hardMultiple Choice
XK0-006 Practice Question: Based on the exhibit, what is the most likely…
Exhibit
Refer to the exhibit. [root@server ~]# lvm pvdisplay --- Physical volume --- PV Name /dev/sdb1 VG Name data_vg PV Size <500.00 GiB / not usable 4.00 MiB Allocatable yes PE Size 4.00 MiB Total PE 127999 Free PE 8192 Allocated PE 119807 PV UUID abc123-... PV Status not available
Based on the exhibit, what is the most likely cause of the 'PV Status: not available'?
⚠ Common exam trap
Test-takers frequently confuse 'PV Status: not available' with LVM metadata corruption, but the status specifically indicates the device is inaccessible, not that its metadata is damaged.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The physical volume is missing or disconnected.
The 'PV Status: not available' message in LVM indicates that the system cannot access the physical volume. This typically occurs when the underlying disk or partition is missing, disconnected, or has failed. Since LVM relies on the physical volume being present for volume group and logical volume operations, a missing or disconnected physical volume is the most direct cause.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The volume group is corrupted.
Why it's wrong here
Corruption of a volume group would typically surface as a VG status fault or missing VG, not a PV flagged unavailable. The exhibit points to the PV layer itself, so blaming the VG misreads which LVM object reports the fault.
- ✗
The logical volume is not mounted.
Why it's wrong here
A missing mount leaves the filesystem inaccessible but does not change the physical volume's status in pvdisplay; an unmounted LV still reports the PV as available. Mounting is a filesystem-layer action, unrelated to LVM's own metadata tracking of the PV.
- ✗
LVM metadata is damaged.
Why it's wrong here
Damaged LVM metadata would usually produce checksum or read errors and an unknown PV, not a clean 'not available' status. The exhibit indicates the PV exists but is not allocatable, which points elsewhere than metadata corruption.
- ✓
The physical volume is missing or disconnected.
Why this is correct
LVM marks a physical volume 'not available' when the underlying block device cannot be found, typically because the disk was removed, disconnected, or failed to initialise. Restoring the device or rescanning the volume group resolves the status.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Logical Volume Management (LVM)
Key term
Logical volume
A logical volume is a virtual storage unit created from one or more physical hard drives that can be resized, moved, or snapshotted without disrupting the system.
Key term
Volume group
A volume group is a pool of storage capacity created by grouping one or more physical volumes in Linux LVM that can be carved into logical volumes.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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