EX200 Configure local storage Practice Question
Exhibit
Refer to the exhibit. # lsblk NAME MAJ:MIN RM SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINT sda 8:0 0 10G 0 disk ├─sda1 8:1 0 1G 0 part /boot ├─sda2 8:2 0 8G 0 part │ └─vg01-root 253:0 0 8G 0 lvm / └─sda3 8:3 0 1G 0 part [SWAP] sdb 8:16 0 100G 0 disk └─sdb1 8:17 0 100G 0 part └─vg01-data 253:1 0 100G 0 lvm /data
An administrator wants to add 20GB of additional space to the root filesystem. The volume group vg01 has no free extents. Which action should be taken first?
⚠ Common exam trap
Test-takers frequently think they can directly extend a logical volume into free space on a disk that is not part of the volume group, or they may forget that `vgextend` requires a physical volume to be created first with `pvcreate`.
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
✓
Attach a new disk, create a physical volume on it, add it to vg01 with vgextend, then extend vg01-root
To extend the root filesystem when the volume group has no free extents, you must first add a new physical volume to the volume group. This involves attaching a new disk, creating a physical volume on it with `pvcreate`, adding it to vg01 with `vgextend`, and then using `lvextend` followed by `resize2fs` (or `xfs_growfs` for XFS) to extend the logical volume and filesystem. This sequence ensures the volume group has available extents before extending 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.
- ✗
Shrink the logical volume vg01-data and then extend vg01-root
Why it's wrong here
Shrinking vg01-data is risky and operationally inappropriate here because reducing a filesystem requires unmounting it and running e2fsck and resize2fs before lvreduce; any error can corrupt data. Even if successful, you are only reallocating existing space rather than adding new storage, and the freed capacity may be unusable if vg01-data contains data near the volume's current size. Adding a brand-new physical disk and extending the volume group is the safe, non-disruptive path to provide 20 GB to vg01-root.
- ✗
Run vgextend vg01 /dev/sdc (assuming /dev/sdc is a new disk) but this command requires the PV to be created first
Why it's wrong here
vgextend vg01 /dev/sdc is not a valid first step because vgextend only incorporates a device that has already been initialized as an LVM physical volume; /dev/sdc must first be prepared with pvcreate /dev/sdc, which writes LVM metadata to the disk. Attempting to run vgextend directly yields an error like 'Device /dev/sdc not found' or 'not a physical volume.' Even after pvcreate, you would also need to extend vg01-root with lvextend and resize its filesystem, so this option is incomplete, not merely missing one command.
- ✗
Use lvextend to extend the root logical volume into the free space of sdb1
Why it's wrong here
This option fails because sdb1 is a physical volume that has already been fully allocated to vg01-data; there are no free physical extents on that device for lvextend to consume. lvextend can only allocate from free extents within the volume group, and if the VG has zero free space, the command aborts with an 'Insufficient free space' error. An LV cannot be extended into space that belongs to another LV; you must first add a new PV to the VG to create free capacity.
- ✓
Attach a new disk, create a physical volume on it, add it to vg01 with vgextend, then extend vg01-root
Why this is correct
Attaching a new disk and initializing it as a physical volume is the cleanest way to add 20 GB: run pvcreate /dev/sdc (or a suitable partition), then vgextend vg01 /dev/sdc to make the new space free within the volume group, then lvextend -L +20G /dev/vg01/root to grow the root LV. Finally, the filesystem must be grown to fill the expanded LV—using xfs_growfs for XFS or resize2fs for ext4—and this can be done online. This sequence avoids any downtime and does not touch the existing vg01-data, so it is the correct answer.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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