The standard procedure for removing a physical volume (PV) from a volume group (VG) requires two key considerations. First, the VG's metadata must be updated to reflect the removal of the PV. This is accomplished using the vgreduce command, making it a mandatory step before the PV is considered fully removed from the LVM configuration (A). Second, a primary feature of LVM is its support for online administration. It is possible to migrate all data extents off a specific PV using pvmove and then use vgreduce to remove it from the VG, all while the VG and its logical volumes remain active and mounted. This capability is crucial for maintenance tasks like replacing disks without downtime (E).

B. The vgexport command is used to prepare an inactive VG for removal or migration to another system; it cannot be run on an active VG with mounted file systems.

C. This is incorrect. LVM is designed to allow for the online removal of a PV from an active VG, typically by first migrating its data with pvmove.

D. The ability to remove a PV depends on whether it contains any allocated extents, not on the active/inactive status of logical volumes that may reside on other PVs.

1. Oracle® Linux 7: Administrator's Guide

Section 10.3.5. "Removing Physical Volumes from a Volume Group". The documentation outlines the procedure using pvmove followed by vgreduce

and the examples do not require deactivating the volume group

confirming that the operation can be done on an active VG.

2. Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8: Configuring and managing logical volumes

Section 4.4.8. "Removing physical volumes from a volume group". This official documentation states

"If there are logical volumes on the physical volume

you must move the data from the physical volume before you can remove it. You can use the pvmove command to move the data from the physical volume while your system is running." This explicitly confirms that a PV can be removed from an active VG.

3. LVM HOWTO

Section 5.6. "Removing disks from a volume group". This foundational guide details the process: "1. Use pvmove to move the allocated extents off the PV(s). 2. Use vgreduce to remove the PV(s) from the VG. 3. Use pvremove to remove the LVM metadata from the PV(s)." The context of pvmove is for online data migration

reinforcing that the VG can be active.