VxVM User's Guide

File System Operations

Chapter 5

Introduction

The Visual Administrator offers a limited set of file system operations. This chapter provides instructions on performing the following file system operations using the Visual Administrator:

File Systems and the Visual Administrator
- File System Type Restrictions
- VxFS Mount Options
Creating a File System on a New Volume
Creating a File System on an Existing Volume
Mounting a File System
Unmounting a File System
Checking a File System for Consistency
Resizing a File System
Defragmenting a File System
Preparing a File System for Online Backup
- Creating a Snapshot
- Removing a Snapshot
Displaying File System Properties
Quick Reference to File System Operations Menus and Forms
- File System Menus
- File System Forms
Note: Some operations discussed in this chapter can only be performed with the VERITAS File System (VxFS).

The quick reference sections at the end of this chapter provide information on the Visual Administrator menus and forms associated with file system operations.

File Systems and the Visual Administrator

The Visual Administrator performs file system operations by executing file system commands directly. The file system must be placed on a volume before file system operations can be performed through the Visual Administrator.

Due to the nature of UNIX file systems, the Visual Administrator cannot detect whether an unmounted file system already exists on a given volume. Only mounted file systems can be detected by the Visual Administrator. Therefore, you must be aware of whether an unmounted file system already exists before performing certain file system operations.

The Visual Administrator has no icons for file systems. However, the mount point name appears below the volume icon if a mounted file system exists on that volume. If the mount point is very long, only part of it appears under the volume icon.

The Visual Administrator adds entries for new file systems to the /etc/vfstab file (file system table). However, entries for removed file systems need to be removed from this file manually.

Note: In demo mode, the underlying volumes are artificial; since file system commands require real entities in order to succeed, file system operations cannot be simulated by the Visual Administrator in demo mode.

File System Type Restrictions

The Visual Administrator supports several file system types, including vxfs and ufs. However, some operations are not available with all file system types. For detailed information on operations specific to the VxFS file system, refer to the VERITAS File System (VxFS) System Administrator's Guide.

Two versions of the VERITAS File System(VxFS) are available: the base VxFS package and the VxFS Advanced package. The following operations are available only for vxfs type file systems with the VxFS Advanced package in use:

Resize
Defragment
Snapshot

The following operations can be performed on most file system types:

Create
Make File System
Mount
Unmount

Note: If vxfs is not installed when vxva is started, form fields corresponding to options that are specific to vxfs file systems are either excluded from forms or greyed out.

VxFS Mount Options

When mounting a VxFS file system, options that affect the performance of the file system can be specified. Using these options, the Visual Administrator provides a selection of two default file system configurations. The Visual Administrator automatically specifies these options to the mount command. These configurations are designed to correspond to common user environment types, as follows:

Server -- This is the default. No mount options are passed to mount, so the default logging mode log is in effect. With log mode, all structural changes are logged to disk before the system call returns to the application. Even if a system failure occurs, operations will be completed and nothing will be lost. This is a safe mode, but performance is slower.
Desktop -- The mincache=closesync option is passed to mount. This mode is particularly useful in desktop environments where users are likely to shut off the power on the machine without halting it first. With the mincache=closesync mode in effect, only files that are currently being written when the system crashes or is turned off can lose data. In this mode, any unlogged changes to the file are flushed to disk when the file is closed. No logging options are specified, so log is in effect.
Workstation -- The delaylog option is passed to mount. Performance is increased with delaylog mode in effect. With delaylog, the logging of some structural changes is delayed. If a system failure occurs, recent changes may be lost. This option provides the same correctness guarantees that traditional UNIX file systems provide for system failure.
Temporary -- The tmplog option is passed to mount. With the tmplog mode in effect, performance is greatly increased. However, recent changes may disappear if the system crashes. This mode is only recommended for temporary file systems.

For more details on the VxFS file system mount options, refer to the VERITAS File System (VxFS) System Administrator's Guide.

Creating a File System on a New Volume

File systems can be created and placed on volumes, one file system per volume. When the Visual Administrator is used to create a file system via the Basic-Ops, File Systems Operations menu, two tasks are actually performed:

A volume is created on a Volume Manager disk.
A file system is created on that volume.

The Visual Administrator handles both of these tasks automatically.

A file system can be created on one of three basic volume types:

Simple -- A concatenated volume whose subdisks are arranged both sequentially and contiguously within a plex. Concatenation allows a volume to be created from multiple regions of one or more disks if there is not enough space for an entire volume on a single region of a disk.
Striped -- A volume with data spread fairly evenly across multiple disks. Stripe units are relatively small, equally-sized fragments that are allocated alternately and evenly to the subdisks of a single plex. There should be at least two subdisks in a striped plex, each of which should exist on a different disk. Throughput increases with the number of disks across which a plex is striped. Striping helps to balance I/O load in cases where high traffic areas exist on certain subdisks.
RAID-5 -- A volume that uses striping to spread data fairly evenly across multiple disks in an array and allows independent access. It also stripes parity across all the disks in the array, rather than being concentrated on a single parity disk. Each stripe contains a parity stripe units and data stripe units. In comparison to the performance of striped volumes, throughput of RAID-5 volumes decreases since parity information needs to be updated each time data is written. However, in comparison to mirroring, the use of parity reduces the amount of space required.

Creating a File System on a Simple Volume

Create a file system on a simple, concatenated volume as follows:

1. Go to the view window corresponding to the disk group in which you want to perform this operation (View of rootdg, by default).

