Re: to lvm or not to lvm?
On Fri, Apr 20, 2007 at 10:37:35AM -0500, Default User wrote:
> Hi!
>
> After installing fresh Etch with encrypted lvm (all except /boot), per
> non-expert install, I am reconsidering whether lvm is a good idea. It
> works fine - now - but what if it stops working?
>
> The only partition that seems to be accessible from a sarge system on
> the same machine is the /boot partition. If Etch decides to misbehave,
> how would I be able to access my data? Or is this a case of "you do
> back up your data every day, don't you?"
>
> I really do like the ability to resize my partitions as needed (the
> layout that seemed fine upon install can really look stupid 6 months
> later). But not at the price of my data.
>
> And does encryption of lvm partitions unnecessarily complicate matters,
> especially recovery? Would just an encrypted swap partition only be
> better?
>
As always, it depends :)
What is the threat that you are trying to avoid. Personally, if nothing
else, I like swap encrypted (random key, no need for boot up pass
phrase), with /tmp on tmpfs.
As for accessing an LVM setup that 'stops working', it depends on why it
stopped working. The Etch installer CD has a good rescue mode that can
access the LVM stuff and help with fixes to common problems.
This, too, requires you to look at the over-all threat. If you have a
concern about drive failure, then LVM alone isn't what you want; you
want LVM over software raid.
In the absence of a drive failure, what can make LVM 'stop working'?
Some people have reported problems with device renaming (eg sda1 to
sde1). Someone who has solved that problem can tell you how to avoid it
in the first place. Since I have my system LVs on raid1, the md mapper
checks all disks it finds for the md config block; it doesn't rely on
drive names; LVM then just looks for md0.
So try rephrasing the question. Tell us what your threat concerns are.
Doug.
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