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Increasing a VPS disk in the provider’s control panel enlarges the virtual disk, not necessarily the partition, LVM volume, or file system inside Ubuntu. To use the new capacity, identify which layer is still at its old size, expand each layer in order, and then verify the result. For a typical direct ext4 layout, that means growpart followed by resize2fs. With LVM, resize the partition (if there is one), run pvresize, extend the logical volume, and grow the file system. XFS and other file systems require their own growth tools.
Why Ubuntu still shows the old disk size
A VPS disk is a stack of storage layers. The provider can enlarge the virtual disk, while Ubuntu continues to see an old partition boundary or an old file-system boundary. The common layouts are:
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|---|---|---|
| Direct partition | Virtual disk → partition → file system | Partition, then file system |
| LVM on a partition | Virtual disk → partition → physical volume (PV) → volume group (VG) → logical volume (LV) → file system | Partition, PV, LV, then file system |
| LVM on a whole disk | Virtual disk → PV → VG → LV → file system | PV, LV, then file system |
Each layer can be larger than the layer above it, but a lower layer cannot consume space that an upper layer has not been given. Running a file-system tool against the wrong device is therefore unsafe and may fail outright. Ubuntu’s documentation describes the principle this way: “A filesystem can be grown to make use of the free space after its partition.”
Before changing anything
- Confirm the VPS provider reports the disk upgrade as complete and that the guest operating system has been rebooted if the provider requires it.
- Back up important data and, when possible, take a provider snapshot. Ubuntu warns that resizing can involve repair work and that an interruption can damage the file system. LVM checks whether an operation can be performed, but that check does not remove the possibility of data loss.
- Make sure you are growing, not shrinking. The procedure below is for adding capacity. Shrinking requires a file-system-specific order, usually with the file system reduced before its containing partition or LV and often with the file system offline.
- Keep an administrative shell open through an out-of-band console or a second SSH session. Do not terminate a resize command while it is working.
Inventory the storage stack
Start by recording the state before making changes. These commands are read-only:
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lsblk
sudo df -Th
findmnt /
If LVM may be involved, also run:
sudo pvs
sudo vgs
sudo lvs
lsblk shows the disk and partition tree. df -Th reports mounted file systems, their types, and their currently usable sizes. findmnt / identifies the exact source mounted as the root file system. The LVM commands show whether that source is an LV, which PV backs it, and how much unallocated space remains in the VG.
How to recognize a direct partition
A direct layout commonly looks like a disk such as /dev/vda with a partition such as /dev/vda1, and findmnt / reports that partition as the root source. On NVMe disks, the equivalent names include /dev/nvme0n1 and /dev/nvme0n1p1. The file-system type in df -Th or lsblk -f will usually be ext4, xfs, or another specific type.
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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsHow to recognize LVM
An LVM root normally appears as a device-mapper path such as /dev/mapper/ubuntu--vg-ubuntu--lv or a symbolic path under /dev/ubuntu-vg/. lvs identifies the LV, vgs shows free space in its volume group, and pvs shows the PV device. Do not infer the PV from a familiar naming pattern; use the output from your machine.
Expand a direct ext4 partition
Use this branch only when the root file system is ext2, ext3, or ext4 and is directly on a partition rather than on an LV.
1. Confirm that the guest sees the larger disk
lsblk
sudo fdisk -l
The parent disk should show the upgraded capacity. If the disk itself still has its former size, stop here and resolve the provider, hot-plug, or guest rescan issue first. A partition cannot be extended beyond the size Ubuntu sees for its parent disk.
2. Extend the partition with growpart
growpart takes the disk device and a partition number. It extends that numbered partition to available space, ending at the disk’s end or immediately before the next partition. For a root partition numbered 1 on /dev/vda:
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sudo growpart /dev/vda 1
For partition 3 on an NVMe disk, use the disk without the trailing partition suffix:
sudo growpart /dev/nvme0n1 3
Do not pass /dev/vda1 as the disk argument. The command needs the parent disk and the numeric partition number. If growpart is not installed, install the package that provides it for your Ubuntu release, then rerun the command. Recheck the partition boundary with lsblk before proceeding.
