Commands Reference, Volume 3

lsvg Command

Purpose

Displays information about volume groups.

Syntax

lsvg [ -L ] [ -o ] | [ -n DescriptorPhysicalVolume ] | [ -i ] [ -l | -M | -p ] VolumeGroup ...

Description

The lsvg command displays information about volume groups. If you use the VolumeGroup parameter, only the information for that volume group is displayed. If you do not use the VolumeGroup parameter, a list of the names of all defined volume groups is displayed.

When information from the Device Configuration database is unavailable, some of the fields will contain a question mark (?) in place of the missing data. The lsvg command attempts to obtain as much information as possible from the description area when the command is given a logical volume identifier.

Note: To determine a volume group's major number, use the ls -al /dev/VGName command. This command lists the special device file that represents the volume group. The volume group major number is the same as the major device number of the special device file. For example, for a volume group named ha1vg, enter the following command:
ls -al /dev/ha1vg
This command returns the following:
crw-rw---- 1 root system 52, 0 Aug 27 19:57 /dev/ha1vg
In this example, the volume group major number is 52.

You can use the Volumes application in Web-based System Manager (wsm) to change volume characteristics. You could also use the System Management Interface Tool (SMIT) smit lsvg fast path to run this command.

Flags

-L	Specifies no waiting to obtain a lock on the Volume group. Note : If the volume group is being changed, using the -L flag gives unreliable date.
-p	Lists the following information for each physical volume within the group specified by the VolumeGroup parameter: `Physical volume` A physical volume within the group. `PVstate` State of the physical volume. `Total PPs` Total number of physical partitions on the physical volume. `Free PPs` Number of free physical partitions on the physical volume. `Distribution` The number of physical partitions allocated within each section of the physical volume: outer edge, outer middle, center, inner middle, and inner edge of the physical volume.
-l	Lists the following information for each logical volume within the group specified by the VolumeGroup parameter: `LV` A logical volume within the volume group. `Type` Logical volume type. `LPs` Number of logical partitions in the logical volume. `PPs` Number of physical partitions used by the logical volume. `PVs` Number of physical volumes used by the logical volume. `Logical volume state` State of the logical volume. `Opened/stale` indicates the logical volume is open but contains partitions that are not current. `Opened/syncd` indicates the logical volume is open and synchronized. `Closed` indicates the logical volume has not been opened. `Mount point` File system mount point for the logical volume, if applicable.
-i	Reads volume group names from standard input.
-M	Lists the following fields for each logical volume on the physical volume: PVname:PPnum [LVname: LPnum [:Copynum] [PPstate]] `PVname` Name of the physical volume as specified by the system. `PPnum` Physical partition number. Physical partition numbers can range from 1 to 1016. `LVname` Name of the logical volume to which the physical partitions are allocated. Logical volume names must be system-wide unique names, and can range from 1 to 64 characters. `LPnum` Logical partition number. Logical partition numbers can range from 1 to 64,000. `Copynum` Mirror number. `PPstate` Only the physical partitions on the physical volume that are not current are shown as stale.
-n DescriptorPhysicalVolume	Accesses information from the descriptor area specified by the DescriptorPhysicalVolume variable. The information may not be current, since the information accessed with the -n flag has not been validated for the logical volumes. If you do not use the -n flag, the descriptor area from the physical volume that holds the most validated information is accessed, and therefore the information displayed is current. The volume group need not be active when you use this flag.
-o	Lists only the active volume groups (those that are varied on). An active volume group is one that is available for use.

Information displayed if you do not specify any flags:

`Volume group`	Name of the volume group. Volume group names must be unique systemwide and can range from 1 to 15 characters.
`Volume group state`	State of the volume group. If the volume group is activated with the varyonvg command, the state is either `active/complete` (indicating all physical volumes are active) or `active/partial` (indicating some physical volumes are not active). If the volume group is not activated with the varyonvg command, the state is `inactive`.
`Permission`	Access permission: `read-only` or `read-write`.
`Max LVs`	Maximum number of logical volumes allowed in the volume group.
`LVs`	Number of logical volumes currently in the volume group.
`Open LVs`	Number of logical volumes within the volume group that are currently open.
`Total PVs`	Total number of physical volumes within the volume group.
`Active PVs`	Number of physical volumes that are currently active.
`VG identifier`	The volume group identifier.
`PP size`	Size of each physical partition.
`Total PPs`	Total number of physical partitions within the volume group.
`Free PPs`	Number of physical partitions not allocated.
`Alloc PPs`	Number of physical partitions currently allocated to logical volumes.
`Quorum`	Number of physical volumes needed for a majority.
`VGDS`	Number of volume group descriptor areas within the volume group.
`Auto-on`	Automatic activation at IPL (`yes` or `no`).
`Concurrent`	States whether the volume group is Concurrent Capable or Non-Concurrent Capable.
`Auto-Concurrent`	States whether you should autovary the Concurrent Capable volume group in concurrent or non-concurrent mode. For volume groups that are Non-Concurrent Capable, this value defaults to Disabled.
`VG Mode`	The vary on mode of the volume group: Concurrent or Non-Concurrent.
`Node ID`	Node id of this node if volume group is varied on in concurrent node.
`Active Nodes`	Node ids of other concurrent nodes that have this volume group varied on.
`Max PPs Per PV`	Maximum number of physical partitions per physical volume allowed for this volume group.
`Max PVs`	Maximum number of physical volumes allowed in this volume group.
`LTG size`	Logical track group size, in number of kilobytes, of the volume group.
`BB POLICY`	Bad block relocation policy of the volume group.
`SNAPSHOT VG`	Snapshot volume group name if the snapshot volume group is active else snapshot volume group identifier.
`PRIMARY VG`	Original volume group name of a snapshot volume group if the original volume group is active else original volume group identifier.

Examples

To display the names of all active volume groups, enter:
lsvg -o
To display the names of all volume groups within the system, enter:
```
lsvg
```
To display information about volume group vg02, enter:
```
lsvg vg02
```
The characteristics and status of both the logical and physical partitions of volume group vg02 are displayed.
To display the names, characteristics, and status of all the logical volumes in volume group vg02, enter:
lsvg -l vg02

Files

/usr/sbin

Contains the directory where the lsvg command resides.

Related Information

The chvg command, lspv command, lslv command, varyonvg command.

Logical Volume Storage Overview in AIX 5L Version 5.2 System Management Concepts: Operating System and Devices explains the Logical Volume Manager, physical volumes, logical volumes, volume groups, organization, ensuring data integrity, and allocation characteristics.

For information on installing the Web-based System Manager, see Chapter 2: Installation and System Requirements in AIX 5L Version 5.2 Web-based System Manager Administration Guide.

System Management Interface Tool (SMIT): Overview in AIX 5L Version 5.2 System Management Concepts: Operating System and Devices explains the structure, main menus, and tasks that are done with SMIT.