vgcfgrestore: Recover LVM without Backup [100% Working]

Introduction to vgcfgrestore command

vgcfgrestore restores the metadata of a volume group from a text backup file produced by vgcfgbackup.

Sometimes, you might accidentally remove a logical volume or want to restore the deleted logical volume from the volume group. The vgcfgrestore command allows you to recover the logical volume without losing any data.

vgcfgbackup command creates backup files containing metadata of volume groups. By default, vgcfgbackup automatically stores the backup files when the change is made in the LVM configuration. The default location of the backup files is /etc/lvm/backup andthe metadata archive files is /etc/lvm/archive.

How to recover the deleted logical volume? [Step-by-Step]

In this tutorial, we will use the vgcfgrestore command to recover the deleted logical volume lvol1 on the volume group vol_grp.

root@ubuntu-PC:~# lvremove vol_grp/lvol1
Do you really want to remove and DISCARD active logical volume vol_grp/lvol1? [y/n]: y
  Logical volume "lvol1" successfully removed

Step-1: Check the archive file under the directory /etc/lvm/archive

You can find the archive file at etc/lvm/archive and verify it by checking the date and time the file was created. In our case, it is the last one.

# ls -l /etc/lvm/archive

Step-2: Recover the logical volume

Before starting the actual recovery, you can do a dry run (test mode) using the -t or --test option. The -f or –file option specifies a metadata backup or archive file to be used for restoring.

# vgcfgrestore vol_grp --test -f /etc/lvm/archive/vol_grp_00003-311980547.vg

The test run was successful. Now, run the actual restore.

# vgcfgrestore vol_grp -f /etc/lvm/archive/vol_grp_00003-311980547.vg

Step-3: Check the restored logical volume

After that, check whether the deleted logical volume is successfully restored or not using the lvscan command.

As we can see, the logical volume lvol1 is restored but it is inactive. You can activate the logical volume by using the lvchange command.

List metadata backup and archive files

The -l or --list option of vgcfgrestore command lists metadata backup and archive files of the volume group.

The following command displays all metadata backups and archive files of the volume group vol_grp.

# vgcfgrestore -l vol_grp

OR

# vgcfgrestore --list vol_grp

Sample Output:

Conclusion

We hope this tutorial gave you an idea of how to restore the deleted logical volume using the vgcfgrestore command. If you have any questions, feel free to ask us in the comment section.

What’s Next

lvremove command examples in Linux [Cheat Sheet]
5+ lvdisplay command examples in Linux [Cheat Sheet]

Further Reading

man page for vgcfgrestore command
5 easy steps to recover LVM2 partition, PV, VG, LVM metdata in Linux