PowerVPS.net: FAQ

How to Increase the Partition and File System Size for a Linux VPS

When you increase the disk size of a Linux VPS in VMmanager, the virtual disk becomes larger. However, Linux may not automatically use the newly added space. In most cases, you also need to extend the partition and then resize the file system inside the VPS.

This guide explains how to increase the partition and file system size for a Linux VPS after the disk size has been expanded in VMmanager.

The examples in this article use the following disk and partition:

  • Disk: /dev/vda
  • Partition: /dev/vda2
  • Root file system mount point: /

Before You Start

Important: Before performing any actions with disk partitions or file systems, contact support and ask them to create a backup of your VPS.
Resizing partitions and file systems is a sensitive operation, and having a backup helps prevent data loss if something goes wrong.

Make sure that:

  • The VPS disk size has already been increased in VMmanager.
  • You have root or sudo access to the VPS.
  • Support has created a backup of your VPS.
  • The partition you want to extend is /dev/vda2.
  • The VPS uses a supported Linux file system such as EXT4 or XFS.

Note: In most cases, these actions can be performed while the VPS is running.
EXT4 and XFS file systems support online expansion in most modern Linux distributions. However, it is recommended to perform disk operations during a maintenance window or when the server load is low.

Step 1. Check the Current Disk Layout

Connect to the VPS via SSH and run:

lsblk -f

Example output:

NAME   FSTYPE   SIZE MOUNTPOINT
vda             40G
├─vda1 ext4      1G /boot
└─vda2 ext4     20G /

In this example:

  • The disk is /dev/vda
  • The root partition is /dev/vda2
  • The file system is ext4
  • The partition /dev/vda2 does not yet use the full disk size

Step 2. Install the Required Utility

To extend the partition, install growpart.

For Debian or Ubuntu:

apt update
apt install cloud-guest-utils

For AlmaLinux:

dnf install cloud-utils-growpart

For CentOS:

yum install cloud-utils-growpart

Step 3. Extend the /dev/vda2 Partition

Use growpart to extend partition /dev/vda2.

Since the disk is /dev/vda and the partition number is 2, run:

growpart /dev/vda 2

Important: There must be a space between the disk name and the partition number:

Correct:

growpart /dev/vda 2

Incorrect:

growpart /dev/vda2

After that, check the partition size again:

lsblk

Example output after extending the partition:

NAME   SIZE MOUNTPOINT
vda     40G
├─vda1   1G /boot
└─vda2  39G /

The partition /dev/vda2 should now be larger.

Step 4. Resize the File System on /dev/vda2

After the partition has been extended, resize the file system.

First, check the file system type:

lsblk -f

Example output:

NAME   FSTYPE   SIZE MOUNTPOINT
vda             40G
├─vda1 ext4      1G /boot
└─vda2 ext4     39G /

For EXT4

If /dev/vda2 uses EXT4, run:

resize2fs /dev/vda2

Example:

resize2fs /dev/vda2

For XFS

If /dev/vda2 uses XFS and it is mounted as /, run:

xfs_growfs /

For XFS, specify the mount point, not the block device.

Correct:

xfs_growfs /

Incorrect:

xfs_growfs /dev/vda2

Step 5. Verify the New Size

Run:

df -h

Example output:

Filesystem      Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
/dev/vda2        39G   12G   27G  31% /

If the new size is shown for /dev/vda2, the partition and file system were expanded successfully.

You can also check the block device layout again:

lsblk -f

Example:

NAME   FSTYPE   SIZE MOUNTPOINT
vda             40G
├─vda1 ext4      1G /boot
└─vda2 ext4     39G /