LVM and
mdadm
/dmraid
both offer software RAID functionality on Linux. This is essentially a follow-up to a question from 2014 . Back then, @derobert recommended using mdadm
over LVM RAID due to its maturity — but that was more than four years ago. I imagine things may have changed since then.
However, I’ve never used LVM RAID before, and I couldn't find many recent experiences or discussions about it.
So, what’s the current state of LVM RAID? Has it become more mature? Have the flaws mentioned in @derobert’s post been resolved, or do they still exist? Specifically, how does it compare to mdadm
in terms of:
- Stability
- Features (grow, shrink, convert)
- Repair and recovery
- Community support
- Performance
I’d like to know if people actually use LVM RAID now, or if most still stick with mdadm
. Is it more advisable to use LVM on top of mdadm
for logical volume management, or is it now acceptable to let LVM manage the RAID as well? Would it even make sense to use LVM RAID instead of mdadm
, even if you don’t plan to take advantage of logical volume management?
I considered commenting on the original answer and asking @derobert for an update, but I decided to post a new question to reach more community members and gather fresh perspectives — not just update the original post to the present tense.
Asked by LukeLR
(342 rep)
Apr 29, 2019, 10:46 AM
Last activity: Jun 10, 2025, 07:34 PM
Last activity: Jun 10, 2025, 07:34 PM