# Removing physical volume from VG

***

#### **Step 1: Move Data Off the Physical Volume with `pvmove`**

Before removing the physical volume, you need to ensure that all data on the physical volume is moved to other available physical volumes in the volume group.

1. **Move data off `/dev/sdb1`**:

   Run the `pvmove` command to move data off the physical volume `/dev/sdb1` (or whatever physical volume you want to remove):

   ```bash
   sudo pvmove /dev/sdb1
   ```

   This will move the data to other physical volumes in the volume group. You should wait for this process to complete before proceeding. You can check the progress with the following command:

   ```bash
   sudo pvdisplay /dev/sdb1
   ```

   When `pvmove` finishes, all the data will be relocated, and `/dev/sdb1` will be free.

***

#### **Step 2: Remove the Physical Volume from the Volume Group**

Once the data has been moved, you can attempt to remove `/dev/sdb1` from the volume group.

1. **Try to remove the physical volume**:

   Use the `vgreduce` command to remove `/dev/sdb1` from the volume group:

   ```bash
   sudo vgreduce myvg /dev/sdb1
   ```

   Replace `myvg` with the name of your volume group.

   **Note**: If there are no allocation extents left on `/dev/sdb1`, the command may fail with an error such as:

   ```
   No allocation extents available
   ```

***

#### **Step 3: Add a New Disk (If Needed)**

If the `vgreduce` command fails with the error "No allocation extents available," it means the volume group is full, and there is no free space available to remove the physical volume. In this case, you need to extend the volume group by adding a new disk.

1. **Add a new disk** to the volume group:

   If you have a new disk (e.g., `/dev/sdc`) that you can add to the volume group, first partition it using `fdisk` or `parted` to create an LVM partition (`8e` type). Afterward, use the following command to add the new disk to the volume group:

   ```bash
   sudo vgextend myvg /dev/sdc
   ```

   This adds the new disk (`/dev/sdc`) to the volume group, freeing up space for the `vgreduce` operation.

***

#### **Step 4: Retry Removing the Physical Volume**

Once you have added a new disk to the volume group and extended the group, you should now have enough space to remove the physical volume.

1. **Remove the physical volume**:

   Run the `vgreduce` command again to remove `/dev/sdb1`:

   ```bash
   sudo vgreduce myvg /dev/sdb1
   ```

   If successful, `/dev/sdb1` will be removed from the volume group.

***

#### **Step 5: Remove the Physical Volume Label**

Once the physical volume is no longer part of the volume group, you can remove the LVM metadata and label from the disk, which makes it available for reuse.

1. **Remove the LVM metadata from `/dev/sdb1`**:

   ```bash
   sudo pvremove /dev/sdb1
   ```

   This will completely erase the LVM metadata from `/dev/sdb1` and make it ready for other uses, such as creating a new partition or using it for a different purpose.

***

#### **Step 6: Verify the Changes**

1. **Check the volume group to confirm the removal**:

   ```bash
   sudo vgdisplay myvg
   ```

   This will show the updated details of the volume group. `/dev/sdb1` should no longer be listed as part of the group.
2. **Check the physical volume list**:

   ```bash
   sudo pvs
   ```

   This will show the physical volumes in use by the volume group. `/dev/sdb1` should no longer appear.


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