vgchange

Additional Notes

vgchange changes the attributes of LVM volume groups (VGs), including activating or deactivating all logical volumes in a volume group, changing the allocation policy, and enabling or disabling cluster mode. It is part of the LVM2 suite for managing logical volumes.

The most common use is vgchange -ay to activate all volume groups (making their logical volumes available), or vgchange -an to deactivate them. This is typically run automatically at boot by LVM init scripts or systemd units.

Syntax

vgchange [options] [volume_group...]

Parameters

• options: Flags that change how vgchange behaves.
• target: Optional file, device, interface, user, service, or command target when the command supports one.

Common Options

• -a y, --activate y: Activate the volume group.
• -a n, --activate n: Deactivate the volume group.
• -p, --permission rw|r: Set read-write or read-only permission.
• -x, --resizeable y|n: Allow or prevent resizing of the volume group.
• -l, --logicalvolume: Maximum number of logical volumes allowed.
• -P, --partial: Allow activation of volume groups with missing PVs.
• -A, --autobackup y|n: Control metadata backup.
• --alloc cling|contiguous|anywhere|normal: Set allocation policy.
• --poll y|n: Control background processing of pvmove/lvconvert.

Examples

vgchange -ay

Activate all volume groups.

vgchange -an vg_data

Deactivate the vg_data volume group.

vgchange -p rw vg_data

Set vg_data to read-write.

vgchange -x n vg_data

Prevent resizing of vg_data.

Practical Notes

• Deactivating a volume group requires that no logical volumes in that VG are in use.
• Use lsof or fuser to find processes using a logical volume before deactivation.
• vgchange -an is useful before removing a volume group.
• For individual logical volume activation, use lvchange instead.
• Changes made with vgchange are immediate and persistent.