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I can see that a single Logical volume can be mounted on two different file systems -- now can someone explain to me the pros and cons of this? Why doesn't Linux throw up error when this happens?


9.9G 9.2G 243M 98% /LSMW

9.9G 9.2G 243M 98% /oracle/EP0/oraflash
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closed as off topic by bmargulies, J-16 SDiZ, Will Jul 3 '12 at 14:03


Perhaps turn it around -- why would you expect a problem with multiply-mounted filesystems? Files can have hardlinks, files and directories can be bind-mounted into multiple locations; why are multiple direct mounts so odd that you want them to be an error? :) –  sarnold Jul 3 '12 at 1:28
This is not LVM specific. You can multi-mount different filesystems without LVM. Please retag your question accordingly. (And while you're at it, try improving your accept rate if it's possible.) –  Gergely Szilagyi Jul 3 '12 at 1:31
It just happened in one of our company servers as it's a design error - someone did that by mistake, So just trying to figure out whether any errors would come up in the near future :) may be some one could share their experience –  peedee Jul 3 '12 at 1:33
@GergelySzilagyi sure will do that –  peedee Jul 3 '12 at 1:37
I'm extrapolating here -- perhaps the design error was considering a path to be a unique file identifier? –  Brian Cain Jul 3 '12 at 2:43
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1 Answer

up vote 1 down vote accepted

In Linux a device can be mounted multiple times.

From mount(2) man page

Since Linux 2.4 a single file system can be visible at multiple  mount
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thanks mate :)but by doing it this way - what are pros and cons ? any idea ? –  peedee Jul 3 '12 at 2:54
no real cons beyond having the same file be referenced in 2 different locations (so for example, if you had path name based security, you could have an issue). –  spotter Jul 3 '12 at 2:55
When extending file systems ? will there be a problem ? –  peedee Jul 3 '12 at 2:57
There will be a issue when mounted at multiple points. For ex: In a production environment where one file system is used by database and the other by a normal user - what if some one deletes some files on the same. it could be a real disaster –  peedee Jul 3 '12 at 3:05
dont know, your issues strike me as issues that could exist in any place, even with a single file system mount. –  spotter Jul 3 '12 at 3:51
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