When to Use RAW Partition Images vs. LVM-Partitioned Images on AWS

Technical Articles
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When building or publishing Amazon EC2 images — whether for internal use or for AWS Marketplace — choosing the right partitioning layout is essential for performance, compatibility, and long-term maintainability. The two most common approaches are RAW partition images (a single filesystem directly on the device) and LVM-partitioned images (using Physical Volumes, Volume Groups, and Logical Volumes). Each layout offers unique benefits, and understanding when to use each one ensures you deliver stable, efficient, and predictable cloud images.

When to Use RAW Partition Images

A RAW partition image typically contains:

  • one primary partition (ext4 or XFS),
  • no LVM stack,
  • the simplest layout possible.

This type of image is recommended in the following situations:

  1. Maximum performance and simplicity
    With no LVM layer, the filesystem sits directly on the EBS block device. This reduces overhead, speeds up boot times, and eliminates configuration complexity. It is ideal for minimal images or environments that do not require advanced storage features.
  2. Lightweight, user-friendly Marketplace images
    For users who just want a minimal OS ready to run, RAW partitioning is often preferred. Many cloud-native images adopt this layout to reduce potential resizing issues or LVM management steps for the end user.
  3. Best compatibility with AWS Import/Export workflows
    When using tools like aws ec2 import-image or migrating images between clouds or on-prem environments, RAW layouts are the most reliable and widely supported.
  4. You rely on AWS-native snapshotting
    Since EBS snapshots already provide fast, incremental backups at the block level, many users do not need LVM snapshots. RAW images keep things straightforward.

When to Use LVM-Partitioned Images

LVM becomes useful when flexibility and enterprise-style management outweigh simplicity. An LVM image typically includes:

  • a Physical Volume (PV),
  • a Volume Group (VG),
  • Logical Volumes (LVs) for root and optionally /var, /home, /tmp, or swap.

Choose LVM when:

  1. You want easy filesystem resizing at runtime
    Expanding root volume size is safer and more flexible with LVM, avoiding the risks of modifying traditional partitions. LVM allows clean online resizing inside the OS.
  2. You aim for upstream compatibility with enterprise distributions
    RHEL, AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux, SUSE, and many on-prem deployments rely on LVM by default. If your goal is to mirror enterprise environments, LVM is the correct choice.
  3. You need multi-volume layouts
    Use LVM when you require separate logical volumes for performance or isolation — e.g., isolating /var to prevent logs from filling the root filesystem or creating a dedicated logical volume for swap.
  4. You benefit from advanced LVM features
    LVM supports internal snapshots, striping, mirroring, and data migration without downtime — capabilities useful in more complex setups.

Conclusion

Use RAW partition images when you need simplicity, speed, broad compatibility, and a minimal cloud footprint. choose LVM-partitioned images when you require flexible resizing, enterprise-aligned configurations, multi-volume setups, or advanced storage operations.

ProComputers provides both RAW and LVM-partitioned images on AWS, tailored for a wide range of cloud workloads.

List of ProComputers RAW-images available in AWS Marketplace:

List of ProComputers LVM-partitioned available in AWS Marketplace:

ProComputers is a proud sponsor of the AlmaLinux OS Foundation and the Rocky Enterprise Software Foundation.

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