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pvcreate(8) System Manager's Manual pvcreate(8) NAME pvcreate - Creates a physical volume that can be used as part of a vol- ume group SYNOPSIS /usr/sbin/pvcreate [-bf] [-t DiskType] PhysicalVolumePath DESCRIPTION This command is no longer supported on Digital UNIX systems. Features formerly provided by the Logical Volume Manager (LVM) are now provided by the Logical Storage Manager (LSM). Existing LVM volumes must be mi- grated to LSM, using an encapsulation process. For information about moving LVM volumes to LSM, see the vollvmencap(8) reference page and the manual Logical Storage Manager. The pvcreate command initializes a direct access storage device (a raw block device) for use as a physical volume in a volume group. The PhysicalVolumePath parameter specifies the pathname of the raw device to be used. If PhysicalVolumePath contains a file system, you are asked for confir- mation if your command entry does not include the -f flag. The request for confirmation avoids the accidental deletion of a file system. Cur- rently, BSD and System V file systems are recognized. The operation is denied if PhysicalVolumePath belongs to another volume group. Only physical volumes not belonging to other volume groups can be created. If PhysicalVolumePath contains a disk label, it is updated to reflect that PhysicalVolumePath is now a physical volume that can be installed in a volume group. After you create a physical volume with the pvcreate command, you can add it to a new volume group with the vgcreate command, or to an exist- ing volume group with the vgextend command. You can not add a raw device to a volume group if it has not been ini- tialized with the pvcreate command. FLAGS Used to specify (on standard input) the numbers that correspond to the indexes of all known bad blocks on the physical volume, PhysicalVol- umePath, that you are creating. Specify the indexes with decimal, oc- tal, or hexadecimal numbers using the C language conventional formats; use the newline, tab, or formfeed character to separate each number. If you do not use this flag, it is presumed that the physical volume contains no bad blocks. Forces the creation of a physical volume (thus deleting any file system present) without first requesting confirma- tion. Currently BSD and System V file systems are recognized. Used to retrieve configuration information about the physical volume from the /etc/disktab file. Specify the device (rz23, for example) with the DiskType parameter. NOTE: If the physical volume does not contain any disklabel, the com- mand will complain. The command must then be executed one more time with this flag set. NOTES We strongly recommend that you check the manufacturer's listing, or run diagnostics testing for bad blocks on the device prior to creating a physical volume. If bad blocks are present, use the -b flag when cre- ating the physical volume. The Logical Volume Manager (LVM) subsystem supports only one physical volume per disk; that is, only one partition on a disk unit can be al- located for LVM use. Also, the boot disk should not contain an LVM physical volume. EXAMPLES This section contains Digital device-specific examples. To create a physical volume on the raw device /dev/rrz1c that contains a disklabel, and to force the creation without confirmation, enter: pvcreate -f /dev/rrz1c To create a physical volume on the raw device /dev/rrz1c that does not contain a disklabel, and to get confirmation by default, enter: pvcreate -t rz23 /dev/rrz1c To create a physical volume on the raw device /dev/rrz1c, specifying that a bad blocks list (7 13 95 133) must be read from standard input, enter: echo 7 13 95 133 | pvcreate -b /dev/rrz1c FILES Specifies the command path Specifies the database containing the disk geometry and disk partition characteristics for all disk devices on the system RELATED INFORMATION Commands: echo(1), pvchange(8), pvdisplay(8), pvmove(8), vgcreate(8), vgextend(8) delim off pvcreate(8)