[Discuss] LVM vs File system file for KVM Virtual Machines?

[markw at mohawksoft.com (Mark Woodward)]

On 03/29/2012 01:59 PM, Edward Ned Harvey wrote:
>
> I see very little, if any, argument in favor of using the file.  I suppose,
> if you wanted to run your virtual head on some other machine, then you could
> export your file via NFS instead of iscsi, and that gives you one extra
> degree of freedom if you're using a file.  Also, if you got something like a
> snapshotting storage server, you could migrate your file over to that
> server, and benefit by snapshots.
The only reason why I would consider a "file" instead of an LVM volume 
is that you have a "file" that can be copied and backed up easily. It is 
relocatable in that it cam be moved from one file system to another and 
it can bring its size with it. The LVM device is more or less dependent 
on the LVM create command and the admin ensuring that a properly sized 
device is created if you want to move it to a different machine. I guess 
you could us dd to copy the device (or a snapshot) to a file to move it 
around, but you see the issue.

There are definitely a list of pros and cons. It's interesting to see 
what other people think. So far, I think the "pros" go to LVM.