EX200 Create and configure file systems Practice Question
A company policy requires that all new logical volumes be created with a physical extent size of 16 MiB to optimize performance for large sequential I/O. During the creation of a new volume group, what parameter should be used?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers confuse the `-s` (extent size) option with other common LVM parameters like `-L` (size) or `-p` (max PVs), leading candidates to select a wrong option that sets a different attribute entirely.
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
✓
vgcreate -s 16M vg_data /dev/sdc1
The `-s` parameter in `vgcreate` sets the physical extent (PE) size for the volume group. A PE size of 16 MiB is specified with `-s 16M`, which ensures all subsequent logical volumes in that VG use 16 MiB extents, optimizing performance for large sequential I/O by reducing metadata overhead.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
vgcreate -p 16M vg_data /dev/sdc1
Why it's wrong here
The -p option to vgcreate is valid, but it controls --maxphysicalvolumes, not physical extent size. It expects an integer count of the maximum number of physical volumes allowed in the volume group, not a size such as 16M. Therefore this command would fail or set the wrong property, and it certainly would not satisfy a requirement to set a 16M extent size.
- ✗
vgcreate -L 16M vg_data /dev/sdc1
Why it's wrong here
vgcreate does not understand -L; that option belongs to lvcreate, where it defines the logical volume size. Passing -L 16M to vgcreate would cause an unrecognized option error, and even if it were accepted, it would not influence the physical extent size of the volume group. Thus it is incorrect for this policy.
- ✗
vgcreate -e 16M vg_data /dev/sdc1
Why it's wrong here
The -e flag is not defined anywhere in the vgcreate option set; LVM2's vgcreate does not use -e for any parameter. A command such as vgcreate -e 16M would be rejected by vgcreate as an invalid option, because there is no such switch. It therefore cannot set the physical extent size.
- ✗
vgcreate -c 16M vg_data /dev/sdc1
Why it's wrong here
The -c option exists in vgcreate, but it is the --clustered flag that controls whether the volume group is clustered, and it expects an argument of 'y' or 'n', not a size. Supplying 16M as the argument is invalid, and even a valid -c y would not change the physical extent size. This option is unrelated to the required 16M PE setting.
- ✓
vgcreate -s 16M vg_data /dev/sdc1
Why this is correct
The -s option is the correct way to set the physical extent size for a new volume group. In vgcreate -s 16M vg_data /dev/sdc1, the 16M argument defines each physical extent as 16 MiB, so all subsequent logical volumes are allocated in 16 MiB chunks. This ensures that new logical volumes align with the company policy of 16M extents from the moment the VG is created.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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