2. Optionally designate a disk to be used for the new volume. Ensure that the disk has sufficient free space to accommodate the desired length of the new volume by clicking the RIGHT button on an unobscured portion of that disk icon to access its VM disk properties form, then checking the value in the Maximum free space field. For detailed information on the VM disk properties form, refer to Table 28 in Chapter 4. If there is sufficient free space, select the disk by clicking the LEFT button on its icon. If no disks are selected, disks with sufficient free space are automatically used.

3. From the Basic-Ops menu, select File System Operations, then Create. A sub-menu listing basic volume types appears.

4. Select Simple. The Simple Volume/FS Create form appears (see Figure 53). This form creates a file system on a concatenated volume. The form is divided into two sections, one for volume creation and the other for file system creation. Most of the form fields are already set to the defaults for the creation of a file system on a new volume.

Note: Fields specific to vxfs file systems only appear if vxfs is installed on the system.

Figure 53 Simple Volume/FS Create Form

: 5. Complete the Simple Volume/FS Create Form. For detailed information on this form, refer to on-line help or Table 37.
: 6. When the form is completed, select Apply to create the volume and file system.

A new volume icon appears. Since this is a simple, concatenated volume, it contains a single plex. If the file system is mounted, it is represented by the mount point, which appears below the new volume.

Figure 54 shows a simple, concatenated volume with a mounted file system.

Figure 54 Simple Volume and File System

Creating a File System on a Striped Volume

Create a file system on a striped volume as follows:

1. Go to the view window corresponding to the disk group in which you want to perform this operation (View of rootdg, by default).

2. Optionally, designate at least two disks to be used for the new volume. These disks must belong to the same disk group. Ensure that the disks have sufficient free space to accommodate their portion of the desired length of the new volume by clicking the RIGHT button on an unobscured portion of each disk icon to access its properties form, then checking the value in the Maximum free space field. If there is sufficient free space, select the disks by clicking the MIDDLE button on their icons. If no disks are selected, disks with sufficient free space are automatically used.

3. From the Basic-Ops menu, select File System Operations, then Create. A sub-menu listing basic volume types appears.

4. Select Striped. The Striped Volume/FS Create form appears (see Table 40). This form creates a file system on a striped volume. The form is divided into two sections, one for volume creation and the other for file system creation. Most of the form fields are already set to the defaults for the creation of a file system on a new volume.

Note: Fields specific to vxfs file systems only appear if vxfs is installed on the system.

Figure 55 Striped Volume/FS Create Form

: 5. Complete the Striped Volume/FS Create form. For detailed information on this form, refer to on-line help or Table 38.
: 6. When the form is properly completed, select Apply to create the volume and file system.

A new striped volume icon appears. It contains a single plex and multiple subdisks. Note that there are gaps between the subdisks of the plex to indicate that it is striped. If the file system is mounted, it is represented by the mount point, which appears below the new volume.

Figure 56 shows a striped volume with a mounted file system.

Figure 56 Simple Volume and File System

Creating a File System on a RAID-5 Volume

Create a file system on a RAID-5 volume as follows:

1. Go to the view window corresponding to the disk group in which you want to perform this operation (View of rootdg, by default).

2. Optionally, designate at least two disks (ideally, four or more) to be used for the new volume. These disks must belong to the same disk group. Ensure that the disks have sufficient free space to accommodate their portion of the desired length of the new volume by clicking the RIGHT button on an unobscured portion of each disk icon to access its properties form, then checking the value in the Maximum free space field.

If there is sufficient free space, select the disks by clicking the MIDDLE button on their icons. If no disks are selected, disks with sufficient free space are automatically used.

3. From the Basic-Ops menu, select File System Operations, then Create. A sub-menu listing basic volume types appears.

4. Select RAID-5. The RAID-5 Volume/FS Create form appears (see Figure 57). This form creates a file system on a RAID-5 volume. The form is divided into two sections, one for volume creation and the other for file system creation. Most of the form fields are already set to the defaults for the creation of a file system on a new volume.

Note: Fields specific to vxfs file systems only appear if vxfs is installed on the system.

Figure 57 RAID-5 Volume/FS Create Form

: 5. Complete the RAID-5 Volume/FS Create form. For detailed information on this form, refer to on-line help or Table 39.
: 6. When the form is properly completed, select Apply to create the RAID-5 volume and file system.

A new RAID-5 volume icon appears. It contains one RAID-5 plex and one log plex. If the file system is mounted, it is represented by the mount point, which appears below the new volume.

Figure 58 shows a RAID-5 volume with a mounted file system, which is /techpubs. It also shows two plexes: one is a RAID-5 plex (vol01-01), and one is a log plex (vol01-02).

Figure 58 RAID-5 Volume with File System and Log Plex

Creating a File System on a Mirrored Volume

To create a file system on a mirrored volume, a volume can be created with a file system and then mirrored. The mirror layout can be simple or striped. The number of available disks must be sufficient to accommodate the layout type of both the existing volume and the mirror to be added. If a striped layout is desired, at least two disks other than those already in use by the volume must be available because one disk is required per stripe.

Note: A RAID-5 volume cannot be mirrored.

