> Source: [sk95566](https://support.checkpoint.com/results/sk/sk95566) # sk95566 - Managing partition sizes through the LVM manager on Gaia OS | Property | Value | |----------|-------| | Solution ID | sk95566 | | Date Created | 2013-10-15 | | Last Modified | 2026-07-08 | | Technical Level | General | | Products | Security Gateway, Security Management Server, Multi-Domain Security Management Server, Scalable Platforms | | Versions | R82.10, R82, R81.20, R81.10 (EOS), R82.10, R82, R81.20, R82.10, R81 (EOS), R82.10, R82, R81.20, R81.10 (EOS), R81.10 (EOS), R81 (EOS), R81 (EOS), R81.10 (EOS), R81.20, R82 | | OS | Gaia | ## Solution **Table of Contents:** * Introduction * Important Notes * Features * Common Use Cases * Instructions * LVM Manager in R77.30 and Higher Versions * LVM Manager in R77.20 and Lower Versions * Allocating Space from a Free/Unallocated Partition to 'lv_current' * Limitations * Related SecureKnowledge Articles Introduction {#Introduction} ---------------------------- To improve administrators' ability to monitor and configure the sizes of the partitions on machines running Gaia OS, we created a dedicated tool: the**LVM Manager**. LVM Manager is a command line, menu-driven tool for managing partition sizes. LVM Manager manages logical volumes. In this article, we use the term "partition" because, from the user's point of view, it behaves like one. **This article applies to these servers:** * Security Gateways / VSX Security Gateways * Cluster Members / VSX Cluster Members * Security Management Servers / Multi-Domain Security Management Servers * Log Servers / Multi-Domain Log Servers * SmartEvent Servers * Maestro Orchestrators * Maestro Security Groups Important Notes {#Important Notes} ---------------------------------- * **Do a backup/snapshot before you proceed.** * For backup instructions, refer to [sk108902 - Best Practices - Backup on Gaia OS](https://supportcenter.checkpoint.com/supportcenter/portal?eventSubmit_doGoviewsolutiondetails=&solutionid=sk108902). * **Reboot and do the procedure in the Maintenance Mode only.** * Refer to [sk109047 - How to enter the Boot menu on Gaia OS](https://supportcenter.checkpoint.com/supportcenter/portal?eventSubmit_doGoviewsolutiondetails=&solutionid=sk109047). * It takes several minutes to change a partition size. * To enter maintenance mode in the cloud virtual machine, refer to [sk170732 - Maintenance mode for Azure, AWS and Google Cloud Platform (GCP)](https://support.checkpoint.com/results/sk/sk170732) * There is no console in Amazon Web Services (AWS). As a result, there is no access to the Maintenance Mode. * To increase the timeout value to boot into the Maintenance Mode, refer to [sk128112 - How to increase the timeout value to boot into maintenance mode](https://support.checkpoint.com/results/sk/sk128112). * It is not necessary to allocate disk space to the reserved backup/upgrade partition when you increase the "log" partition. Features {#Features} -------------------- * Provides clear visibility of partition structure and size. * Configures the required size of the "*current* " and "*log* " partitions. * Protects the user from configuring incorrect values. Common Use Cases {#Common Use Cases} ------------------------------------ * Smart-1 appliances, which prefer larger "log" partitions as an alternative to allowing saving snapshots. * Open Servers require different sizes during their operation than those defined during the installation. * Check Point appliances that behave as standalone environments, on which the size of the "log" partition is not sufficient. Instructions {#Instructions} ----------------------------
Click Here to Show the Entire Article ### LVM Manager {#Higher} Show / Hide this section The *lvm_manager* is pre-installed on all supported Gaia computers. You can run it from anywhere with this command: `[Expert@HostName]# lvm_manager ` ### Allocating Space from a Free/Unallocated Partition to 'lv_current' {#Allocate} Show / Hide this section This section applies to scenarios in which SmartConsole shows this pop-up: `Partition /opt has: XXXX MB of free space and it's lower than required: 2000 MB.` ![](https://sc1.checkpoint.com/sc/SolutionsStatics/sk181107/asassas202308030356492.png) SmartConsole shows this pop-up when the *lv_current* partition is full or less than 5% space is left on the partition. 