Jump to content United States-English
HP.com Home Products and Services Support and Drivers Solutions How to Buy
» Contact HP
More options
HP.com home
HP-UX System Administrator's Guide: Logical Volume Management: HP-UX 11i Version 3 > Chapter 4 Troubleshooting LVM

Warning and Error Messages

» 

Technical documentation

Complete book in PDF
» Feedback
Content starts here

 » Table of Contents

 » Glossary

 » Index

This section lists some of the warning and error messages reported by LVM. For each message, the cause is described and an action is recommended.

Matching Error Messages to Physical Disks and Volume Groups

Often an error message contains the device number for a device, rather than the device file name. For example, you might see the following message in /var/adm/syslog/syslog.log:

SCSI: Request Timeout -- lbolt: 329741615, dev: 1f022000

To map this error message to a specific disk, search under the /dev directory for a device file with a device number that matches the printed value. That is, search for a file with a minor number matching the lower six digits of the number following dev:. The device number in this example is 1f022000; its lower six digits are 022000, so search for that value using the following command:

# ll /dev/*dsk | grep 022000 brw-r----- 1 bin sys 31 0x022000 Sep 22 2002 c2t2d0 crw-r----- 1 bin sys 188 0x022000 Sep 25 2002 c2t2d0

Use the pvdisplay command to determine which volume group contains this physical volume as follows:

# pvdisplay /dev/dsk/c2t2d0 | grep "VG Name" VG Name /dev/vg03

If the pvdisplay command fails, search for the physical volume in the LVM configuration files /etc/lvmtab and /etc/lvmtab_p as follows:

# lvmadm -l -V 1.0 --- Version 1.0 volume groups --- VG Name /dev/vg00 PV Name /dev/disk/disk36_p2 VG Name /dev/vgtest PV Name /dev/disk/disk43 PV Name /dev/disk/disk44 VG Name /dev/vg03 PV Name /dev/dsk/c2t2d0

If your version of lvmadm does not recognize the –l option, use the strings command as follows:

# strings /etc/lvmtab | more /dev/vg00 /dev/disk/disk36_p2 /dev/vgtest /dev/disk/disk43 /dev/disk/disk44 /dev/vg03 /dev/dsk/c2t2d0

Based on the output of these commands, the error message refers to physical volume /dev/dsk/c2t2d0, which belongs to volume group vg03.

Similarly, some LVM error messages in /var/adm/syslog/syslog.log contain the device number for a volume group. For example:

LVM: VG 128 0x002000: Lost quorum.

The major number 128 indicates that this is a Version 2.x volume group. A Version 1.0 volume group has a major number of 64. To map this error message to a volume group, search under the /dev directory for a volume group device file with a device number that matches the major and minor numbers. In this example, the major number is 128 and the minor number is 0x002000, so search for those value using the following command:

# ll /dev/*/group | grep 128.0x002000 crw-r----- 1 root sys 128 0x002000 Jan 7 08:27 /dev/vgtest2/group

The example error message refers to the Version 2.x volume group vgtest.

Messages For All LVM Commands

Message Text

vgcfgbackup: /etc/lvmtab is out of date with the running kernel: Kernel indicates # disks for "/dev/vgname"; /etc/lvmtab has # disks. Cannot proceed with backup.

Cause

The number of current physical volumes (Cur PV) and active physical volumes (Act PV) are not the same. Cur PV and Act PV must always agree for the volume group. This error also indicates that /etc/lvmtab or /etc/lvmtab_p, which is used to match physical volumes to a volume group, is out of date with the LVM data structures in memory and on disk.

Recommended Action

Try to locate any missing disks. For each of the disk in the volume group, use ioscan and diskinfo to confirm that the disk is functioning properly.

lvchange(1M)

Message Text

"m": Illegal option.

Cause

The system does not have HP MirrorDisk/UX installed.