Create a file system on a mirrored volume as follows:

: 1. Go to the view window corresponding to the disk group in which you want to perform this operation (View of rootdg, by default).
: 2. Create a simple or striped volume containing a file system, as described in the previous sections.
: 3. Select the volume to which a mirror is to be added by clicking the LEFT button on its icon.
: 4. Optionally designate at least one disk (not already being used by the volume itself) to be used for the new mirror. If the mirror is to be striped, you must select at least two disks other than those already in use by the volume; if the mirror is to be simple, select only one disk. These disks must belong to the same disk group.
: Ensure that the disks have sufficient free space to accommodate their portion of the desired length of the new volume by clicking the RIGHT button on an unobscured portion of each disk icon to access its VM disk properties form, then checking the value in the Maximum free space field. For detailed information on this form, refer to Table 28. If there is sufficient free space, select the disks by clicking the MIDDLE button on their icons. If no disks are selected, disks with sufficient free space are automatically used.
: 5. From the Basic-Ops menu, select Volume Operations, then Add Mirror. A sub-menu listing mirror (plex) layout options appears.
: 6. Select either Simple or Striped, depending on the desired mirror layout.

The volume's icon expands visibly and a new mirror appears within its borders. The new mirror layout depends on what was specified during the Add Mirror operation.

Figure 59 shows a simple, mirrored volume with a file system.

Figure 59 Mirrored Volume with File System

Creating a File System on an Existing Volume

File systems can be created and placed on existing volumes, one file system per volume. A volume icon must be selected in order for this operation to succeed.

To create a file system on an existing volume:

: 1. Go to the view window corresponding to the disk group in which you want to perform this operation (View of rootdg, by default).
: 2. Select the volume on which to make the file system.
: 3. From the Basic-Ops menu, select File System Operations, then Make File System. The Make File System form appears. Most of the form fields are already set to the defaults for making a file system on an existing volume.
: 4. Complete the Make File System form (fields specific to vxfs file systems only appear if vxfs is installed on the system). For detailed information on this form, refer to Table 40.
: 5. When the form is properly completed, select Apply to create the file system.

If the file system is mounted, it is represented by the mount point, which appears below the volume icon.

Mounting a File System

A file system must be mounted before files can be accessed or created. In situations where a file system exists on a volume but is not currently mounted, that file system can be mounted at any time. A volume icon containing a valid, unmounted file system must be selected in order for this operation to succeed.

Note: The Visual Administrator has no way of knowing whether a valid, unmounted file system already exists on a given volume. You are therefore responsible for being aware of the existence of an unmounted file system on a volume, as well as that file system's characteristics.

To mount a file system on a volume:

: 1. Go to the view window corresponding to the disk group in which you want to perform this operation (View of rootdg, by default).
: 2. Select the volume containing the file system to be mounted.
: 3. From the Basic-Ops menu, select File System Operations, then Mount. The Mount File System form appears. Most of the form fields are already set to the defaults for mounting a file system on a volume.
: 4. Complete the Mount File System form (fields specific to vxfs file systems only appear if vxfs is installed on the system). For detailed information on this form, refer to Table 41.
: 5. When the form is properly completed, select Apply to mount the file system.

When the file system is successfully mounted, it is represented by the mount point, which appears below the volume.

Unmounting a File System

File system administration often requires the unmounting of file systems. A file system can be unmounted from a volume as long as the mount point is not currently in use. A volume icon containing a mounted file system must be selected in order for this operation to succeed.

To unmount a file system:

: 1. Go to the view window corresponding to the disk group in which you want to perform this operation (View of rootdg, by default).
: 2. Select the volume whose file system is to be unmounted.
: 3. From the Basic-Ops menu, select File System Operations, then Unmount.

The mount point should disappear from beneath the volume icon, indicating that the unmount operation has succeeded. If the mount point is in use, the unmount will fail.

Checking a File System for Consistency

A file system can be checked for consistency using fsck with the Visual Administrator. The file system must be unmounted at the time that the file system is checked. A volume icon containing an unmounted file system must be selected in order for this operation to succeed.

To check a file system for consistency:

1. Go to the view window corresponding to the disk group in which you want to perform this operation (View of rootdg, by default).

2. Select the volume whose unmounted file system is to be checked.

3. From the Basic-Ops menu, select File System Operations, then Check File System (fsck).

4. The File System Check Form pops up. Click the LEFT button on Apply to start checking.

5. Access the Command Info Window to see if fsck had any problems. Highlight the fsck command line listed in the Command History section of this window and then examine any corresponding output in the Output of the Highlighted Command section. This should reveal any fsck-related errors or inconsistencies. If the fsck line is accompanied by the word DONE, there are not likely to be any errors or inconsistencies present. For more information on the Command Info Window, refer to "Displaying Past and Present Commands" in Chapter 3.

Note: The Visual Administrator assumes that fsck will not require user input. If user input is required, the Check File System operation will fail, and fsck must be run from the command line.

Resizing a File System

Resizing allows a file system to be grown or shrunk according to current needs:

A vxfs file system can be increased in size if it is no longer large enough and more space is required.
A vxfs file system can be decreased in size if more space has been allocated to that file system than is actually required.

The resize operation involves resizing both the file system and its underlying volume. If new disk space is needed during the resize, it is allocated as necessary; if space becomes unused, it is added to the free space pool. A volume icon containing a mounted file system must be selected in order for this operation to succeed.

Resizing can take one of four forms:

Increase the volume and file system to the given length.
Increase the volume and file system by the given length.
Reduce the volume and file system to the given length.
Reduce the volume and file system by the given length.

