lvmtab out of sync with the kernel

[Vidyasankar Narayanan]

I'm receiving the following error message when I try to change something in a vg:
vgcfgbackup: /etc/lvmtab is out of date with the running kernel:Kernel indicates 169 disks for "/dev/vgora"; /etc/lvmtab has 168 disks. Cannot proceed with backup.
The VG has raw LV's for 2 databases. What is the best way to resolve this issue.

Thanks,
Vidya.

[Dan Hetzel]

Hi,

cp /etc/lvmtab /etc/lvmtab.old
vgscan -a

Best regards,

Dan

[Alex Glennie]

Try and view the following DOC : KBRC00000632 off the main ITRC site it details the procedures which normally resolve this problem .... if you have problems I can post it to this forum ... or post your email so i can send it direct ?

[James R. Ferguson]

Hi Vidya:

I agree with Dan's suggestion, however, there are some side-effects of running 'vgscan' that you may want to address. Principally these involve alternate links and boot information. See the man pages for 'vgscan'.

...JRF...

[Vidyasankar Narayanan]

Can this be run on a live production system? Or is it better to obtain a maintenance window to do this. What are the implications in running vgscan?

Thanks again.
Vidya.

[James R. Ferguson]

Hi again:

I think Alex's suggestion (via document KBRC00000632) is the soundest approach. If you read this documnent, it notes, "A common reason for the system to be in this state is that the lvmtab has been recreated while unable to communicate with one or more of the
physical volumes belonging the the volume group. If the lvmtab is recreated while the system is unable to query a physical volume, that physical volume will not be added to the lvmtab file. One can see how this can cause the lvmtab to mismatched with kernel memory."

I would suggest you try this document's approach first over the simple vgscan. In answer to your other question, quiescing the system before running vgscan is always sound, as is backing up critical data and structures before attempting major repair efforts.

...JRF...