Recommended Action

Install HP MirrorDisk/UX.

lvextend(1M)

Message Text

lvextend: Not enough free physical extents available.
Logical volume "/dev/vgname/lvname" could not be extended.
Failure possibly caused by strict allocation policy

Cause

There is not enough space in the volume group to extend the logical volume to the requested size. This is typically caused by one of the following situations:

  1. There are not enough free physical extents in the volume group. Run vgdisplay to confirm the number of available physical extents, and multiply that number by the extent size to determine the free space in the volume group. For example:

    # vgdisplay vg00 --- Volume groups --- VG Name /dev/vg00 VG Write Access read/write VG Status available Max LV 255 Cur LV 10 Open LV 10 Max PV 16 Cur PV 1 Act PV 1 Max PE per PV 4350 VGDA 2 PE Size (Mbytes) 4 Total PE 4340 Alloc PE 3740 Free PE 600 Total PVG 0 Total Spare PVs 0 Total Spare PVs in use 0 VG Version 1.0 VG Max Size 1082g VG Max Extents 69248

    In this example, the total free space is 600 physical extents of 4 MB, or 2400 MB.

  2. The logical volume is mirrored with a strict allocation policy, and there are not enough extents on a separate disk to comply with the allocation policy. To confirm this, run lvdisplay to determine which disks the logical volume occupies, and then check whether there is sufficient space on the other disks in the volume group.

  3. In a SAN environment, one of the disks was dynamically increased in size. LVM did not detect the asynchronous change in size.

Recommended Action

  1. Choose a smaller size for the logical volume, or add more disk space to the volume group.

  2. Choose a smaller size for the logical volume, or add more disk space to the volume group. Alternatively, free up space on an available disk using pvmove.

  3. Use the vgmodify command to detect the disk size change and incorporate the new space into the volume group.

Message Text

"m": Illegal option.

Cause

The system does not have HP MirrorDisk/UX installed.

Recommended Action

Install HP MirrorDisk/UX.

lvlnboot(1M)

Message Text

lvlnboot: Unable to configure swap logical volume.
Swap logical volume size beyond the IODC max address.

Cause

The boot disk firmware cannot access the entire range of the swap logical volume. This happens with older host bus adapters when primary swap is configured past 4 GB on the disk.

Recommended Action

Upgrade the system firmware or use a newer host bus adapter that supports block addressing. If neither of these actions succeeds, reduce the size of the primary swap logical volume so that it does not exceed 4 GB.

pvchange(1M)

Message Text

Unable to detach the path or physical volume via the pathname provided. Either use pvchange(1M) -a N to detach the PV using an attached path or detach each path to the PV individually using pvchange(1M) –a n

Cause

The specified path is not part of any volume group, because the path has not been successfully attached to the otherwise active volume group it belongs to.

Recommended Action

Check the specified path name to make sure it is correct. If the error occurred while detaching a physical volume, specify a different path. If it is not clear whether any path was attached before, individually detach each path to the physical volume using pvchange with the –a n option.

Message Text

Warning: Detaching a physical volume reduces the availability of data within the logical volumes residing on that disk. Prior to detaching a physical volume or the last available path to it, verify that there are alternate copies of the data available on other disks in the volume group. If necessary, use pvchange(1M) to reverse this operation.

Cause

This warning is advisory. It is generated whenever a path or physical volume is detached.

Recommended Action

None.

vgcfgbackup(1M)

Message Text

Invalid LVMREC on Physical Volume pvname

Cause

The LVM header on the disk is incorrect. This can happen when an existing LVM disk is overwritten with a command like dd or pvcreate. If the disk is shared between two systems, one system might not be aware that the disk is already in a volume group. The corruption can also be caused by running vgchgid incorrectly when using BC split volumes.

Recommended Action

Restore a known good configuration to the disk using vgcfgrestore. Be sure to use a valid copy dated before the first occurrence of the problem. For example:

# vgcfgrestore –n vgname pvname

vgcfgrestore(1M)

Message Text

Cannot restore Physical Volume pvname
Detach the PV or deactivate the VG, before restoring the PV.

