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I'm managing a file server with two disks. The server is running Ubuntu 14.04, and it's already configured with software RAID1 (/dev/md0), and LVM on top of it.

Important data is stored in /var and /srv file systems, and I'm asked to encrypt them, but I'm not sure which way to follow.

Can I create new logical volumes, use dm-crypt to encrypt them, and then create a file system and move the data there?
Since encrypted volumes need to be auto mounted at boot, I should store encryption keys on a different device, like an USB stick, is it right?

What I care about:

  • Right now I don't know how much /var and /srv will grow, so I want to be able to easily enlarge those file system when needed (that's why we are using LVM).
  • I need to protect data in /var and /srv if the disks are replaced and put elsewhere.
  • I care more about reliability and security than performance.

What I don't care about:

  • I don't need to protect the root file system, since it's a quite standard configuration.
  • I don't need to protect the swap volume, I'm even considering the option to remove it, since it's never used (there's plenty of RAM available).

Here's a view of my current setup, for reference:

$ lsblk
NAME                                MAJ:MIN RM   SIZE RO TYPE  MOUNTPOINT
sda                                   8:0    0   1,8T  0 disk
└─sda1                                8:1    0   1,8T  0 part
  └─md0                               9:0    0   1,8T  0 raid1
    ├─raidvg-varlv (dm-2)           252:2    0    15G  0 lvm   /var
    ├─raidvg-srvlv (dm-3)           252:3    0   304G  0 lvm   /srv
    ├─raidvg-systemlv (dm-4)        252:4    0  10,2G  0 lvm   /
    └─raidvg-swaplv (dm-5)          252:5    0   3,7G  0 lvm   [SWAP]
sdb                                   8:16   0   1,8T  0 disk
└─sdb1                                8:17   0   1,8T  0 part
  └─md0                               9:0    0   1,8T  0 raid1
    ├─raidvg-varlv (dm-2)           252:2    0    15G  0 lvm   /var
    ├─raidvg-srvlv (dm-3)           252:3    0   304G  0 lvm   /srv
    ├─raidvg-systemlv (dm-4)        252:4    0  10,2G  0 lvm   /
    └─raidvg-swaplv (dm-5)          252:5    0   3,7G  0 lvm   [SWAP]
gerlos
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