Resize a file system and its underlying volume as follows:

: 1. Go to the view window corresponding to the disk group in which you want to perform this operation (View of rootdg, by default).
: 2. Select the volume whose file system is to be resized.
: 3. From the Basic-Ops menu, select File System Operations, then Resize. The File System Resize form appears (see Figure 60). Most of the form fields are already set to the defaults for resizing a file system on a volume.

Figure 60 File System Resize Form

: 4. Complete the File System Resize Form. For detailed information on this form, refer to on-line help or Table 42.
: 5. When the form is properly completed, select Apply to resize the file system.

As the file system and underlying volume are resized, the corresponding volume icon may change visibly.

Defragmenting a File System

Defragmentation is a technique of reorganizing a vxfs file system (using the fsadm utility). This results in improved system performance. Over time, fragmentation tends to increase on a file system, and defragmentation takes care of this.

Defragmentation can be performed on a vxfs file system residing on a selected volume. A volume icon containing a mounted file system must be selected in order for this operation to succeed.

Note: Defragmentation is available with vxfs file systems only.

Perform defragmentation on a vxfs file system as follows:

: 1. Go to the view window corresponding to the disk group in which you want to perform this operation (View of rootdg, by default).
: 2. Select the volume whose file system is to undergo defragmentation.
: 3. From the Basic-Ops menu, select File System Operations, then Defragment.

As defragmentation takes place, the outline of the selected volume icon momentarily disappears and then reappears.

Preparing a File System for Online Backup

The Visual Administrator can prepare a vxfs file system on a volume for online backup.

With the Visual Administrator, a snapshot image of a mounted file system is created by "snapshot" mounting another file system, which then becomes an exact copy of the first file system. The original file system is said to be snapped, and the copy is called the snapshot. The snapshot is a consistent view of the snapped file system for the point in time that the snapshot was made. For further information on the vxfs snapshot feature, refer to the VERITAS File System (VxFS) System Administrator's Guide.

Note: The snapshot operation is available with vxfs file systems only.

The Visual Administrator snapshot feature can be used to create or remove a snapshot file system:

Create -- Create a simple volume and then mount a snapshot file system of the selected file system on this new volume.
Remove -- Unmount the snapshot file system and then remove the underlying volume. Removal can only be performed on a file system that was created by the Create process listed above.

A volume icon containing a mounted file system must be selected in order for either the create or remove aspect of this operation to succeed.

Creating a Snapshot

Create a snapshot of a file system with VxFS as follows:

: 1. Go to the view window corresponding to the disk group in which you want to perform this operation (View of rootdg, by default).
: 2. Select the volume whose file system is to be used for backup/snapshot purposes.
: 3. From the Basic-Ops menu, select File System Operations, then Snapshot, and then Create. The FS Snapshot Create form appears.
: 4. Complete the FS Snapshot Create form. For detailed information on this form, refer to Table 43.
: 5. When the form is properly completed, select Apply to take a snapshot of the file system.

A new, simple volume containing a mounted snapshot file system appears. Figure 61 shows a file system on a volume and its snapshot file system on another volume.

Figure 61 File System and Snapshot

The snapshot file system should now be backed up to tape (or some other media). Be careful to specify the snapshot mount point for backup.

Removing a Snapshot

Note: This section applies only to a snapshot file system created by the method discussed in the previous section.

Once it has served its purpose, a snapshot file system can be removed. This involves unmounting the snapshot and removing its underlying volume.

Remove a snapshot file system using the VxFS approach as follows:

: 1. Go to the view window corresponding to the disk group in which you want to perform this operation (View of rootdg, by default).
: 2. Select the volume containing the snapshot file system that is to be removed. This volume and file system must have been created by the snapshot create operation presented in the previous section.
: 3. From the Basic-Ops menu, select File System Operations, then Snapshot, and then Remove.

Both the snapshot file system and its underlying volume disappear. The resulting free space is returned to the Volume Manager free space pool.

Displaying File System Properties

The File System Properties form displays useful details on the attributes of a particular file system. A single File System Properties form provides access to all file systems known to Visual Administrator at any given time. For detailed information on this form, refer to Table 44.

Since file systems do not have associated icons, file system properties cannot be accessed by clicking the RIGHT button on an icon. Instead, the File System Properties form is accessed in either of the following ways:

Click the RIGHT button on the file system mount point, which appears below the volume icon on which the file system is mounted.
Select Display Properties from the File System Operations menu.

Figure 62 illustrates the File System Properties form. All fields in this properties form are read-only, so this form cannot be used to alter the attributes of file systems.

Figure 62 File System Properties Form

Display information on a specific file system with the File System Properties form as follows:

: 1. Optionally select a volume whose mounted file system's properties are to be displayed.
: 2. From the Basic-Ops menu, select File System Operations, then Display Properties. The File System Properties form appears. For detailed information on this form refer to on-line help or Table 44.

If a volume has been selected, the properties for the file system that resides on that volume are displayed by default. The properties displayed on the right side of the form correspond to the selected mount point name from the list on the upper left of the form. Selecting a different mount point from the list causes the properties of that file system to be displayed instead.

Quick Reference to File System Operations Menus and Forms

This section provides information on menus and forms relating to file system operations.

Note: Some menus, forms, and form fields described here are available with the VxFS file system only. For detailed information on the VxFS file system, refer to the VERITAS File System (VxFS) System Administrator's Guide.

File System Menus

File System operations are accessed through the Basic-Ops menu. Most menus provide a Help selection, which provides information on the items and operations contained in that menu.

