Chapter 21. Changing physical drives in volume groups using the web console

Change the drive in a volume group using the RHEL 8 web console.

The change of physical drives consists of the following procedures:

Prerequisites

  • The RHEL 8 web console has been installed.

    For details, see Installing the web console.

  • The cockpit-storaged package is installed on your system.
  • A new physical drive for replacing the old or broken one.
  • The configuration expects that physical drives are organized in a volume group.

21.1. Adding physical drives to volume groups in the web console

The RHEL 8 web console enables you to add a new physical drive or other type of volume to the existing logical volume.

Prerequisites

  • A volume group must be created.
  • A new drive connected to the machine.

Procedure

  1. Log in to the RHEL 8 console.
  2. Click Storage.
  3. In the Volume Groups box, click the volume group in which you want to add a physical volume.
  4. In the Physical Volumes box, click the + button.
  5. In the Add Disks dialog box, select the preferred drive and click Add.

As a result, the RHEL 8 web console adds the physical volume.

Verification steps

  • Check the Physical Volumes for section, and the logical volume can immediately start to write on the drive.

21.2. Removing physical drives from volume groups in the web console

If a logical volume includes multiple physical drives, you can remove one of the physical drives online.

The system moves automatically all data from the drive to be removed to other drives during the removal process. Notice that it can take some time.

The web console also verifies, if there is enough space for removing the physical drive.

Prerequisites

  • A volume group with more than one physical drive connected.

Procedure

The following steps describe how to remove a drive from the volume group without causing outage in the RHEL 8 web console.

  1. Log in to the RHEL 8 web console.
  2. Click Storage.
  3. Click the volume group in which you have the logical volume.
  4. In the Physical Volumes section, locate the preferred volume.
  5. Click the - button.

    The RHEL 8 web console verifies whether the logical volume has enough free space for removing the disk. If not, you cannot remove the disk and it is necessary to add another disk first. For details, see Adding physical drives to logical volumes in the web console.

As results, the RHEL 8 web console removes the physical volume from the created logical volume without causing an outage.