How to Grow an ext2/3/4 File System with resize2fs

Prerequisits

• A created partition that you know the name of. To check the name, run cat /etc/fstab. The first field is the name of the partition.
• A created file system. If you need to create a new file system refer to the *How to Create a File System with mkfs* [LINK TO COME] article

Procedure

1. If the partition the file system is on is currently mounted, unmount it.

For example

~]# umount /dev/vdb1

2. Run fsck on the unmounted file system.

For example

~]# e2fsck /dev/vdb1
e2fsck 1.41.12 (17-May-2010)
Pass 1:Checking inodes, blocks, and sizes
Pass 2:Checking directory structure
Pass 3:Checking directory connectivity
Pass 4:Checking reference counts
Pass 5:Checking group sumary information
ext4-1:11/131072 files (0.0% non-contiguous),27050/524128 blocks

3. Resize the file system with the resize2fs /dev/device command.

For example

~]# resize2fs /dev/vdb1
resize2fs 1.41.12 (17-May-2010)
Resizing the filesystem on /dev/vdb1 to 524128 (1k) blocks.
The filesystem on /dev/vdb1 is now 524128 blocks long.

Accepted size units for file system block sizes are:

S - 512 byte sectors

K - kilobytes

M - megabytes

G - gigabytes

4. Mount the file system and partition.

For example

~]# mount /dev/vdb1 /ext4-1

More Information

man resize2fs – man page for resize2fs that contains information on what resize2fs is, what it supports, and the various options it takes.