**Table 36** File System Menus
Menu /Submenu Access	Description
Basic-Ops >File System Operations	Provides access to File system Operations.
Basic-Ops >File System Operations > Create	Creates a file system on an underlying volume. This is done by creating a volume on one or more disks and then creating the file system on that volume. You may select one or more disks on which to create the volume (providing that there is sufficient space on the disks). If no disks are specified, the Volume Manager automatically determines which disks are to be used based on available free space. From the Create menu, select the type of volume to be created from a cascading menu listing three of the basic types of volumes: Simple, Striped, or RAID-5. Requirements: * Only disks in the same disk group can be selected. * Only VM disks (disks under Volume Manager control) can be selected.
Basic-Ops > File System Operations > Create > Simple	Creates a file system on a simple, concatenated volume whose subdisks are arranged both sequentially and contiguously within a plex (mirror). See Also: * Simple Volume/FS Create Form (Table 37)
Basic-Ops > File System Operations > Create> Striped	Creates a file system on a volume with data spread fairly evenly across multiple disks by way of striping. Stripes are relatively small, equally-sized fragments that are allocated alternately to the subdisks of each plex (mirror). Requirements: * If a mirrored volume is desired, a simple or striped volume must be created and then mirrored (using the Add Mirror option from the Volume Operations menu). RAID-5 volumes cannot be mirrored. See Also: * Striped Volume/FS Create Form (Table 38)
Basic-Ops > File System Operations > Create> RAID-5	Creates a file system on a volume that uses striping to spread data fairly evenly across multiple disks in an array, and allows independent access. It also stripes parity across all the disks in the array. Each stripe contains a parity stripe and data stripes. Requirements: * At least three disks must be selected. See Also: * RAID-5 Volume/FS Create Form (Table 39)
Basic-Ops > File System Operations > Create> Help	Accesses a Help window that displays information relevant to the file system operations
Basic-Ops > File System Operations> Make File System	Makes a file system on an existing volume. You select the volume on which to place the new file system and specify the mount point if the file system is to be mounted immediately. Requirements: * A volume icon must be selected. * The selected volume must be enabled. * Only one mounted file system can exist on each volume. See Also: * Make File System Form (Table 40)
Basic-Ops > File System Operations > Mount	Mounts the file system that resides on the selected volume. This operation assumes that the selected volume already contains a valid file system. The Visual Administrator has no way of knowing whether a valid, unmounted file system already exists on a given volume. You must be aware of the existence of an unmounted file system on a volume, as well as that file system's type. Requirements: * A volume icon must be selected. * A valid, unmounted file system must already exist on the selected volume. See Also: * Mount File System Form (Table 41)
Basic-Ops > File System Operations > Unmount	Unmounts the file system(s) that resides on the selected volume(s). The file system can be unmounted only if the mount point is not busy. Requirements: * At least one volume icon must be selected. * The selected volume must contain a mounted file system.
Basic-Ops > File System Operations > Check File System (fsck)	Checks the file system(s) on the selected volume(s) for consistency (using `fsck`). The file system to be checked must currently be unmounted. Requirements: * At least one volume icon must be selected. * The selected volume(s) must contain an unmounted file system.
Basic-Ops > File System Operations > Resize	Resizes the file system that resides on the selected volume. This involves first resizing the volume and then resizing its file system accordingly. Both the volume and file system can be increased to, increased by, reduced to, or reduced by a given length. Disk space is added to or removed from the mirrors associated with the volume. If new disk space is needed during the resize, it is allocated as necessary. If space becomes unused, it is added to the free space pool. A disk cannot be selected for this operation. Requirements: * A volume icon containing a mounted file system must be selected. * The resize operation is only supported for VxFS Advanced file systems. See Also: * File System Resize Form (Table 42)
Basic-Ops > File System Operations > Defragment	Performs defragmentation on the VxFS Advanced file system(s) residing on a selected volume(s). Defragmentation is a technique of reorganizing a VxFS file system (using `fsadm`). This results in improved system performance. Requirements: * At least one volume icon containing a mounted file system must be selected. * The defragmentation operation is only supported for VxFS Advanced file systems.
Basic-Ops > File System Operations > Snapshot	Backs up a file system by creating a snapshot image of that file system. This is a convenient way of performing online backup with minimal interruption. This operation invokes the VxFS snapshot approach, which is generally preferable to the Volume Manager approach. With VxFS, a snapshot image of a mounted file system is created by "snapshot" mounting another file system which then becomes an exact copy of the first file system. The original file system is said to be snapped, and the copy is called the snapshot. The snapshot is a consistent view of the snapped file system for the point in time that the snapshot was made. From the Snapshot menu, a cascading menu allows you to either create or remove a snapshot. Requirements: * A volume icon containing a mounted file system must be selected in order for either the create or remove aspect of this operation to succeed (although multiple volume icons may be selected for removal). * The snapshot operation is only supported for VxFS Advanced file systems.
Basic-Ops > File System Operations > Snapshot > Create	First creates a simple volume and then mounts a snapshot file system of the selected file system on the new volume.
Basic-Ops > File System Operations > Snapshot > Remove	First unmounts the snapshot file system(s) and then removes the underlying volume(s). Removal can only be performed on a snapshot file system that was created by the Snapshot/Create procedure.
Basic-Ops > File System Operations > Display Properties	Displays information for file systems mounted on the system. You may select the file system for which information is to be displayed from a list of all mounted file systems. If a volume is selected, the properties for the file system that resides on that volume is displayed by default.
Basic-Ops > File System Operations > Help	Accesses a Help window that displays information relevant to the file system operations.

