58Understanding Veritas Volume Manager

Online relayout

The number of mirrors in a mirrored volume cannot be changed using relayout.Only one relayout may be applied to a volume at a time.Transformation characteristics

Transformation of data from one layout to another involves rearrangement of data in the existing layout to the new layout. During the transformation, online relayout retains data redundancy by mirroring any temporary space used. Read and write access to data is not interrupted during the transformation.

Data is not corrupted if the system fails during a transformation. The transformation continues after the system is restored and both read and write access are maintained.

You can reverse the layout transformation process at any time, but the data may not be returned to the exact previous storage location. Any existing transformation in the volume must be stopped before doing a reversal.

You can determine the transformation direction by using the vxrelayout status volume command.

These transformations are protected against I/O failures if there is sufficient redundancy and space to move the data.

Transformations and volume length

Some layout transformations can cause the volume length to increase or decrease. If either of these conditions occurs, online relayout uses the vxresize(1M) command to shrink or grow a file system as described in Resizing a volume” on page 284.