LFCS Storage Management Practice Question
A Linux server has a volume group named vg_data that contains a logical volume lv_archive currently formatted with XFS and mounted at /archive. The administrator needs to shrink the logical volume to free space for a new logical volume. Which command sequence correctly reduces the size of lv_archive?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is assuming that XFS can be shrunk like ext4, or that lvreduce -r can handle XFS shrinking, when in fact XFS does not support shrink operations at all.
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
✓
umount /archive; backup data; lvremove /dev/vg_data/lv_archive; lvcreate -L 20G -n lv_archive vg_data; mkfs.xfs /dev/vg_data/lv_archive; restore data; mount /archive
XFS filesystems cannot be shrunk. To reduce the size of an XFS logical volume, the administrator must back up the data, remove the logical volume, create a new smaller logical volume, format it with XFS, and restore the data. Any attempt to use lvreduce with -r or xfs_growfs to shrink will fail because XFS only supports growing.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
umount /archive; xfs_growfs -D 20G /dev/vg_data/lv_archive; lvreduce -L 20G /dev/vg_data/lv_archive; mount /archive
Why it's wrong here
The xfs_growfs command is used to expand an XFS filesystem, not shrink it. The -D option sets the data section size, but it cannot reduce the size below the current allocation. Attempting to use it to shrink will fail. This option incorrectly assumes XFS supports shrinking, which it does not, making the entire sequence invalid.
- ✗
umount /archive; lvreduce -L 20G /dev/vg_data/lv_archive; lvresize -r -L 20G /dev/vg_data/lv_archive; mount /archive
Why it's wrong here
This sequence first reduces the logical volume to 20G, then tries to resize the filesystem, but XFS cannot be shrunk at all. Even if it were ext4, running lvreduce before the filesystem shrink would corrupt the filesystem. The lvresize -r option is meant to handle both, but it must be used in one step and only for shrinkable filesystems like ext4, not XFS.
- ✓
umount /archive; backup data; lvremove /dev/vg_data/lv_archive; lvcreate -L 20G -n lv_archive vg_data; mkfs.xfs /dev/vg_data/lv_archive; restore data; mount /archive
Why this is correct
Because XFS does not support shrinking, the only way to reduce the size of an XFS logical volume is to back up the data, remove the logical volume, create a smaller one, make a new XFS filesystem, and restore the data. This sequence correctly performs those steps. The other options incorrectly assume XFS can be shrunk in place, which is not supported.
- ✗
umount /archive; lvreduce -r -L 20G /dev/vg_data/lv_archive; mount /archive
Why it's wrong here
The -r option to lvreduce attempts to resize the underlying filesystem along with the logical volume, but it does not work with XFS because XFS does not support shrinking. The command would fail or leave the filesystem inconsistent. XFS can only be grown, so any shrink operation on an XFS filesystem is impossible without recreating it, regardless of LVM options.
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Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Linux Foundation exam blueprint
This LFCS practice question is part of Courseiva's free Linux Foundation certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the LFCS exam.