File System Forms

Some file system operations result in the appearance of forms, which must be completed in order for that operation to proceed. Most forms provide a Help button, which contains information relevant to the fields and other aspects of that particular form.

Some form fields are required, while others are not. Fields in these forms are read/write, unless listed as read only.

Note: If vxfs is not installed when vxva is started, form fields corresponding to options that are specific to vxfs file systems are either excluded from forms or greyed out.

Simple Volume/FS Create Form

This form creates a concatenated volume and then creates a file system on the new volume. The form is divided into two sections, one for volume creation and the other for file system creation. Most of the form fields are already set to the defaults for the creation of a new volume and file system.

**Table 37** Simple Volume/FS Create Form
Field	Description
Volume name:	Either use the default or enter a different name for the volume to be created. The name must be unique within this disk group. The maximum length of this field is 31 characters.
Volume size:	Enter the desired volume size. The size should be entered as a number followed immediately by the letter `k`, `m`, `s`, or `g` to indicate kilobytes, megabytes, sectors, or gigabytes, respectively. If no unit is specified, the default is sectors. The volume size should be less than or equal to the available free space of the disks. If you click on the Maxsize button, the Volume Manager calculates and displays the maximum volume size possible with this form's current settings. If no disks are selected, the calculation includes available space on all disks in the disk group. Otherwise, the calculation includes the selected disk(s) only.
Usage type:	Select a usage type. `fsgen` is the file system generic usage type that assumes the volume is being used by a file system. `gen` is the generic usage type that makes no assumptions regarding the data content of the volume. The default is `fsgen`.
Create log subdisk:	Indicate whether a log subdisk is to be created. The default is `No`.
Create file system:	Indicate whether a file system is to be created. When this form is invoked from the File System Operations menu, the default is to create a file system (`Yes`). All fields below this field are only accessible when `Yes` is specified here.
FS type:	Enter the desired file system type.
Impose inode limit:	Specify whether to force the file system to have a limit of 65,536 inodes (files). This feature is necessary when making file systems that are compatible with applications for some UNIX systems (such as System V releases prior to System V Release 4). Specifying `No` in this field instructs the file system to create as many inodes as appropriate for the file system's size. The default is `Yes`.
Mount file system	Specify whether or not you want the file system to be mounted after creation. If the answer is `Yes` (the default), you must specify a mount point in the mount point field. All fields below this field are only accessible when `Yes` is specified here.
Mount point:	Enter the desired mount point for the new file system. If the specified mount point does not already exist, the Visual Administrator will automatically create it. This field is required if the file system is to be mounted.
vxfs mount option:	If `vxfs` is selected as the file system type, various parameters that affect file system performance can be specified when mounting a file system. This field is used to select one of the file system configurations provided, each of which represents a certain type of environment. Mount options suitable for the chosen environment will be run. Refer to "VxFS Mount Options" for further details on these VxFS mount options. This field is ignored if `vxfs` is not selected as the file system type.
Mount automatically:	Indicate whether this file system should be mounted every time the system comes up (by placing an entry in `/etc/vfstab`). The default is `Yes`.

Striped Volume/FS Create Form

This form creates a striped volume and creates a file system on the new volume. The form is divided into two sections, one for volume creation and the other for file system creation. Most of the form fields are already set to the defaults for the creation of a new volume.

**Table 38** Striped Volume/FS Create Form
Field	Description
Volume name:	Either use the default or enter a different name for the volume to be created. The name must be unique within this disk group. The maximum length of this field is 31 characters.
Volume size:	Enter the desired volume size. The size should be entered as a number followed immediately by the letter `k`, `m`, `s`, or `g` to indicate kilobytes, megabytes, sectors, or gigabytes, respectively. If no unit is specified, the default is sectors. If the size is not wholly divisible by the stripe unit size, the Volume Manager will adjust the volume size up to the next even multiple in order to create the volume. For a striped volume, the volume size should be calculated using: vol_size = stripe_width * number_of_columns * n, where n is a number greater than zero. The volume size should be less than or equal to the available free space of the disks. If you click on the Maxsize button, the Volume Manager calculates and displays the maximum volume size possible with this form's current settings. If no disks are selected, the calculation includes available space on all disks in the disk group. Otherwise, the calculation includes the selected disk(s) only.
Usage type:	Select the desired usage type. `fsgen` is the file system generic usage type that assumes the volume is being used by a file system. `gen` is the generic usage type that makes no assumptions regarding the data content of the volume. The default is `fsgen`.
Create log subdisk:	Indicate whether a log subdisk is to be created. The default is `No`.
Number of Columns:	Enter the number of columns that the volume's plex (mirror) is to have. This is effectively the number of disks on which the volume is to be created. If some number of disks have already been selected, that number of columns appears in this field. This number corresponds to the number of disks across which data will be striped. If no number is specified, Volume Manager selects an appropriate number (usually 2).
Stripe unit size:	Enter the width of the stripe units on the mirror this volume will have. The value specified may be optimized for the particular drive configuration. The default value for this field is 32 sectors, chosen as a good stripe unit size for most systems.
Create file system:	Indicate whether a file system is to be created. When this form is invoked from the File System Operations menu, the default is to create a file system (`Yes`). All fields below this field are only accessible when `Yes` is specified here.
FS type:	Enter the desired file system type.
Impose inode limit:	Specify whether to force the file system to have a limit of 65,536 inodes (files). This feature is necessary when making file systems that are compatible with applications for some UNIX systems (such as System V releases prior to System V Release 4). Specifying `No` in this field instructs the file system to create as many inodes as appropriate for the file system's size. The default is `Yes`.
Mount file system:	Specify whether or not you want the file system to be mounted after creation. If the answer is `Yes` (the default), you must specify a mount point in the mount point field. All fields below this field are only accessible when `Yes` is specified here.
Mount point:	Enter the desired mount point for the new file system. If the specified mount point does not already exist, the Visual Administrator will automatically create it. This field is required if the file system is to be mounted.
vxfs mount option:	If `vxfs` is selected as the file system type, various parameters that affect file system performance can be specified when mounting a file system. Select one of the file system configurations provided, each of which represents a certain type of environment. Mount options suitable for the chosen environment will be run. Refer to "VxFS Mount Options" for further details on these VxFS mount options. This field is ignored if `vxfs` is not selected as the file system type.
Mount automatically:	Indicate whether this file system should be mounted every time the system comes up (by placing an entry in `/etc/vfstab`). The default is `Yes`.