3. Grow the ext4 file system
sudo resize2fs /dev/vda1
Replace the example device with the partition that findmnt / identified. A mounted ext4 root can normally be grown online. The resize2fs manual is explicit about its scope: “The resize2fs program does not manipulate the size of partitions.” That is why the partition step must happen first.
Expand an LVM-backed root file system
LVM adds two allocation steps between the partition and the file system. Complete them in this order: partition (if applicable), PV, LV, and file system.
1. Extend the partition containing the PV, when one exists
Use pvs and lsblk to determine whether the PV is on a partition such as /dev/vda3. If so, extend that partition:
sudo growpart /dev/vda 3
If pvs shows the PV is the whole disk, such as /dev/vda, there is no partition to grow; proceed directly to pvresize. If another partition follows the PV, growpart can use only the contiguous free space before that next partition.
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2. Make the additional space available to the PV
sudo pvresize /dev/vda3
sudo pvs
Use the PV path reported by pvs, whether it is a partition or an entire disk. The second command should show the PV’s larger size and, after the resize, additional free space in the VG.
3. Extend the logical volume
First inspect the VG and LV names:
sudo vgs
sudo lvs
To assign all currently free extents in the volume group to a particular LV:
sudo lvextend -l +100%FREE /dev/mapper/ubuntu--vg-ubuntu--lv
Use the actual LV path from lvs. If you want to allocate a specific amount instead, use a size appropriate for the available VG space, for example -L +20G; verify the requested amount before pressing Enter. Ubuntu documents that LVM can expand a mounted partition when the file system on it supports online growth.
4. Grow the file system inside the LV
For an ext2, ext3, or ext4 file system, run:
sudo resize2fs /dev/mapper/ubuntu--vg-ubuntu--lv
Target the LV, not the PV and not the partition that contains the PV. The LV must already be larger when resize2fs runs. Some LVM workflows offer an lvextend option that invokes a file-system resize, but using separate, visible steps makes it easier to verify the target and diagnose a failure.
Use the correct command for XFS and other file systems
Never select a resize utility from the device name alone. Confirm the type with df -Th or lsblk -f.
XFS
XFS does not use resize2fs. After extending the underlying partition or LV, grow the mounted XFS file system with its own utility, specifying the mount point:
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sudo xfs_growfs /
Replace / with the relevant mounted path. Follow the XFS documentation for your Ubuntu release if the file system is not mounted or if you are working with a non-root volume. The storage-layer order remains unchanged: make the disk space available to the partition or PV, then the LV if present, and only then run the XFS growth command.
Other file systems
Each file system has different online-growth and offline-growth rules. Identify the type first, consult its native tool, and confirm whether the mounted state is supported. Applying an ext4 command to a different file system can fail or cause damage; there is no universal file-system resize command.
Can the root file system be resized while Ubuntu is running?
Growing is often online for ext4 and for many XFS deployments, which allows a mounted root file system to be enlarged. That does not mean every operation is online. Partition-table changes, unusual boot layouts, encrypted stacks, and file systems with limited online support may require maintenance mode or a live environment.
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- Online growth: suitable when the file-system tool and the specific layout support growth while mounted. This is convenient for a running VPS, but still requires a backup and careful target verification.
- Offline growth: boot from a rescue or live system when the file-system documentation requires an unmounted volume, when a check reports errors, or when the root layout cannot be safely changed in place.
- Encrypted or layered devices: map every layer shown by
lsblkbefore resizing. Encryption, software RAID, and boot partitions add steps that are not covered by the simple direct-partition and LVM branches above.
Let cloud-init automate root growth
Cloud images can automate the same two operations: growpart enlarges the root partition and the resizefs module enlarges the file system. Cloud-init documents using them together; its examples include a root device entry such as:
#cloud-config
growpart:
devices:
- /
resize_rootfs: true
resize_rootfs can be enabled, disabled, or configured to run non-blocking. The exact behavior depends on the image’s cloud-init configuration and which modules are installed and enabled. Before assuming automation ran, inspect cloud-init’s status and logs and then compare lsblk with df -Th. A successful partition growth without a matching file-system growth indicates that the resize module did not run or could not identify the file system.