Cause

The vgcfgrestore command was used to initialize a disk that already belongs to an active volume group.

Recommended Action

Detach the physical volume or deactivate the volume group before attempting to restore the physical volume. If the disk may be corrupted, detach the disk and mark it using vgcfgrestore, then attach it again without replacing the disk. This causes LVM to reinitialize the disk and synchronize any mirrored user data mapped there.

vgchange(1M)

Message Text

vgchange: WARNING: The "lvmp" driver is not loaded.

Cause

You are activating a Version 2.x volume group, and the kernel driver for Version 2.x volume groups is not loaded.

Recommended Action

Load the lvmp driver, as follows:

# kcmodule lvmp=best ==> Update the automatic 'backup' configuration first? n * Future operations will ask whether to update the backup. * The requested changes have been applied to the currently running configuration. Module State Cause Notes lvmp (before) unused loadable, unloadable (now) loaded best (next boot) loaded explicit

Message Text

vgchange: Warning: Couldn't attach to the volume group physical volume "pvname": Illegal byte sequence vgchange: Couldn't activate volume group "vgname": Quorum not present, or some physical volume(s) are missing.

Cause

You are activating a Version 2.x volume group, and your operating system release does not support Version 2.x volumes.

Recommended Action

Update your system to the March 2008 release of HP-UX 11i Version 3 or a newer release.

Message Text

Warning: couldn't query physical volume "pvname": The specified path does not correspond to physical volume attached to this volume group Couldn't query the list of physical volumes.

Cause

This error has the following possible causes:

  1. The disk was missing when the volume group was activated, but was later restored. This typically occurs when a system is rebooted or the volume group is activated with a disk missing, uncabled, or powered down.

  2. The disk LVM header was overwritten with the wrong volume group information. If the disk is shared between two systems, one system might not be aware that the disk was already in a volume group. To confirm, check the volume group information using the dump_lvmtab command (available from your HP support representative) and look for inconsistencies. For example:

    # dump_lvmtab -s | more SYSTEM : 0x35c8cf58 TIME : 0x3f9acc69 : Sat Oct 25 15:18:01 2003 FILE : /etc/lvmtab HEADER : version:0x03e8 vgnum:7 VG[00] VGID:35c8cf58 3dd13164 (@0x00040c) pvnum:2 state:0 /dev/vg00 (00) VGID:35c8cf58 3dd13164 PVID:35c8cf58 3dd13164 /dev/dsk/c0t6d0 (01) VGID:35c8cf58 3dd13164 PVID:35c8cf58 3dda4694 /dev/dsk/c4t6d0 VG[01] VGID:065f303f 3e63f01a (@0x001032) pvnum:92 state:0 /dev/vg01 (00) !VGID:35c8cf58 3f8df316 PVID:065f303f 3e63effa /dev/dsk/c40t0d0 (01) !VGID:35c8cf58 3f8df316 PVID:065f303f 3e63effe /dev/dsk/c40t0d4 (02) !VGID:35c8cf58 3f8df316 PVID:065f303f 3e63f003 /dev/dsk/c40t1d0 ...

    In this example, the VGIDs for the disks in /dev/vg01 are not consistent; inconsistencies are marked !VGID.

Recommended Action

  1. Use ioscan and diskinfo to confirm that the disk is functioning properly. Reactivate the volume group using the following command:

    # vgchange –a y vgname
  2. There are several methods of recovery from this error. If you are not familiar with the commands outlined in the following procedures, contact your HP support representative for assistance.

    1. Restore a known good configuration to the disks using vgcfgrestore. Be sure to use a valid copy dated before the first occurrence of the problem. For example:

      # vgcfgrestore –n vgname pvname
    2. Recreate the volume group and its logical volumes, restoring the data from the most current backup. See “Creating a Volume Group” and “Creating a Logical Volume”.