RAID-5 Volume/FS Create Form

This form creates a file system on the new RAID-5 volume. The form is divided into two sections, one for volume creation and the other for file system creation. Most of the form fields are already set to the defaults for the creation of a new volume.

**Table 39** RAID-5 Volume/FS Create Form
Field	Description
Volume name:	Either use the default or enter a different name for the volume to be created. The name must be unique within this disk group. The maximum length of this field is 31 characters.
Volume size:	Enter the desired volume size. The size should be entered as a number followed immediately by the letter `k`, `m`, `s`, or `g` to indicate kilobytes, megabytes, sectors, or gigabytes, respectively. If no unit is specified, the default is sectors. If the size specified is not wholly divisible by the stripe unit size, it is rounded up before the volume is created. Since RAID-5 reserves separate space for parity information, the actual space contained in plexes is larger than the addressable size of the volume. The size specified in this field represents the usable space. If you click on the Maxsize button, the Volume Manager calculates and displays the maximum volume size possible with this form's current settings. If no disks are selected, the calculation includes available space on all disks in the disk group. Otherwise, the calculation includes the selected disk(s) only.
Create log subdisk:	Indicate whether a log subdisk is to be created. The default is `Yes`. At least one log subdisk should be created for a RAID-5 volume.
Number of Columns:	Enter the number of columns that the volume's plex is to have. Typically, the number needed for RAID-5 should be four columns or more. When three or more VM disks are selected, this field is initialized to one less than the number of VM disks selected to allow for the creation of a log subdisk.
Stripe unit size:	Indicate the width of the stripe units on the volume's plex. The value specified may be optimized for your particular drive configuration. Since 32 sectors is considered a good stripe unit size for most systems, it is specified as the default.
Create file system:	Indicate whether a file system is to be created. Since the object of this operation is to create a file system, `Yes` is the selected default.
FS type:	Enter the desired file system type.
Impose inode limit:	Specify whether to force the file system to have a limit of 65,536 inodes (files). This feature is necessary when making file systems that are compatible with applications for some UNIX systems (such as System V releases prior to System V Release 4). Specifying `No` in this field instructs the file system to create as many inodes as appropriate for the file system's size. The default is `Yes`.
Mount file system:	Specify whether or not you want the file system to be mounted after creation. If the answer is `Yes` (the default), you must specify a mount point in the mount point field. All fields below this field are only accessible when `Yes` is specified here.
Mount point:	Enter the desired mount point for the new file system. If the specified mount point does not already exist, Visual Administrator will automatically create it.
vxfs mount option:	If `vxfs` is selected as the file system type, various parameters that affect file system performance can be specified when mounting a file system. Select one of the file system configurations provided, each of which represents a certain type of environment. Mount options suitable for the chosen environment will be run. Refer to "VxFS Mount Options" for further details on these VxFS mount options. This field is ignored if `vxfs` is not selected as the file system type.
Mount automatically:	Indicate whether this file system should be mounted every time the system comes up (by placing an entry in `/etc/vfstab`). `Yes` is the default.

Make File System Form

This form is used to make a file system (using mkfs) according to your specifications.

**Table 40** Make File System Form
Field	Description
Device name:	Displays the block device on which to make the file system, which corresponds to the name of the selected volume. This field is read only and cannot be changed.
File system size:	Enter the length of the file system to be made. If no units are specified, sectors are assumed. This length should typically correspond to the length of the volume on which the file system is to be made, although it can be altered for special circumstances.
FS type:	Enter the desired file system type.
Impose inode limit:	Specify whether to force the file system to have a limit of 65,536 inodes (files). This feature is necessary when making file systems that are compatible with applications for some UNIX systems (such as System V releases prior to System V Release 4). Specifying `No` in this field instructs the file system to create as many inodes as appropriate for the file system's size. The default is `Yes`.
Mount file system:	Specify whether or not you want the file system to be mounted after creation. If the answer is `Yes` (the default), you must specify a mount point in the mount point field. All fields below this field are only accessible when `Yes` is specified here.
Mount point:	Enter the desired mount point for the new file system. If the specified mount point does not already exist, the Visual Administrator will automatically create it. This field is required if the file system is to be mounted.
vxfs mount option:	If `vxfs` is selected as the file system type, various parameters that affect file system performance can be specified when mounting a file system. Select one of the file system configurations provided, each of which represents a certain type of environment. Mount options suitable for the chosen environment will be run. Refer to "VxFS Mount Options" for further details on these VxFS mount options. This field is ignored if `vxfs` is not selected as the file system type.
Mount automatically:	Indicate whether this file system should be mounted every time the system comes up (by placing an entry in `/etc/vfstab`). `Yes` is the default.

