Chapter 10. Managing local storage using RHEL System Roles

To manage LVM and local file systems (FS) using Ansible, you can use the storage role, which is one of the RHEL System Roles available in RHEL 8.

Using the storage role enables you to automate administration of file systems on disks and logical volumes on multiple machines and across all versions of RHEL starting with RHEL 7.7.

For more information on RHEL System Roles and how to apply them, see Introduction to RHEL System Roles.

10.1. Introduction to the storage role

The storage role can manage:

  • File systems on disks which have not been partitioned
  • Complete LVM volume groups including their logical volumes and file systems

With the storage role you can perform the following tasks:

  • Create a file system
  • Remove a file system
  • Mount a file system
  • Unmount a file system
  • Create LVM volume groups
  • Remove LVM volume groups
  • Create logical volumes
  • Remove logical volumes
  • Create RAID volumes
  • Remove RAID volumes
  • Create LVM pools with RAID
  • Remove LVM pools with RAID

10.2. Parameters that identify a storage device in the storage system role

Your storage role configuration affects only the file systems, volumes, and pools that you list in the following variables.

storage_volumes

List of file systems on all unpartitioned disks to be managed.

Partitions are currently unsupported.

storage_pools

List of pools to be managed.

Currently the only supported pool type is LVM. With LVM, pools represent volume groups (VGs). Under each pool there is a list of volumes to be managed by the role. With LVM, each volume corresponds to a logical volume (LV) with a file system.

10.3. Example Ansible playbook to create an XFS file system on a block device

This section provides an example Ansible playbook. This playbook applies the storage role to create an XFS file system on a block device using the default parameters.

Warning

The storage role can create a file system only on an unpartitioned, whole disk or a logical volume (LV). It cannot create the file system on a partition.

Example 10.1. A playbook that creates XFS on /dev/sdb

---
- hosts: all
  vars:
    storage_volumes:
      - name: barefs
        type: disk
        disks:
          - sdb
        fs_type: xfs
  roles:
    - rhel-system-roles.storage
  • The volume name (barefs in the example) is currently arbitrary. The storage role identifies the volume by the disk device listed under the disks: attribute.
  • You can omit the fs_type: xfs line because XFS is the default file system in RHEL 8.

  • To create the file system on an LV, provide the LVM setup under the disks: attribute, including the enclosing volume group. For details, see Example Ansible playbook to manage logical volumes.

    Do not provide the path to the LV device.

Additional resources

  • For details about the parameters used in the storage system role, see the /usr/share/ansible/roles/rhel-system-roles.storage/README.md file.

10.4. Example Ansible playbook to persistently mount a file system

This section provides an example Ansible playbook. This playbook applies the storage role to immediately and persistently mount an XFS file system.

Example 10.2. A playbook that mounts a file system on /dev/sdb to /mnt/data

---
- hosts: all
  vars:
    storage_volumes:
      - name: barefs
        type: disk
        disks:
          - sdb
        fs_type: xfs
        mount_point: /mnt/data
  roles:
    - rhel-system-roles.storage
  • This playbook adds the file system to the /etc/fstab file, and mounts the file system immediately.
  • If the file system on the /dev/sdb device or the mount point directory do not exist, the playbook creates them.

Additional resources

  • For details about the parameters used in the storage system role, see the /usr/share/ansible/roles/rhel-system-roles.storage/README.md file.

10.5. Example Ansible playbook to manage logical volumes

This section provides an example Ansible playbook. This playbook applies the storage role to create an LVM logical volume in a volume group.

Example 10.3. A playbook that creates a mylv logical volume in the myvg volume group

- hosts: all
  vars:
    storage_pools:
      - name: myvg
        disks:
          - sda
          - sdb
          - sdc
        volumes:
          - name: mylv
            size: 2G
            fs_type: ext4
            mount_point: /mnt
  roles:
    - rhel-system-roles.storage

  • The myvg volume group consists of the following disks:

    • /dev/sda
    • /dev/sdb
    • /dev/sdc
  • If the myvg volume group already exists, the playbook adds the logical volume to the volume group.
  • If the myvg volume group does not exist, the playbook creates it.
  • The playbook creates an Ext4 file system on the mylv logical volume, and persistently mounts the file system at /mnt.

