Change vg of /home

[ConnieK]

I know this may seem like a "newbie" question, but I have never run into this before.

New server build - rx2660 - HPUX 11.23, 4 internal drives.
Customer wants /home on VG01 <- 3rd internal drive (mirrored to 4th). VG00 on drive 1 and mirrored to drive 2.

I have always built servers using the standard layout of HPUX. Never have been asked to move /home to another VG. I would assume it's possible, but is it wise to do so?

They also have a number of database filesystems that are built from /home as the mount point.

Can someone enlighten me as to any risks or unwise policy for this customer request? Or am I concerned about nothing?

Thanks in advance,

Connie

[Pete Randall · Accepted solution]

Connie,

Having /home elsewhere other than vg00 is not at all uncommon. Many administrators like to keep vg00 purely for the system and /home tends to be more data than system.

Actually moving it is a fairly simple matter. I would probably set it up (vgcreate (if necessary), lvcreate, newfs, etc.) and just restore the data into it. Then you just switch the mount point in /etc/mnttab and reboot.


Pete

[TTr]

There is nothing unusual about puting /home on a separate volume group. In fact if you have many end users and /home is going to grow a lot with a huge number of files it is advisable to separate it from the rest of the vg00 volumes. This way you have separate i/o between system and user files, different backup policy for vg01, create ignite tapes easier for vg00 without worrying about filling up the tapes, can upgrade the os disk easier, can move the /home disks to another server, etc. etc.

[ConnieK]

Thank you both for your input! I will build the server as requested by the customer - even though it seems like an odd set up. Points forthcoming!

[ConnieK]

Question answered.

[Michael Steele_2]

Hi

/home will not be mounted until vg01, (* the other vg *) is activated. Say you have and MCSG cluster, then the alternate node will not have access to /home. For administrators, this is a pain. Many administrators keep their own scripts within their own /home/dir and will be forced into having a group /root admin account, or using /tmp, or in making an entirly new dir under vg00 for storing their swcripts. So its at worst and organizational problem.