pvscan(8)
List all physical volumes visible to the system, optionally discovering new ones.
Synopsis
pvscan [OPTION]... [DEVICE]...Description
pvscan scans all supported block devices in the system to discover physical volumes (PVs) that are part of LVM volume groups. It can display information about existing PVs, update the LVM metadata cache, and detect newly attached storage devices without requiring a full system rescan.
By default, pvscan lists all PVs found on the system with their names, sizes, and which volume group they belong to. It is commonly used to verify PV status after adding or removing storage, and to trigger LVM activation on newly discovered devices.
Common options
| Flag | What it does |
|---|---|
-e, --exported | Show only PVs that have been exported (belong to exported volume groups) |
-n, --novolumegroup | Show only PVs that are not assigned to any volume group |
-s, --short | Short listing format with minimal output |
-u, --uuid | Display UUID of each PV |
--cache | Update the LVM device cache and trigger activation of VGs if possible |
--listvg | List each VG name once per PV that belongs to it |
-a, --activate ay | Auto-activate volume groups using the cache (requires --cache) |
Examples
Display all physical volumes with their size, PE allocation, and volume group membership
pvscanShow only PVs that have been exported from their original system
pvscan -eList unassigned PVs that are not yet part of any volume group
pvscan -nUpdate the LVM cache and automatically activate all discoverable volume groups
pvscan --cache --activate ayScan specific devices for physical volumes instead of all devices
pvscan /dev/sda1 /dev/sdb1Show PVs in short format with minimal columns
pvscan -s