Increasing the Repository Limit on the EXT4 Filesystem

Product version: 7.0

Last modified: 14 March 2018

Problem

The size of the NAKIVO Backup Repository that comes with the NAKIVO Backup & Replication virtual appliance (VA) is limited to 16 TB.

Background

The NAKIVO Backup & Replication VA is created along with a repository mounted on EXT4 logical volume where 64bit support is disabled by default. As a result, the repository filesystem limit is 16 TB.

Solution

Note

1. Make sure you that you have backed up the NAKIVO Backup Repository. It is recommended that you use the RAID technology to improve the integrity of your data.

2. Make sure that the volume that surrounds the NAKIVO Backup Repository is capable of supporting the required resulting size. This is important for encrypted volumes, and for volumes divided into partitions.

Follow the steps below to enable 64bit support for the EXT4 filesystem where the NAKIVO Backup Repository is located:

1. Execute the resize2fs command to define the version of the e2fsprogs package that is installed on the VA operating system.

2. If the output of the command contains a version greater than 1.43, please proceed directly to Step 7 to unmount the repository filesystem.

3. Update the /etc/apt/sources.list file with the sources of necessary packages as follows:
   

   deb-src http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu trusty main restricted
   

   deb-src http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ trusty restricted main universe multiverse
   

   deb-src http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ trusty-updates restricted main universe multiverse
   

   deb-src http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ trusty-backports main restricted universe multiverse
   

   deb-src http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu trusty-security restricted main universe multiverse
   

   deb-src http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ trusty-proposed restricted main universe multiverse

4. Install the necessary packages and build utilities of the e2fsprogs package as follows:
   

   sudo apt-get update
   

   sudo apt-get install git
   

   sudo apt-get install make
   

   sudo apt-get install build-essential
   

   sudo apt-get build-dep e2fsprogs
   

   cd $(mktemp -d)
   

   git clone -b v1.43 https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/fs/ext2/e2fsprogs.git e2fsprogs && cd e2fsprogs
   

   ./configure
   

   make

5. Execute the resize2fs command as follows:
   

   cd resize
   

   ./resize2fs

6. Choose one of the following:

   • If the output of the command contains the version 1.43, use ./resize2fs instead of resize2fs for the rest of the steps.

   • If the output of the command contains any other version, go to Step 3 or exit the procedure, since you have built the wrong version of the e2fsprogs package.

7. Unmount the repository filesystem as follows:
   

   sudo umount /dev/mapper/Volume_Group_Backup_Repository_500GB-Logical_Volume_Backup_Repository_500GB

8. Check the filesystem for errors:
   

   sudo e2fsck -f /dev/mapper/Volume_Group_Backup_Repository_500GB-Logical_Volume_Backup_Repository_500GB

   Note
   Before executing Step 9 on enabling EXT4 64bit support, refer to tune2fs and resize2fs main pages for more info on filesystem flags.

9. Enable 64bit support for the EXT4 filesystem as follows:
   

   sudo resize2fs -b /dev/mapper/Volume_Group_Backup_Repository_500GB-Logical_Volume_Backup_Repository_500GB

10. Remount the repository filesystem:
    

    sudo mount /dev/mapper/Volume_Group_Backup_Repository_500GB-Logical_Volume_Backup_Repository_500GB