EX200 Configure local storage Practice Question
Which TWO commands can be used to create a physical volume for LVM? (Choose exactly two.)
⚠ Common exam trap
Red Hat often tests the distinction between initializing a partition (`/dev/sdb1`) versus a whole disk (`/dev/sdb`) — both are valid with `pvcreate`, but candidates may incorrectly think only partitions can be used, or that `mkfs.ext4` can somehow create an LVM physical volume.
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
✓
pvcreate /dev/sdb1
The `pvcreate` command initializes a block device (such as a partition or an entire disk) for use as a physical volume in LVM. Option B targets a partition `/dev/sdb1`, and option C targets the whole disk `/dev/sdb` — both are valid devices that can be initialized as physical volumes, as LVM can operate on either.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
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mkfs.ext4
Why it's wrong here
mkfs.ext4 is a utility for creating a filesystem, not a physical volume. It writes an ext4 superblock and filesystem metadata to the device, which would overwrite any LVM label. Since LVM requires a PV label (written by pvcreate) at a specific disk offset to recognize the device, mkfs.ext4 cannot initialize a physical volume and would actually destroy existing LVM signatures.
- ✓
pvcreate /dev/sdb1
Why this is correct
pvcreate /dev/sdb1 is the correct command to initialize a specific partition as a physical volume. It writes a PV label to the partition and records its metadata, allowing it to be later added to a volume group with vgcreate or vgextend. This is the standard approach when you want to dedicate only a portion of a disk to LVM while keeping other partitions for different purposes.
- ✓
pvcreate /dev/sdb
Why this is correct
pvcreate /dev/sdb is also a valid way to create a physical volume by using the entire disk without partitioning. LVM can directly manage a whole disk, using all available space as one physical volume. This is often done to simplify layout or avoid partition-table alignment issues, though it means the disk cannot be used for any other filesystem or non-LVM purpose.
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lvcreate
Why it's wrong here
lvcreate is a command for creating logical volumes, not physical volumes. It operates on an existing volume group—which itself must have been built from one or more physical volumes—and allocates logical extents to form a block device like /dev/vgname/lvname. Because lvcreate requires a volume group that already contains initialized PVs, it cannot create a physical volume from a raw disk or partition.
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vgcreate
Why it's wrong here
vgcreate is used to create a volume group by combining one or more existing physical volumes into a single storage pool. It writes volume-group metadata and organizes physical extents from the supplied PVs, but it depends on those PVs already having been initialized by pvcreate. Therefore vgcreate consumes physical volumes; it does not perform the initial labeling or initialization that creates a physical volume.
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Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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