[LINUX] What if RHEL on Azure needs to extend the file system?

Introduction

"Small start is possible" is sung as a big merit of Azure. From a storage perspective, it's easy to add or extend block storage to an existing instance on Azure. Therefore, it seems easy to start small and expand disk space as your business grows. However, what is really needed is not to increase the capacity of the block storage, but to increase the capacity of the file system, and to perform the expansion work with the minimum impact on the business. Especially in the case of clustered systems, it is important how the file system can be expanded with zero or less service downtime.

As mentioned above, there are two ways to increase the storage capacity of an instance on Azure.

** 1. Expansion of existing block storage ** ** 2. New block storage **

With Veritas InfoScale, the above two methods can be realized with the following four types of configurations. A white paper covering all patterns is available from Veritas. Please take a look at here. ・ Non-cluster configuration

· Shared disk cluster configuration (corresponding to the most common cluster requirements) A white paper has been published by Veritas for details on how to implement the above cluster configuration. Please see here

-Virtual mirror type cluster configuration using FSS (corresponds to cluster requirements that need to straddle AZ) A white paper has been published by Veritas for details on how to implement the above cluster configuration. Please see here

-Replication type cluster configuration using VVR (corresponds to cluster requirements that need to cross regions) A white paper has been published by Veritas for details on how to implement the above cluster configuration. By all means herePlease refer to the.

Features of each method to increase block storage of existing instances

** Expansion of existing block storage ** Azure allows you to extend the block storage associated with your RHEL instance. The advantage of this method is that you don't need to add new devices to your RHEL instance, so you can minimize configuration changes. The disadvantage is that the block storage expansion limit is 32 Tbytes.

Use this method if the block storage capacity required after expansion is within 32 Tbytes and you want to minimize changes to the system configuration. A white paper has been published by Veritas for detailed work methods. Please take a look at here.

** Add new block storage ** In Azure, you can add new block storage to your RHEL instance. The advantage of this method is that it can provide a capacity exceeding 32 Tbytes. Disadvantages are that the system configuration will be significantly changed due to the addition of new block storage, and there is a limit to the addition of block storage (about 66 for Basic level VMs and about 40 for Standard level VMs). ..

Use this method when the number of block storages connected to the instance after expansion exceeds the limit and the capacity exceeds 32 Tbytes. A white paper has been published by Veritas for detailed implementation methods. Please take a look at here.

in conclusion

How was it? This article and the white papers introduced in the article have clarified what to do if you need to extend the file system on RHEL on Azure, which may have significantly lowered the hurdles when considering a small start. Is it not? This article is just a small part of InfoScale that meets various customer requirements for storage management. Next time, I will send you what to do if you need to extend the file system after clustering in a Windows environment!

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