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25.17. Resizing an Online Logical Unit

In most cases, fully resizing an online logical unit involves two things: resizing the logical unit itself and reflecting the size change in the corresponding multipath device (if multipathing is enabled on the system).
To resize the online logical unit, start by modifying the logical unit size through the array management interface of your storage device. This procedure differs with each array; as such, consult your storage array vendor documentation for more information on this.

Note

In order to resize an online file system, the file system must not reside on a partitioned device.

25.17.1. Resizing Fibre Channel Logical Units

After modifying the online logical unit size, re-scan the logical unit to ensure that the system detects the updated size. To do this for Fibre Channel logical units, use the following command:
$ echo 1 > /sys/block/sdX/device/rescan

Important

To re-scan Fibre Channel logical units on a system that uses multipathing, execute the aforementioned command for each sd device (i.e. sd1, sd2, and so on) that represents a path for the multipathed logical unit. To determine which devices are paths for a multipath logical unit, use multipath -ll; then, find the entry that matches the logical unit being resized. It is advisable that you refer to the WWID of each entry to make it easier to find which one matches the logical unit being resized.

25.17.2. Resizing an iSCSI Logical Unit

After modifying the online logical unit size, re-scan the logical unit to ensure that the system detects the updated size. To do this for iSCSI devices, use the following command:
# iscsiadm -m node --targetname target_name -R
[5]
Replace target_name with the name of the target where the device is located.

Note

You can also re-scan iSCSI logical units using the following command:
# iscsiadm -m node -R -I interface
Replace interface with the corresponding interface name of the resized logical unit (for example, iface0). This command performs two operations:
  • It scans for new devices in the same way that the command echo "- - -" > /sys/class/scsi_host/host/scan does (refer to Section 25.15, “Scanning iSCSI Interconnects”).
  • It re-scans for new/modified logical units the same way that the command echo 1 > /sys/block/sdX/device/rescan does. Note that this command is the same one used for re-scanning Fibre Channel logical units.

25.17.3. Updating the Size of Your Multipath Device

If multipathing is enabled on your system, you will also need to reflect the change in logical unit size to the logical unit's corresponding multipath device (after resizing the logical unit). This can be done through multipathd. To do so, first ensure that multipathd is running using service multipathd status. Once you've verified that multipathd is operational, run the following command:
# multipathd -k"resize map multipath_device"
The multipath_device variable is the corresponding multipath entry of your device in /dev/mapper. Depending on how multipathing is set up on your system, multipath_device can be either of two formats:
  • mpathX, where X is the corresponding entry of your device (for example, mpath0)
  • a WWID; for example, 3600508b400105e210000900000490000
To determine which multipath entry corresponds to your resized logical unit, run multipath -ll. This displays a list of all existing multipath entries in the system, along with the major and minor numbers of their corresponding devices.

Important

Do not use multipathd -k"resize map multipath_device" if there are any commands queued to multipath_device. That is, do not use this command when the no_path_retry parameter (in /etc/multipath.conf) is set to "queue", and there are no active paths to the device.
For more information about multipathing, refer to the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 DM Multipath guide.

25.17.4. Changing the Read/Write State of an Online Logical Unit

Certain storage devices provide the user with the ability to change the state of the device from Read/Write (R/W) to Read-Only (RO), and from RO to R/W. This is typically done through a management interface on the storage device. The operating system will not automatically update its view of the state of the device when a change is made. Follow the procedures described in this chapter to make the operating system aware of the change.
Run the following command, replacing XYZ with the desired device designator, to determine the operating system's current view of the R/W state of a device:
# blockdev --getro /dev/sdXYZ
The following command is also available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7:
# cat /sys/block/sdXYZ/ro 1 = read-only 0 = read-write
When using multipath, refer to the ro or rw field in the second line of output from the multipath -ll command. For example:
36001438005deb4710000500000640000 dm-8 GZ,GZ500
[size=20G][features=0][hwhandler=0][ro]
\_ round-robin 0 [prio=200][active]
 \_ 6:0:4:1  sdax 67:16  [active][ready]
 \_ 6:0:5:1  sday 67:32  [active][ready]
\_ round-robin 0 [prio=40][enabled]
 \_ 6:0:6:1  sdaz 67:48  [active][ready]
 \_ 6:0:7:1  sdba 67:64  [active][ready]
To change the R/W state, use the following procedure:

Procedure 25.14. Change the R/W State

  1. To move the device from RO to R/W, see step 2.
    To move the device from R/W to RO, ensure no further writes will be issued. Do this by stopping the application, or through the use of an appropriate, application-specific action.
    Ensure that all outstanding write I/Os are complete with the following command:
    # blockdev --flushbufs /dev/device
    Replace device with the desired designator; for a device mapper multipath, this is the entry for your device in dev/mapper. For example, /dev/mapper/mpath3.
  2. Use the management interface of the storage device to change the state of the logical unit from R/W to RO, or from RO to R/W. The procedure for this differs with each array. Consult applicable storage array vendor documentation for more information.
  3. Perform a re-scan of the device to update the operating system's view of the R/W state of the device. If using a device mapper multipath, perform this re-scan for each path to the device before issuing the command telling multipath to reload its device maps.
    This process is explained in further detail in Section 25.17.4.1, “Rescanning Logical Units”.

25.17.4.1. Rescanning Logical Units

After modifying the online logical unit Read/Write state, as described in Section 25.17.4, “Changing the Read/Write State of an Online Logical Unit”, re-scan the logical unit to ensure the system detects the updated state with the following command:
# echo 1 > /sys/block/sdX/device/rescan
To re-scan logical units on a system that uses multipathing, execute the above command for each sd device that represents a path for the multipathed logical unit. For example, run the command on sd1, sd2 and all other sd devices. To determine which devices are paths for a multipath unit, use multipath -11, then find the entry that matches the logical unit to be changed.

Example 25.15. Use of the multipath -11 Command

For example, the multipath -11 above shows the path for the LUN with WWID 36001438005deb4710000500000640000. In this case, enter:
# echo 1 > /sys/block/sdax/device/rescan
# echo 1 > /sys/block/sday/device/rescan
# echo 1 > /sys/block/sdaz/device/rescan
# echo 1 > /sys/block/sdba/device/rescan

25.17.4.2. Updating the R/W State of a Multipath Device

If multipathing is enabled, after rescanning the logical unit, the change in its state will need to be reflected in the logical unit's corresponding multipath drive. Do this by reloading the multipath device maps with the following command:
# multipath -r
The multipath -11 command can then be used to confirm the change.

25.17.4.3. Documentation

Further information can be found in the Red Hat Knowledgebase. To access this, navigate to https://www.redhat.com/wapps/sso/login.html?redirect=https://access.redhat.com/knowledge/ and log in. Then access the article at https://access.redhat.com/kb/docs/DOC-32850.