Additional resources

  • For details about the parameters used in the storage system role, see the /usr/share/ansible/roles/rhel-system-roles.storage/README.md file.

10.6. Example Ansible playbook to enable online block discard

This section provides an example Ansible playbook. This playbook applies the storage role to mount an XFS file system with online block discard enabled.

Example 10.4. A playbook that enables online block discard on /mnt/data/

---
- hosts: all
  vars:
    storage_volumes:
      - name: barefs
        type: disk
        disks:
          - sdb
        fs_type: xfs
        mount_point: /mnt/data
        mount_options: discard
  roles:
    - rhel-system-roles.storage

Additional resources

  • For details about the parameters used in the storage system role, see the /usr/share/ansible/roles/rhel-system-roles.storage/README.md file.

10.7. Example Ansible playbook to create and mount an Ext4 file system

This section provides an example Ansible playbook. This playbook applies the storage role to create and mount an Ext4 file system.

Example 10.5. A playbook that creates Ext4 on /dev/sdb and mounts it at /mnt/data

---
- hosts: all
  vars:
    storage_volumes:
      - name: barefs
        type: disk
        disks:
          - sdb
        fs_type: ext4
        fs_label: label-name
        mount_point: /mnt/data
  roles:
    - rhel-system-roles.storage
  • The playbook creates the file system on the /dev/sdb disk.
  • The playbook persistently mounts the file system at the /mnt/data directory.
  • The label of the file system is label-name.

Additional resources

  • For details about the parameters used in the storage system role, see the /usr/share/ansible/roles/rhel-system-roles.storage/README.md file.

10.8. Example Ansible playbook to create and mount an ext3 file system

This section provides an example Ansible playbook. This playbook applies the storage role to create and mount an Ext3 file system.

Example 10.6. A playbook that creates Ext3 on /dev/sdb and mounts it at /mnt/data

---
- hosts: all
  vars:
    storage_volumes:
      - name: barefs
        type: disk
        disks:
          - sdb
        fs_type: ext3
        fs_label: label-name
        mount_point: /mnt/data
  roles:
    - rhel-system-roles.storage
  • The playbook creates the file system on the /dev/sdb disk.
  • The playbook persistently mounts the file system at the /mnt/data directory.
  • The label of the file system is label-name.

Additional resources

  • For details about the parameters used in the storage system role, see the /usr/share/ansible/roles/rhel-system-roles.storage/README.md file.

10.9. Example Ansible playbook to create a swap partition using the storage RHEL System Role

This section provides an example Ansible playbook. This playbook applies the storage role to create a swap partition, if it does not exist, or to modify the swap partition, if it already exist, on a block device using the default parameters.

Example 10.7. A playbook that creates or modify an existing XFS on /dev/sdb

---
- name: Create a disk device with swap
- hosts: all
  vars:
    storage_volumes:
      - name: swap_fs
        type: disk
        disks:
          - /dev/sdb
	size: 15 GiB
        fs_type: swap
  roles:
    - rhel-system-roles.storage
  • The volume name (swap_fs in the example) is currently arbitrary. The storage role identifies the volume by the disk device listed under the disks: attribute.

Additional resources

  • For details about the parameters used in the storage system role, see the /usr/share/ansible/roles/rhel-system-roles.storage/README.md file.

10.10. Configuring a RAID volume using the storage system role

With the storage System Role, you can configure a RAID volume on RHEL using Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform. In this section you will learn how to set up an Ansible playbook with the available parameters to configure a RAID volume to suit your requirements.

Prerequisites

  • You have Red Hat Ansible Engine installed on the system from which you want to run the playbook.

    Note

    You do not have to have Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform installed on the systems on which you want to deploy the storage solution.

  • You have the rhel-system-roles package installed on the system from which you want to run the playbook.
  • You have an inventory file detailing the systems on which you want to deploy a RAID volume using the storage System Role.

