GHES Root Disk Grow VMWare

GHES_3.8.17_Root_AB_Partition_Expansion_Runbook.md

GHES 3.8.17 Root A/B Partition Expansion Runbook

Purpose

This runbook expands the GHES root A/B partitions on a VMware-backed GHES 3.8.17 appliance.

This procedure applies when:

• The VMware root VMDK has already been expanded.
• Linux detects the larger /dev/sda disk.
• The GHES A/B root partitions still only consume the original space.

Example current state:

/dev/sda = 500 GiB

/dev/sda1 = ~100 GiB ext4 /
/dev/sda2 = ~100 GiB ext4 fallback

Remaining free space exists after sda2

Target state:

/dev/sda = 500 GiB

/dev/sda1 = ~250-270 GiB ext4 /
/dev/sda2 = ~250-270 GiB ext4 fallback

---

Important Notes

Do Not Use

Do not use:

ghe-storage-extend

This command expands /data/user, not the root disk.

Do not use:

ghe-upgrade

as a GHES version upgrade command for this procedure.

Root Layout

GHES 3.8.17 uses an A/B root layout:

/dev/sda

+-- sda1
|   Active root filesystem (/)
|
+-- sda2
    Fallback root filesystem

The active root partition cannot safely be resized while mounted.

The procedure requires booting from the fallback partition first.

---

Pre-Change Checklist

• Replication stopped on all replicas
• VMware root VMDK expansion completed
• Backup validated
• Maintenance window approved
• Console access available through VMware
• Root disk confirmed as /dev/sda
• Fallback filesystem verified healthy

---

Step 1 - Verify Current Layout

Run:

lsblk -o NAME,SIZE,FSTYPE,LABEL,MOUNTPOINT

Example:

NAME   SIZE FSTYPE LABEL      MOUNTPOINT
sda    500G
├─sda1 100G ext4   /
└─sda2 100G ext4   fallback

Verify partition table:

sudo fdisk -l /dev/sda

Expected:

Disklabel type: dos

Check free space:

sudo parted /dev/sda print free

Expected:

sda1   ~107GB
sda2   ~107GB
Free   remaining disk space

---

Step 2 - Validate Fallback Partition

Check filesystem state:

sudo tune2fs -l /dev/sda2 | grep "Filesystem state"

Expected:

Filesystem state: clean

Run filesystem validation:

sudo e2fsck -n /dev/sda2

Expected:

fallback: clean

Do not continue if the fallback filesystem is unhealthy.

---

Step 3 - Boot From Fallback Partition

The current active root is:

mount | grep ' on / '

Example:

/dev/sda1 on / type ext4

Reboot:

sudo reboot

Open the VMware console.

During boot:

• Press Esc to access GRUB.
• Select the fallback/recovery boot entry.

The menu name depends on the GHES build.

Possible names:

Fallback
GHES fallback
Recovery

After boot, verify:

mount | grep ' on / '

Expected:

/dev/sda2 on / type ext4

Confirm:

lsblk -o NAME,SIZE,FSTYPE,LABEL,MOUNTPOINT

---

Step 4 - Backup Partition Table

Create a partition table backup:

sudo sfdisk -d /dev/sda > /tmp/sda-partition-backup.txt

Review:

cat /tmp/sda-partition-backup.txt

Save this output with the change record.

---

Step 5 - Expand Partition 1

Open parted:

sudo parted /dev/sda

Display layout:

print

Resize the active root partition.

Example target:

resizepart 1 268GB

Confirm:

Yes

Exit:

quit

Reload partition information:

sudo partprobe /dev/sda

If the kernel cannot reread the table, reboot while still running from fallback.

---

Step 6 - Expand Root Filesystem

Grow /dev/sda1:

sudo resize2fs /dev/sda1

Validate:

sudo dumpe2fs -h /dev/sda1 | grep "Block count"

---

Step 7 - Expand Partition 2

Open parted:

sudo parted /dev/sda

Display:

print

Resize fallback partition:

resizepart 2 537GB

Confirm:

Yes

Exit:

quit

Reload:

sudo partprobe /dev/sda

---

Step 8 - Expand Fallback Filesystem

Grow fallback:

sudo resize2fs /dev/sda2

Validate:

sudo dumpe2fs -h /dev/sda2 | grep "Block count"

---

Step 9 - Reboot Normally

Reboot:

sudo reboot

Confirm normal boot uses sda1:

mount | grep ' on / '

Expected:

/dev/sda1 on / type ext4

---

Step 10 - Validate Expansion

Check disk layout:

lsblk -o NAME,SIZE,FSTYPE,LABEL,MOUNTPOINT

Expected:

sda
├─sda1 ~268G ext4 /
└─sda2 ~268G ext4 fallback

Check filesystem:

df -h /

Validate GHES:

ghe-version
ghe-check-disk-usage

Confirm:

• GHES boots normally
• Web UI loads
• SSH works
• /data/user remains unchanged
• Fallback partition exists

---

Step 11 - Repeat Across Topology

Perform in this order:

1. Secondary replica
2. Geo-replica
3. Primary

After each node:

• Confirm successful boot
• Confirm root size
• Confirm fallback size
• Confirm GHES health

---

Step 12 - Restart Replication

After all nodes are complete:

On replicas:

ghe-repl-start

Validate:

ghe-repl-status -vv

Wait until replication is healthy before returning traffic.

---

Rollback

Do not shrink partitions.

If boot failure occurs:

1. Power off the VM.
2. Restore original VMDK if required.
3. Restore original partition layout.
4. Validate GHES boot.
5. Engage GitHub Enterprise Support if recovery fails.

---

Final Checklist

• VMware root disk expanded
• Replication stopped
• Fallback filesystem validated
• Booted from fallback
• Partition table backed up
• sda1 expanded
• sda1 filesystem expanded
• sda2 expanded
• sda2 filesystem expanded
• Normal boot validated
• Secondary completed
• Geo-replica completed
• Primary completed
• Replication restarted
• Replication healthy