    3. Export and reimport the volume group, as described in “Exporting a Volume Group” and “Importing a Volume Group”. For example:

      # vgexport -m vgname.map -v -f vgname.file /dev/vgname # vgimport -m vgname.map -v -f vgname.file /dev/vgname

Message Text

vgchange: Couldn't set the unique id for volume group "/dev/vgname"

Cause

There are multiple LVM group files with the same minor number.

Recommended Action

List the LVM group files. If there are any duplicate minor numbers, export one of the affected volume groups, optionally create a new group file with a unique minor number, and reimport the volume group. If you are not familiar with this procedure, contact your HP support representative for assistance.

# ll /dev/*/group # vgexport -m vgname.map -v -f vgname.file /dev/vgname # mkdir /dev/vgname # mknod /dev/vgname/group c 64 unique_minor_number # vgimport -m vgname.map -v -f vgname.file /dev/vgname

vgcreate(1M)

Message Text

vgcreate: "/dev/vgname/group": not a character device.

Cause

The volume group device file does not exist, and this version of the vgcreate command does not automatically create it.

Recommended Action

Create the directory for the volume group and create a group file, as described in “Creating the Volume Group Device File”.

Message Text

vgcreate: Volume group "/dev/vgname" could not be created: Error: The physical volume "pvname" contains BDRA. It cannot be added into volume group "/dev/vgname" because this version does not support bootable disks.

Cause

The physical volume pvname is a bootable disk, and vgname is a Version 2.x volume group. Version 2.x volume groups do not support bootable physical volumes.

Recommended Action

Use the pvcreate command without the -B option to reinitialize the disk, as described in “Initializing a Disk for LVM Use”. For example:

# pvcreate -f pvname

Use the vgmodify command to convert the disk to a nonbootable disk, as described in “Changing Physical Volume Boot Types”. Alternately, use the pvcreate command without the -B option to reinitialize the disk, as described in “Initializing a Disk for LVM Use”. For example:

# pvcreate -f pvname

Message Text

vgcreate: Volume group "/dev/vgname" could not be created:
VGRA for the disk is too big for the specified parameters.
Increase the extent size or decrease max_PVs/max_LVs and try again.

Cause

The volume group reserved area (VGRA) at the front of each LVM disk cannot hold all the information about the disks in this volume group. This error typically occurs if you use disks larger than 100 GB.

Recommended Action

Adjust the volume group creation parameters. Use the –s option of the vgcreate command to select an extent size larger than 4 MB, or use the –p option to select a smaller number of physical volumes. For more information on these options, see vgcreate(1M). For recommendations on extent sizes, see Appendix C.

vgdisplay(1M)

Message Text

vgdisplay: Couldn't query volume group "/dev/vgname". Possible error in the Volume Group minor number; Please check and make sure the group minor number is unique. vgdisplay: Cannot display volume group "/dev/vgname".

Cause

This error has the following possible causes:

  1. There are multiple LVM group files with the same minor number.

  2. Serviceguard was previously installed on the system and the /dev/slvmvg device file still exists.

Recommended Action

  1. List the LVM group files. If there are any duplicate minor numbers, export one of the affected volume groups, optionally create a new group file with a unique minor number, and reimport the volume group. If you are not familiar with this procedure, contact your HP support representative for assistance.

    # ll /dev/*/group # vgexport -m vgname.map -v -f vgname.file /dev/vgname # mkdir /dev/vgname # mknod /dev/vgname/group c 64 unique_minor_number # vgimport -m vgname.map -v -f vgname.file /dev/vgname

  2. Remove the /dev/slvmvg device file and re-create the /etc/lvmtab and /etc/lvmtab_p files using the following commands:

    # rm /dev/slvmvg # mv /etc/lvmtab /etc/lvmtab.old # mv /etc/lvmtab_p /etc/lvmtab_p.old # vgscan –v

Message Text

vgdisplay: /etc/lvmtab: No such file or directory vgdisplay: No volume group name could be read from "/etc/lvmtab". vgdisplay: /etc/lvmtab: No such file or directory vgdisplay: No volume group name could be read from "/etc/lvmtab".

