How to Use the Command 'virsh pool-info' (with Examples)

The virsh pool-info command is a powerful utility in Linux environments, particularly for system administrators managing virtualized environments. This command is used within the virsh utility, which is a command-line interface for managing virtual machines using libvirt. Specifically, virsh pool-info provides detailed information about a virtual machine storage pool. A storage pool is a storage resource that can be divided into one or more storage volumes and plays a crucial role in managing how data is stored and accessed by virtual machines. With virsh pool-info, users can retrieve various attributes of the storage pool, such as its name, UUID, and storage capacity, among others. This information is essential for monitoring and managing storage resources effectively.

Use Case: Listing Storage Pool Information by Name or UUID

Code:

virsh pool-info --pool name|uuid

Motivation:

Understanding and managing a storage pool is critical in virtualized environments, especially when dealing with multiple virtual machines and their storage needs. By obtaining detailed storage pool information, system administrators can ensure that storage resources are being utilized efficiently. This is also vital for planning future storage allocations and making informed decisions on expanding storage capacity as the virtual environment grows. With virsh pool-info, you can acquire detailed insights into your storage resources, helping you track the state, allocation, and availability of storage within your virtual infrastructure.

Explanation:

• virsh: This is the command-line tool provided by libvirt for managing and interfacing with virtual environments.

• pool-info: This sub-command is used to display detailed information about a specified storage pool. The information includes essential aspects like state, capacity, and space utilization, which are critical for storage management.

• --pool: This option specifies the target storage pool to obtain information about. The storage pool can be identified either by its name or UUID, which should be provided in place of name|uuid. The use of names and UUIDs allows users to easily and precisely identify the storage pool of interest without ambiguity.

Example Output:

Assuming you have a storage pool named default, the output of virsh pool-info --pool default might look like this:

Name:           default
UUID:           12345678-9abc-def0-1234-56789abcdef0
State:          running
Persistent:     yes
Autostart:      yes
Capacity:       100.00 GiB
Allocation:     20.00 GiB
Available:      80.00 GiB

In this example output, several attributes are provided:

• Name: The identifier name of the pool.

• UUID: The universally unique identifier of the pool, offering a unique way to identify it.

• State: Indicates whether the storage pool is currently running or inactive.

• Persistent: Indicates whether the configuration of the pool is persistent, meaning it will remain after a host reboot.

• Autostart: Shows if the pool is set to start automatically when the host boots.

• Capacity: The total storage space available in the pool.

• Allocation: The amount of storage that is currently in use.

• Available: The amount of storage space still available for use.

Conclusion:

By using the virsh pool-info command, administrators can efficiently manage and monitor their virtual machine storage pools, obtaining crucial information that helps maintain the performance and organization of their virtualization infrastructure. This command is particularly useful for environments where multiple storage pools exist, and precise management of storage resources is crucial for operational stability and performance. The ability to retrieve these details easily, either through the pool name or its UUID, provides flexibility and control to system administrators, enabling them to optimize their virtual environments effectively.