XFS Quota with Loop Device

In scenarios where you do not have an existing device formatted with the XFS filesystem, you can create an XFS filesystem on a loop device. This process is particularly useful when the root filesystem is not XFS and it allows you to simulate an XFS-based storage environment.

This document outlines the steps to create a sparse file, format it with the XFS filesystem, and mount it as a loop device at the specified directory, /var/openebs/local, with project quota enabled.

Create XFS filesystem at the Basepath as Loop Device (If filesystem is not XFS)

If your environment does not have a XFS filesystem, you can use a loop device to create an XFS filesystem. The following steps will guide you through the process of creating a 32MiB sparse file, formatting it with XFS, and mounting it with project quota enabled.

1. Ensure XFS Utilities Are Installed

Before proceeding, ensure that the library for managing xfs-fs is installed on your system.

For Ubuntu/Debian-based Systems

sudo apt update

sudo apt-get install -y xfsprogs

For RHEL/CentOS-based Systems

sudo yum install -y xfsprogs

2. Create the Mount Directory

Create the directory where the filesystem will be mounted.

sudo mkdir -p /var/openebs/local

cd /var/openebs

3. Create a 32MiB Sparse File

Create a sparse file of maximum size 32MiB.

sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=xfs.32M bs=1 count=0 seek=32M

4. Format the Sparse File with XFS

Format the newly created sparse file with the XFS filesystem.

sudo mkfs -t xfs -q xfs.32M

5. Mount the Sparse File

Finally, mount the sparse file as a loop device with project quota enabled. This will make the file accessible as a directory, /var/openebs/local.

sudo mount -o loop,rw xfs.32M -o pquota /var/openebs/local

See Also

• XFS Quota Prerequisites
• Enable XFS Quota on LocalPV Hostpath
• Modify XFS Quota on LocalPV Hostpath