A
                  VG is normally created without this option, in  which  case
                  the  new VG is given the system ID of the host creating it.
                  Using this option requires caution because the system ID of
                  the new VG may not match the system ID of the host  running
                  the  command, leaving the VG inaccessible to the host.  See
                  lvmsystemid(7) for more information.
    
           **-t** |**--test**
                  Run in test mode. Commands will not update metadata.   This
                  is implemented by disabling all metadata writing but never‐
                  theless returning success to the calling function. This may
                  lead to unusual error messages in multi-stage operations if
                  a  tool  relies  on  reading  back metadata it believes has
                  changed but hasn't.
    
           **-v** |**--verbose**...
                  Set verbose level. Repeat from 1 to 4 times to increase the
                  detail of messages sent to stdout and stderr.
    
           **--version**
                  Display version information.
    
           **--**[**vg**]**metadatacopies all** |**unmanaged** |_Number_
                  Number of copies of the VG  metadata  that  are  kept.   VG
                  metadata  is  kept  in  VG metadata areas on PVs in the VG,
                  i.e. reserved space at the start and/or  end  of  the  PVs.
                  Keeping  a  copy  of the VG metadata on every PV can reduce
                  performance in VGs containing a large number of PVs.   When
                  this  number is set to a non-zero value, LVM will automati‐
                  cally choose PVs on which  to  store  metadata,  using  the
                  metadataignore  flags  on PVs to achieve the specified num‐
                  ber.  The number can also be replaced with  special  string
                  values:  **unmanaged** causes  LVM to not automatically manage
                  the PV metadataignore flags.  **all** causes LVM to first clear
                  the metadataignore flags on all PVs, and then to become un‐
                  managed.
    
           **-y** |**--yes**
                  Do not prompt for confirmation interactively but always as‐
                  sume the answer yes. Use with extreme caution.  (For  auto‐
                  matic no, see -qq.)
    
           **-Z** |**--zero y** |**n**
                  Controls  if the first 4 sectors (2048 bytes) of the device
                  are wiped.  The default is to wipe these sectors unless ei‐
                  ther or both of --restorefile or --uuid are specified.
    


## VARIABLES



           _VG_     Volume Group name.  See lvm(8) for valid names.
    
           _PV_     Physical Volume name, a device path under /dev.  For com‐
                  mands managing physical extents, a PV positional arg gener‐
                  ally accepts a suffix indicating a range (or multiple
                  ranges) of physical extents (PEs). When the first PE is
                  omitted, it defaults to the start of the device, and when
                  the last PE is omitted it defaults to end.  Start and end
                  range (inclusive): _PV_[**:**_PE_**-**_PE_]...  Start and length range
                  (counting from 0): _PV_[**:**_PE_**+**_PE_]...
    
           _String_ See the option description for information about the string
                  content.
    
           _Size_[UNIT]
                  Size is an input number that accepts an optional unit.  In‐
                  put units are always treated as base two values, regardless
                  of capitalization, e.g. 'k' and 'K' both refer to 1024.
                  The default input unit is specified by letter, followed by
                  |UNIT.  UNIT represents other possible input units: **b** |**B** is
                  bytes, **s** |**S** is sectors of 512 bytes, **k** |**K** is KiB, **m** |**M** is MiB,
                  **g** |**G** is GiB, **t** |**T** is TiB, **p** |**P** is PiB, **e** |**E** is EiB.  (This
                  should not be confused with the output control --units,
                  where capital letters mean multiple of 1000.)
    


## ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES



           See lvm(8) for information about environment variables used by
           lvm.  For example, LVM_VG_NAME can generally be substituted for a
           required VG parameter.
    


## EXAMPLES



           Create a VG with two PVs, using the default physical extent size.
           **vgcreate myvg /dev/sdk1 /dev/sdl1**
    


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