I noticed that Linux server distros are using LVM as default. What is so good about LVM, and when should I use it? Is there a GUI for managing LVM volumes like GParted, or is it just through the terminal? How is it different from RAID in using multiple drives for one volume?
Slightly off tangent, but if you are thinking you might need LVM features (other than disk encryption) then it is worth looking into filesystems that have most of the functionality built in, like btrfs or OpenZFS.
I’m torn a bit, because architecturally/conceptually the split that LVM does is the correct way: have a generic layer that can bundle multiple block devices to look like one and let any old filesystem work on top of that. It’s neat, it’s clean, it’s unix-y.
But then I see what ZFS (and btrfs, but I don’t use that personally) do while “breaking” that neat separation and it’s truly impressive. Sometimes tight integration between layers has serious advantages too and neat abstraction layers don’t work quite as well.