EX200 Configure local storage Practice Question
A storage administrator is asked to increase the size of an ext4 filesystem mounted at /data. The underlying logical volume /dev/mapper/vg01-lv01 is currently 10GB and the volume group has 5GB of free extents. After extending the logical volume by 2GB using lvextend -L +2G /dev/mapper/vg01-lv01, what command must be run to resize the filesystem?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often confuse filesystem-specific resize commands (resize2fs for ext4 vs. xfs_growfs for XFS) or assume that `lvextend` automatically resizes the filesystem without the `-r` flag.
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
✓
resize2fs /dev/mapper/vg01-lv01
After extending the logical volume with `lvextend`, the filesystem does not automatically recognize the new space. For ext4 filesystems, the `resize2fs` command must be run to resize the filesystem to use the additional logical volume capacity. This command can be executed online (while the filesystem is mounted) and will expand the filesystem to fill the available space in the logical volume.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
resize2fs /dev/mapper/vg01-lv01
Why this is correct
resize2fs /dev/mapper/vg01-lv01 is correct because the logical volume was already extended with lvextend (without -r), leaving the ext4 filesystem still sized for the old smaller LV. Running resize2fs online grows the ext4 filesystem to consume the newly added space in the enlarged block device, and since the filesystem type is ext4, resize2fs is the matching tool. Unlike shrinking, growing an ext4 filesystem with resize2fs can be done while the filesystem is mounted, which makes it the immediate follow-up command in this LVM workflow.
- ✗
lvextend -r -L +2G /dev/mapper/vg01-lv01
Why it's wrong here
lvextend -r resizes the filesystem automatically, but it should be run before the manual resize step; however, the question says after extending without -r, so we need a separate command. Actually D would have worked if used initially, but now we need resize2fs. So D is not correct as a follow-up.
- ✗
xfs_growfs /data
Why it's wrong here
xfs_growfs /data is incorrect because xfs_growfs is specifically designed for XFS filesystems, not ext4. The filesystem on the logical volume is ext4, so invoking xfs_growfs would fail (and even if it didn't, xfs_growfs expects a mounted XFS filesystem as the argument, typically using a mount point like /data, but /data is irrelevant here). The only valid way to expand an ext4 filesystem after its underlying LV has been enlarged is with resize2fs, not with XFS's grow tool.
- ✗
fsck -f /dev/mapper/vg01-lv01
Why it's wrong here
fsck -f /dev/mapper/vg01-lv01 is incorrect because fsck is a filesystem consistency checker and repair utility, not a resizing tool. It scans and fixes structural problems such as bad inodes, incorrect block counts, or corrupted metadata, but it never alters the size of the filesystem to match the enlarged logical volume. Furthermore, running fsck -f on a mounted ext4 filesystem is dangerous and can cause corruption; even if run unmounted, it would leave the filesystem at its old size, so the new storage space in the LV would remain unused.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This EX200 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Red Hat 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 EX200 exam.