Cause

One of the LVM configuration files, either /etc/lvmtab or /etc/lvmtab_p, is missing.

Recommended Action

Create the /etc/lvmtab and /etc/lvmtab_p files using the following command:

# vgscan –v

For additional information on the vgscan command and its option, see vgscan(1M).

Message Text

Warning: couldn't query physical volume "pvname":
The specified path does not correspond to physical volume
attached to this volume group
Couldn't query the list of physical volumes.

Cause

The possible causes of this error are described under the “vgchange(1M)” error messages.

Recommended Action

See the recommended actions under the “vgchange(1M)” error messages.

vgextend(1M)

Message Text

vgextend: Not enough physical extents per physical volume. Need: #, Have: #.

Cause

The disk size exceeds the volume group maximum disk size. This limitation is defined when the volume group is created, as a product of the extent size specified with the –s option of vgcreate and the maximum number of physical extents per disk specified with the –e option. Typically, the disk is successfully added to the volume group, but not all of the disk is accessible.

Recommended Action

Use the vgmodify command to adjust the maximum number of physical extents per disk. Alternately, you can re-create the volume group with new values for the –s and –e options.

vgimport(1M)

Message Text

vgimport: "/dev/vgname/group": not a character device.

Cause

The volume group device files do not exist, and this version of the vgimport command does not automatically create them.

Recommended Action

Create the directory for the volume group, and create a group file, as described in “Creating the Volume Group Device File”.

Message Text

Verification of unique LVM disk id on each disk in the volume group /dev/vgname failed.

Cause

There are two possible causes for this message:

  1. The vgimport command used the –s option and two or more disks on the system have the same LVM identifier; this can happen when disks are created with BC copy or cloned with dd.

  2. LVM was unable to read the disk header; this can happen when you create new logical units on a SAN array.

Recommended Action

  1. Use vgimport without the –s option. Alternately, use vgchgid to change the LVM identifiers on copied or cloned disks.

  2. Retry the vgimport command.

/var/adm/syslog/syslog.log

Message Text

LVM: VG mm 0xnn0000: Data in one or more logical volumes on PV nn 0x0nn000 was lost when the disk was replaced. This occurred because the disk contained the only copy of the data. Prior to using these logical volumes, restore the data from backup.

Cause

LVM cannot synchronize the data on a replaced disk automatically, for example, when LVM discovers an unmirrored logical volume residing on a disk that was just replaced.

Recommended Action

Restore the contents of the logical volume from backup.

Message Text

LVM: VG mm 0xnn0000: PVLink nn 0x0nn000 Detached.

Cause:

This message is advisory. It is generated whenever a disk path is detached.

Recommended Action

None.

Message Text

LVM: vg[nn] pv[nn] No valid MCR, resyncing all mirrored MWC LVs on the PV

Cause

This message appears when you import a volume group from a previous release of HP-UX. The format of the MWC changed at HP-UX 11i Version 3, so if the volume group contains mirrored logical volumes using MWC, LVM converts the MWC at import time. It also performs a complete resynchronization of all mirrored logical volumes, which can take substantial time.

Recommended Action

None.

Message Text

LVM: vg 64 0xnnnnnn: Unable to register for event notification on device 0xnnnnnnnn (1)

Cause

This message can be displayed on the first system boot after upgrading to HP-UX 11i Version 3. It is a transient message caused by updates to the I/O configuration. Later in the boot process, LVM registers for event notification again, and succeeds.

Recommended Action

None.

Printable version
Privacy statement Using this site means you accept its terms Feedback to webmaster
© 2008 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.