Verification: prove every layer grew
Run the inventory commands again after the operation:
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lsblk
sudo df -Th
findmnt /
For LVM, also run:
sudo pvs
sudo vgs
sudo lvs
Check the chain from bottom to top:
- The virtual disk reports the capacity purchased from the VPS provider.
- The partition reaches the intended end of the disk, unless another partition correctly occupies the remaining space.
- The PV reports the new size and the VG shows the expected allocation or remaining free extents.
- The LV has the size you intended.
df -Thshows the file system using the expanded capacity.
If lsblk shows a larger block device but df does not, the file-system step is missing. If the VG has free space but the LV is unchanged, extend the LV. If the partition is unchanged, do not run a file-system command yet; return to growpart and confirm that the free space is contiguous.
Common failures and safe fixes
“NOCHANGE: partition is already…”
growpart may report that there is no additional contiguous space. Check whether the provider actually enlarged the disk, whether the wrong partition number was supplied, and whether another partition sits after the target. Use lsblk and the partition table output rather than guessing.
The disk grew, but the partition did not
Rescan or reboot only as appropriate for the VPS platform, then rerun lsblk. If the disk size is larger but the partition is not, repeat growpart with the correct parent disk and number. A partition cannot consume space blocked by a later partition without first planning a more complex, usually offline, rearrangement.
pvresize finds no additional space
Confirm that the PV’s containing partition was expanded and that you passed the PV shown by pvs. If the PV is a whole disk, skip the partition step. If the disk uses a partition that was not enlarged, pvresize has no new extents to add.
lvextend succeeds, but df is unchanged
The LV is larger, but the file system has not consumed the new blocks. Run the correct file-system utility against that LV: resize2fs for ext2/ext3/ext4, or the native command for XFS and other types. Verify the file-system type before running anything.
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The resize command refuses to run
Read the complete error and stop rather than forcing the operation. Common causes include an incorrect device, insufficient VG space, a file-system check requirement, an unsupported mounted operation, or an interrupted earlier change. Restore from the backup or snapshot if the file system reports corruption, and use an offline environment when the file-system documentation requires it.
Quick Recap
Command decision table
What findmnt / and LVM tools show |
Next storage command | File-system command |
|---|---|---|
Root is ext4 directly on /dev/vda1 |
sudo growpart /dev/vda 1 |
sudo resize2fs /dev/vda1 |
Root is ext4 on an LV backed by /dev/vda3 |
growpart → pvresize → lvextend |
sudo resize2fs <LV-path> |
| Root is XFS on an LV | growpart (if partitioned) → pvresize → lvextend |
sudo xfs_growfs <mount-point> |
| File-system type is not established | Do not resize yet; identify it with df -Th or lsblk -f |
Use that file system’s documented utility |
What not to do
- Do not run
resize2fson a partition or LV until you have confirmed it contains an ext2, ext3, or ext4 file system. - Do not run
growpartagainst an LV; it changes partition boundaries, not logical-volume sizes. - Do not assume that a larger
lsblkdisk means a larger usable root file system. - Do not use a grow procedure to reduce a file system. A shrink is a different operation with a different order and risk profile.
- Do not interrupt a running partition, PV, LV, or file-system operation.
The reliable sequence in one view
- Record
lsblk,df -Th, andfindmnt /; addpvs,vgs, andlvswhen LVM is present. - Confirm Ubuntu sees the provider’s larger virtual disk.
- Identify the exact layer that still has the old capacity.
- Extend the partition with
growpartwhen the layout has a partition that can use contiguous free space. - For LVM, run
pvresize, then extend the intended LV. - Run the native file-system growth tool:
resize2fsfor ext2/ext3/ext4,xfs_growfsfor XFS, or the documented equivalent for another type. - Repeat the inventory commands and confirm that disk, partition, PV, VG, LV, and file system all show the intended capacities.
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