1. Run the `lvm_manager` command in the Maintenance mode: `sh4.4# lvm_manager` Enter **1** to select **View LVM storage overview** . ![](https://sc1.checkpoint.com/sc/SolutionsStatics/sk181107/lvm12023061323423910.jpg) 2. A table appears describing the partition's size and the amount of used space. You allocate space from "unallocated space" to *lv_current / lv_log* . Press **Enter** to go back to the **Select action** menu. ![](https://sc1.checkpoint.com/sc/SolutionsStatics/sk181107/lvm22023061323432311.jpg) **Note:** When you increase the "*current* " partition, the space reserved for upgrades increases in parallel. Therefore, if you have 10 free GB, you can increase the "*current* " partition only to approximately 5 GB. If it is necessary to save room for a snapshot, you must reserve the same size for the snapshot as the size of the current partition because snapshots back up the all of the root partition. 3. From the **Select action** menu, enter **2** to select **Resize lv_current/lv_log Logical Volume** . ![](https://sc1.checkpoint.com/sc/SolutionsStatics/sk181107/lvm21202306132340166.jpg) In the next menu, enter **1** to extend the Logical Volume of *lv_current* . . ![](https://sc1.checkpoint.com/sc/SolutionsStatics/sk181107/lvm232023061323453012.jpg) 4. You can assign a range of sizes to the *lv_current* Logical Volume. **Note:** The Gaia OS uses free/unallocated space to create the snapshot. Make sure there is sufficient free/unallocated space for a snapshot. Enter the desired size for the *lv_current* Logical volume size. **For example** :*lv_current* size can be between **33 to 67** . We select **42** in the screenshot below. When you are prompted with **Are you sure you want to continue? (Y/N)** enter **y** to continue or **n** to stop. ![](https://sc1.checkpoint.com/sc/SolutionsStatics/sk181107/lvm3202306132339055.jpg) The screenshot below shows the resizing progress: ![](https://sc1.checkpoint.com/sc/SolutionsStatics/sk181107/lvm4202306132337162.jpg) 5. When the resizing process completes successfully, this screen appears: ![](https://sc1.checkpoint.com/sc/SolutionsStatics/sk181107/lvm5202306132336411.jpg) Press **Enter** to reboot. 6. After the reboot, run the LVM manager. Enter **1** for **View LVM storage overview** . Make sure that *lv_current* size is correct. Limitations {#Limitations} -------------------------- * Changing partition sizes takes several minutes. During this time, Check Point products are stopped, and a reboot is necessary at the end of the process. * A new partition size cannot be less than the current size, which is "used" + "2 GB". * In the XFS file system, you cannot decrease the partition size. You can only increase the partition size. * You cannot increase a partition size by more than the current free space. * When you increase the "*current* " partition, the space reserved for upgrades increases in parallel. Therefore, if you have 10 free GB, you can increase the "*current* " partition only to approximately 5 GB. If it is necessary to save room for a snapshot, you must reserve the same size for the snapshot as the size of the current partition because snapshot backs up all of the root partition. * The tool only works on systems with logical volumes. Therefore, you cannot use it on Gaia systems that were upgraded from SecurePlatform OS. * In a VMWare environment, if the free area is already assigned to *lv_log* manually, the script shows negative values for "free". Root cause: The script incorrectly calculates the "upgrade" area, which is not necessary in VMWare environments. **Example** : ``` LVM overview ============ Size(GB) Used(GB) Configurable Description lv_current 69 43 yes Check Point OS and products lv_log 304 238 yes Logs volume upgrade 77 N/A no Reserved for version upgrade swap 27 N/A no Swap volume size free -77 N/A no Unused space ------- ---- total 400 N/A no Total size ``` Related SecureKnowledge Articles {#Related Solutions} ----------------------------------------------------- * [sk92303 - How to configure partition sizes during Gaia installation](http://supportcontent.checkpoint.com/solutions?id=sk92303) * [sk170732 - Maintenance mode for Azure, AWS and Google Cloud Platform (GCP)](https://supportcenter.checkpoint.com/supportcenter/portal?eventSubmit_doGoviewsolutiondetails=&solutionid=sk170732) * [sk94671 - How to add log storage to a VMware Virtual Machine running Gaia OS](https://support.checkpoint.com/results/sk/sk94671) --- # Agent Instructions This content is from the Check Point Support Center (https://support.checkpoint.com), the official knowledge base for Check Point cybersecurity products. ## Navigating This Knowledge Base - **Complete index**: [llms.txt](https://support.checkpoint.com/llms.txt) - **All SK articles**: [SecureKnowledge Sitemap](https://support.checkpoint.com/sitemaps/secureknowledge-sitemap-index.xml) - **SK article URL pattern**: `https://support.checkpoint.com/results/sk/{skId}` - **Markdown responses**: AI bot User-Agents automatically receive `text/markdown` content