vxfsconvert(1M) vxfsconvert(1M)
NAME
vxfsconvert - convert a file system to a vxfs file system or upgrade a VxFS disk layout version.
SYNOPSIS
logsize] size] special
DESCRIPTION
converts a file system of a supported type to a file system with a Version 4 disk layout. Currently only supports conversion of an file
system to a file system. Conversion of all file system block and fragment sizes is supported. After a file system is converted to its
block size is the value of the fragment size before conversion. also converts VxFS Version 2 and Version 3 disk layouts to Version 4 disk
layouts.
Do a full backup of the file system before running File system conversion is complex and while most file systems will convert without prob-
lems, some may not. You could lose data if you don't have a backup. See the WARNINGS section.
requires sufficient disk space to convert existing metadata to vxfs metadata. The space is acquired from free space within the file system
or from the space available immediately after the end of the file system. In either case, the space must be available on the same device
or volume that contains the file system. requires approximately 12%-15% of the total file system size as free space, depending on the num-
ber of directories and files.
special is the character disk or volume manager device. Running on the character device is usually faster than running it on a block
device.
converts HFS access control list (ACL) entries to the respective VxFS ACL entries with limitations. Only the entries that comply with the
VxFS ACL standard are converted. See the description of the conversion process, below, for details.
takes approximately 2 to 3 times longer to convert a file system than running a full on an file system.
Options
recognizes the following options:
Estimate the amount of space required to complete the conversion.
This option does not convert the file system to VxFS. No data is written to the file system and the file system remains clean.
generally overestimates the free space because it considers the worst case scenario for allocating blocks (that is, fully frag-
mented).
Display the list of supported file system types.
Currently only the VxFS Version 2 disk layout, and the VxFS Version 3 disk layout.
Specifies the size of the file system intent log.
The minimum value for logsize is the number of blocks that make the log no less than 256K. The maximum value for logsize is the
number of blocks that make the log no greater than 16384K. The default logsize is usually 1024 blocks; for a small file system
the default can be smaller to avoid wasting space.
Assume a response to all questions asked by This option implies that the conversion is never committed and the file system is not con-
verted to VxFS.
Directs to use free disk space past the current end of the file system to store VxFS metadata (such as the intent log). size specifies
the amount of available disk space past the end of the file system in kilobytes. uses the space past the current end of the file
system for the conversion process. With this option, all disk space required for the conversion process is taken from the end of
the file system; the existing free space within the file system remains intact. If the device is a raw partition, you can use
only if there is sufficient space on the partition past the end of the file system.
If is not specified, uses free blocks from within the layout of the file system being converted. File systems converted with
cannot be shrunk to a size smaller than their initial post-conversion size.
Specify verbose mode. Verbose mode shows
the progress of the conversion process. For every inode converted, one of the following characters is displayed.
The inode is a regular file.
The inode is a block special file.
The inode is a character special file.
The inode is a directory.
The inode is a symbolic link.
The inode is a fifo.
The inode is a socket.
The inode type is unknown.
Assume a response to all questions asked by This option implies that the conversion is committed unless fails to allocate the required
disk space. If an unknown inode type is detected during the conversion, ignores it.
Operands
recognizes the following operand:
special Name of the character (raw) device that contains the file system to convert.
Notes
To take full advantage of the VxFS file system, use to reorganize the file system after the conversion. The online reorganization feature
of is available in only with the HP OnLineJFS product.
cannot convert a Version 4 disk layout to a Version 5 disk layout. Use the online upgrade procedure instead.
Use the command to upgrade mounted file systems.
To take full advantage of the VxFS file system, use to reorganize the file system after the conversion. The online reorganization feature
of is available in only with the HP OnLineJFS product.
The converted VxFS file system uses the Version 4 disk layout, which is only recognized by JFS 3.3 and later versions. Do not convert a
file system which is shared by a system running HP-UX 10.x or HP-UX 11.00 without JFS 3.3.
The ability to shrink a VxFS file system after conversion depends on the amount and location of free space in the original file system. If
an attempt to shrink a converted file system fails, try shrinking again specifying a smaller shrink size. Shrinking is generally not pos-
sible for conversions performed using the option. For VxFS file systems on a Volume Manager volume, always shrink the file system before
shrinking the volume. Use the command to shrink a file system.