Procedure

  1. Create a new playbook.yml file with the following content: 

    - hosts: all
  vars:
    storage_safe_mode: false
    storage_volumes:
      - name: data
        type: raid
        disks: [sdd, sde, sdf, sdg]
        raid_level: raid0
        raid_chunk_size: 32 KiB
        mount_point: /mnt/data
        state: present
  roles:
    - name: rhel-system-roles.storage
    Warning

    Device names can change in certain circumstances; for example, when you add a new disk to a system. Therefore, to prevent data loss, we do not recommend using specific disk names in the playbook.

  2. Optional. Verify playbook syntax. 

    # ansible-playbook --syntax-check playbook.yml

  3. Run the playbook on your inventory file: 

    # ansible-playbook -i inventory.file /path/to/file/playbook.yml

Additional resources

  • For more information about RAID, see Managing RAID.
  • For details about the parameters used in the storage system role, see the /usr/share/ansible/roles/rhel-system-roles.storage/README.md file.

10.11. Configuring an LVM pool with RAID using the storage system role

With the storage System Role, you can configure an LVM pool with RAID on RHEL using Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform. In this section you will learn how to set up an Ansible playbook with the available parameters to configure an LVM pool with RAID.

Prerequisites

  • You have Red Hat Ansible Engine installed on the system from which you want to run the playbook.

    Note

    You do not have to have Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform installed on the systems on which you want to deploy the storage solution.

  • You have the rhel-system-roles package installed on the system from which you want to run the playbook.
  • You have an inventory file detailing the systems on which you want to configure an LVM pool with RAID using the storage System Role.

Procedure

  1. Create a new playbook.yml file with the following content: 

    - hosts: all
  vars:
    storage_safe_mode: false
    storage_pools:
      - name: my_pool
        type: lvm
        disks: [sdh, sdi]
        raid_level: raid1
        volumes:
          - name: my_pool
            size: "1 GiB"
            mount_point: "/mnt/app/shared"
            fs_type: xfs
            state: present
  roles:
    - name: rhel-system-roles.storage
    Note

    To create an LVM pool with RAID, you must specify the RAID type using the raid_level parameter.

  2. Optional. Verify playbook syntax. 

    # ansible-playbook --syntax-check playbook.yml

  3. Run the playbook on your inventory file: 

    # ansible-playbook -i inventory.file /path/to/file/playbook.yml

Additional resources

  • For more information about RAID, see Managing RAID.
  • For details about the parameters used in the storage system role, see the /usr/share/ansible/roles/rhel-system-roles.storage/README.md file.

10.12. Creating a LUKS encrypted volume using the storage role

You can use the storage role to create and configure a volume encrypted with LUKS by running an Ansible playbook.

Prerequisites

  • You have Red Hat Ansible Engine installed on the system from which you want to run the playbook.

    Note

    You do not have to have Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform installed on the systems on which you want to create the volume.

  • You have the rhel-system-roles package installed on the Ansible controller.
  • You have an inventory file detailing the systems on which you want to deploy a LUKS encrypted volume using the storage System Role.

Procedure

  1. Create a new playbook.yml file with the following content: 

    - hosts: all
  vars:
    storage_volumes:
      - name: barefs
        type: disk
        disks:
         - sdb
        fs_type: xfs
        fs_label: label-name
        mount_point: /mnt/data
        encryption: true
        encryption_password: your-password
  roles:
   - rhel-system-roles.storage

  2. Optional. Verify playbook syntax: 

    # ansible-playbook --syntax-check playbook.yml

  3. Run the playbook on your inventory file: 

    # ansible-playbook -i inventory.file /path/to/file/playbook.yml

Additional resources

  • For more information about LUKS, see 17. Encrypting block devices using LUKS..
  • For details about the parameters used in the storage system role, see the /usr/share/ansible/roles/rhel-system-roles.storage/README.md file.

Additional resources

  • For more information, install the rhel-system-roles package and see the following directories:

    • /usr/share/doc/rhel-system-roles/storage/
    • /usr/share/ansible/roles/rhel-system-roles.storage/