Ubuntu

Configuring LVM on an AWS basic image

Asked by jxfish2 on 2021-01-19

AWS does not have any Ubuntu images with LVM.

AWS support gave me a document that "theoretically" allows someone to configure LVM on an existing image.

But, that document does not work. It appears to be missing steps, that cause errors during the reboot process.

I managed to track down and fix some of the issues, so I am not getting as many errors as I was in the beginning.

After configuring the second disk with LVM via the AWS management portal, it says that the disks were configured correctly, and it says that everything was successfully deployed.

But, when I attempt to reboot the server to use the underlying LVM structure, it says that it's running, but there is no access to the newly built server.

I do not get a command prompt, and I have no way to login to the newly created server.

Does anyone have a complete document, that tells how to convert a generic Ubuntu image to use LVM?

Are there any basic Ubuntu images with LVM already configured, and with the following separate filesystems already in place?

     /
     /boot
     /home
     /opt
     /tmp
     /usr
     /var

I'm thinking that it might be easier to add AWS required apps, rather than trying to apply LVM to a generic AWS Ubuntu image.

Thanks in advance, and have a great new year...

Question information

Language:: English Edit question

Status:: Answered

For:: Ubuntu Edit question

Assignee:: No assignee Edit question

Last query:: 2021-01-19

Last reply:: 2021-01-23

Link existing bug

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Bernard Stafford (bernard010) said on 2021-01-19:

https://ubuntu.com/aws
Scroll to the middle of the page, left side; Ubuntu 20.04 LTS - Focal.
Ubuntu Server AWS. Select LVM in the installer.
This product is free to use but Ubuntu Advantage support and system's management is not offered with it.
Create an aws account then download.
The other way is to download server select LVM in the installer.
Change the Linux image to aws, Linux header to aws, Linux modules to aws, Linux extra to aws.
Changing the linux kernel to aws is the easiest.

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jxfish2 (jxfish2) said on 2021-01-19:

Hi Bernard,

Thanks for your answers.

I need to ask a few questions to clarify.

Ubuntu is free to use, until you decide to take out a support agreement or license.

Is AWS linux also free to use, or do we need to have a support agreement in place from the very beginning?

I am looking for a replacement for CentOS, but the caveat is that the freeware OS needs to use the exact same commands as the paid support version.

I hate the subscription model that RedHat uses.

I can easily access all of the repositories in a CentOS environment, but RedHat repository access is terrible.

With Ubuntu, I can develop in the freeware version, then take out a support contract for the production environments.

This is the model that I want to adopt.

Ubuntu is actually very close to CentOS and RedHat, with only a few minor differences, easy to overcome.

How close is AWS Linux to RedHat and CentOS?

We have more than 200 software products, and all will need to be converted to whatever OS we ultimately choose.

As such, it is important that whatever OS we choose, be as close to RedHat in functionality and layout as possible.

Because we have a huge development footprint, these freeware development servers are a necessity for us.

We must be able to minimize cost, or we will not be able to maintain a cost-effective environment.

If AWS Linux has a freeware tier for development and test environments, and if it is close enough to RedHat functionality in functionality, layout and appearance, then I am not adverse to using AWS Linux instead of Ubuntu.

But, if AWS Linux uses pay per use repositories / subscriptions like RedHat, then I am NOT going to recommend that route to my company.

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Bernard Stafford (bernard010) said on 2021-01-19:

https://ubuntu.com/download/server
https://maas.io/
My self I would go with Ubuntu maas in your situation.
Watch the short video about maas.

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Bernard Stafford (bernard010) said on 2021-01-19:

https://maas.io/how-it-works

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jxfish2 (jxfish2) said on 2021-01-19:

Hi Bernard,

Thank you for answering yet again, and thank you for the link.

But, I am afraid that we are kinda stuck with AWS.

We just need to find a Linux based operating system, that uses the exact same format, functionality, look and feel, all the way from development, through to production.

But, we need an operating system that is free to use in our development environments, with paid support at a point where we need them for production.

Ubuntu or Oracle Linux appear to be our best options at this point, but I do not see any AWS images (AMI) for either operating system, with LVM.

Ubuntu is offered through AWS, but no images are available with LVM.

Oracle Linux is a 100% compatible RedHad derivative, but it's not offered at all, as far as I can tell, through AWS.

And, in your previous post, if I understood you correctly, "Ubuntu Advantage support and system's management" are not offered in the AWS portal.

I wonder if AWS offers any kind of support for Ubuntu through its portal.

I don't really care whether the support comes through AWS, or directly from Ubuntu.

Any ideas?

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Bernard Stafford (bernard010) said on 2021-01-20:

Ubuntu server With MAAS. In the above documentation for MAAS. MAAS supports storage configuration for CentOS and RHEL deployments. Support includes RAID, LVM, and custom partitioning with different file systems (ZFS and bcache excluded)
MAAS expands to “Metal As A Service” – it converts bare-metal servers into cloud instances of virtual machines. There is no need to manage individual units. You can quickly provision or destroy machines, as if they were instances hosted in a public cloud like Amazon AWS, Google GCE, or Microsoft Azure.
That decision has to be you and your team. Ubuntu Server supports LVM and AWS.
Ubuntu is a stand alone server, Updates come from Ubuntu. Yes it is compatible with Red Hat, Cent OS and many others.