| As we wrap up our look at LVM, a few observations are warranted. LVM was originally introduced in HP-UX 8.x for use by servers. It wasn't until the release of HP-UX 10.0 that it was supported for use by all HP-UX system implementations. It has become a mainstay of current configurations and a workhorse of the kernel. Alternate volume managers (Veritas VxVM) offering extended features are also available for use with the current HP-UX kernel. LVM may not have all the features or administrative tools offered by other volume mangers, but it is built around a basically straightforward model and has relatively low overhead. LVM is undergoing continuing scrutiny and enhancements. As a testament to the basically solid design of LVM, the Linux operating system volume manager is modeled on the HP LVM implementation. We have referenced locking structures in several of our listing. In Chapter 12, we will further our understanding of this critical kernel mechanism as we discuss the implementation of multiprocessing within the HP-UX kernel. |