Mount File System Form

This form is used to mount a file system that already exists on a selected volume.

**Table 41** Mount File System Form
Field	Description
Device name:	Displays the block device on which to make the file system, which corresponds to the name of the selected volume. This field is read only and cannot be changed.
FS type	Enter the desired file system type.
Mount point:	Enter the desired mount point for the file system. If the specified mount point does not already exist, the Visual Administrator will automatically create it. The Visual Administrator attempts to provide a default mount point, which it obtains by scanning `/etc/vfstab`.
vxfs mount option:	If `vxfs` is selected as the file system type, various parameters that affect file system performance can be specified when mounting a file system. Select one of the file system configurations provided, each of which represents a certain type of environment. Mount options suitable for the chosen environment will be run. Refer to "VxFS Mount Options" for further details on these VxFS mount options. This field is ignored if `vxfs` is not selected as the file system type.
Mount automatically:	Indicate whether this file system should be mounted every time the system comes up (by placing an entry in `/etc/vfstab`). `No` is the default.

File System Resize Form

This form either grows or shrinks a file system and its underlying volume using the Volume Manager free space management resources. If new disk space is needed, it will be allocated as necessary; if space becomes unused, it will be added to the free space pool.

**Table 42** File System Resize Form
Field	Description
Mount point:	Displays the mount point of the file system to be resized. This field is read only and cannot be changed.
Volume:	Displays the block device of the volume on which the file system resides. This field is read only and cannot be changed.
Current size:	Displays the current size of the file system to be resized. This field is read only and cannot be changed.
Option:	Select the type of resize operation to be performed. This will determine whether the volume is grown or shrunk to a certain size, or grown or shrunk by a given amount. The default is `Grow` `To`. The alternatives are `Grow` `By`, `Shrink` `To`, or `Shrink` `By`.
Size/Amount:	Enter either the length to which or the amount by which the file system (and underlying volume) is to be resized. If `Grow` `To` or `Shrink` `To` is selected, this field should reflect the final size. If `Grow` `By` or `Shrink` `By` is selected, this field should reflect the amount by which the size should change. The new volume size should be less than or equal to the available free space of the disks.

FS Snapshot Create Form

This form creates a snapshot of the selected volume for backup purposes.

**Table 43** FS Snapshot Create Form
Field	Description
File System:	Displays the mount point of the file system to be used as the snapshot source. This is the mount point of the file system that resides on the selected volume. This field is read only and cannot be changed.
Snapshot mount point:	Indicate the mount point of the snapshot file system to be created as a backup. The mount point must be unique
Snapshot size:	Indicate the size of the snapshot file system to be created. The snapshot file system is not an exact duplicate of the original file system, but a representation of it that does not have to be as big as the original file system. the visual Administrator calculates a default size that should be adequate for the snapshot file system. The displayed default is approximately one fifth of the length of the file system selected as the snapshot source.

File System Properties Form

This form provides detailed information on the attributes of a particular file system. This properties form contains a list of mounted file systems, from which you can select the file system whose properties are to be displayed.

All fields in this form are read only and cannot be changed.

Table 44 File System Properties Form
Field Description
Mount point: The mount point of this file system.
Device: The block device on which this file system resides.
Block size: The block size of the file system.
Default block size: This indicates the smallest space allocated to a file.
Total disk space: The amount of disk space that the file system occupies.
Disk space available: The number of megabytes of disk storage on this file system that is available for use.
Capacity: The percentage of the total disk storage space that is in use.
Total files: The maximum number of files allowed on this file system.
Free files available: The number of files that can still be created on this file system.
FS type: The file system type (vxfs or ufs).
Max file name length: The maximum number of characters that a file name can be on this file system. This restriction is imposed by the file system.
FS attributes: The attributes associated with this file system:
Read Only indicates a file system that cannot be written to.
No setuid indicates a file system that does not support setuid/setgid semantics.
No Truncate indicates a file system that does not truncate file names longer than NAME_MAX, the maximum file name length as defined in the system header files.

**Table 44** File System Properties Form
Field	Description
Mount point:	The mount point of this file system.
Device:	The block device on which this file system resides.
Block size:	The block size of the file system.
Default block size:	This indicates the smallest space allocated to a file.
Total disk space:	The amount of disk space that the file system occupies.
Disk space available:	The number of megabytes of disk storage on this file system that is available for use.
Capacity:	The percentage of the total disk storage space that is in use.
Total files:	The maximum number of files allowed on this file system.
Free files available:	The number of files that can still be created on this file system.
FS type:	The file system type (`vxfs` or `ufs`).
Max file name length:	The maximum number of characters that a file name can be on this file system. This restriction is imposed by the file system.
FS attributes:	The attributes associated with this file system: `Read` `Only` indicates a file system that cannot be written to. `No` `setuid` indicates a file system that does not support `setuid/setgid` semantics. `No` `Truncate` indicates a file system that does not truncate file names longer than `NAME_MAX`, the maximum file name length as defined in the system header files.

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