Red Hat Knowledgebase

Release found: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4

Resolution:

In Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4, using Global File System (GFS) as a local filesystem allows users to go beyond the 8TB maximum filesystem size limit of ext3/ext2. On a 32bit hardware, the GFS maximum filesystem size is 16TB. 8 Exabyte is the limit for a 64bit architecture.

The kernel module lock_nolock must be installed on the server prior to creating the GFS filesystem. The lock_nolock module comes with the GFS-kernel rpm matching the server's running kernel.

The command gfs_mkfs provided by the GFS rpm is used to create a Global File System.

Both the GFS-kernel and GFS rpms are available in Red Hat Network (RHN) through Red Hat Global File System channel.

Run the command below to create a GFS filesystem on /dev/sdb1 with lock_nolock locking protocol and only 1 journal since its for a single node non-clustered filesystem:

# gfs_mkfs /dev/sdb1 -p lock_nolock -j 1

Mount the GFS filesystem using the command below after creating its mount point:

# mount -t gfs /dev/sdb1 /mountpoint

Note: Directly mounting the same GFS filesystem simultaneously from multiple servers while lock_nolock is used can cause kernel panic or filesystem corruption.