You must call with its full pathname:
The vxfsconvert command does not have an option to convert from a VxFS file system back to an HFS file system. To do this, you must recre-
ate the HFS file system and restore the data.
Quota conversion is not supported.
Conversion Process
To prepare a file system for conversion:
o Install VxFS 3.2 or higher release on your system. vxfsconvert creates a Version 4 disk layout.
o Clean and unmount the file system to convert. vxfsconvert cannot convert a mounted or dirty file system.
o Unmount the filesystem and make sure it is clean (you may need to use to clean the filesystem). cannot convert a mounted or dirty
file system.
o Do a full backup on the file system before starting the conversion process.
Now run does the following steps to convert a file system:
1. Examines the superblock to make sure it is marked CLEAN.
2. Based on information in the file system superblock, sets up VxFS metadata. This includes initializing all metadata required by the
VxFS Version 4 disk layout (for example OLT, log, structural fileset). At this time, the original file system superblock is marked
DIRTY unless you specified the or option.
3. Reads every inode in the file system and converts it to a VxFS inode.
4. For every regular file inode, allocates and initializes enough extent data to map all of the file's data blocks. This translates
only the representation of the file's data blocks from the old format to that of VxFS. It never copies or relocates user data
blocks.
5. For every directory inode, allocates sufficient disk space to hold all the directory entries. For every directory entry in that
directory, converts it to a VxFS directory entry and writes all converted directory blocks.
6. Converts all symbolic link, character special, block special, fifo, and socket inodes to VxFS.
7. Converts HFS ACL entries to the respective VxFS ACL entries. Only the entries that comply with the VxFS ACL standard are con-
verted. The compliant entries are those that specify permissions for either a user or a group, but not both. That is, entries of
format and will be converted, while entries of format will be omitted. For files with both supported and unsupported entries all
supported entries will be converted, but unsupported entries will be omitted.
Up to this point, all metadata of the original file system is intact and the conversion process can be stopped. The file system can be
used after you run the original file system-specific If you specified the or option, running the file system-specific is not required.
8. If all above steps completed successfully asks whether to commit the conversion. It waits for the user response unless the or
option was specified.
9. replaces the original superblock with the VxFS superblock and clears any alternate superblocks written by the original file system.
The VxFS superblock is never written if you have specified the or option. After the superblock is overwritten, the original file
system is no longer accessible; it is now a VxFS file system.
At this point, make appropriate changes to the and files to indicate that the file system is now a VxFS file system.
Run the VxFS-specific full on the converted file system. During pass 4, displays several error messages that require a response to com-
plete the conversion process. These errors occur because does not create all metadata files; you must run to complete the process. No
error messages display during passes zero through three. The following is sample output after successful conversion.
EXAMPLES
The following example checks available free space in the file system, unmounts the file system, and returns the amount of free space
required for conversion. Available free space must always be greater than or equal to the required free space.
To convert the file system, enter:
Upon successful conversion, check file system sanity, mount, and reorganize the file system as in the following example:
If the conversion fails, due to I/O failure, for example, run to return to the original file system.
To convert a file system on a volume manager (for example, LVM) volume, using only disk space at the end of the file system (with the
option), you may need to increase the volume size to provide the additional space to do the conversion. If LVM is used, you can do the
following:
After the conversion completes, the increased volume space becomes a part of the converted VxFS file system.
Note: DO NOT reduce the volume after the conversion.
If the conversion fails, continue using the original file system. You do not need to run Reclaim the disk space by entering (on LVM):
WARNINGS
Do not run on the or whole-disk bootable file systems.
In the rare case of unsuccessful conversion, there is a risk of data loss or corruption. Always do a full system backup before the conver-
sion.
DIAGNOSTICS
All error messages, I/O failure, and exit messages display on standard output.
FILES
Contains static information about file systems.
Table of mounted file systems.
SEE ALSO
fsck(1M), fsck_vxfs(1M), fsck_hfs(1M), mkfs_vxfs(1M), fsadm_vxfs(1M), vxupgrade(1M), fs_vxfs(4), fstab(4), mnttab(4) lvm(7).
vxfsconvert(1M)