Physical volume

A physical volume (PV) is a dedicated storage device or partition, such as a hard drive or SSD, that forms the basic building block of data storage in a system. It provides the raw space where data can be stored and managed. When used in combination with other physical volumes, it allows the creation of flexible, scalable storage pools known as volume groups, which can then be divided into logical volumes for easy data management. Think of it as the actual, tangible storage "materials" that, when combined and managed, form a larger, more flexible storage system.