A repository cannot be hosted on a physical disk that has pre-existing partitions. If you attempt to create a repository on a disk that already has a partition, an error is generated notifying you that the backing device is not allowed to contain partitions. If you are intent on creating a repository on the selected disk, you must delete any pre-existing partitions. This may require you to directly access the Oracle VM Server where the disk is mounted and to manually remove the partition objects on the disk using the fdisk command. For example:
# fdisk /dev/sdb WARNING: DOS-compatible mode is deprecated. It's strongly recommended to switch off the mode (command 'c') and change display units to sectors (command 'u'). Command (m for help):p
Disk /dev/sdb: 500.1 GB, 500107862016 bytes 255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 60801 cylinders Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes Disk identifier: 0x0001e791 Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System /dev/sdb1 1 6528 52428800 83 Linux Command (m for help):d
Partition number (1):1
Command (m for help):w
Using fdisk is data destructive. Make sure you are certain about the disk device name and partitions that you are deleting. It is advisable to make backups of any data that exists on the disk that you are editing before proceeding. This operation should be performed by a skilled systems administrator.
Usually, restarting the affected Oracle VM Server after performing these operations is advisable. In the case of an iSCSI disk, connections to targets need to be re-initiated. In all cases, the storage needs to be refreshed. Simply restarting the Oracle VM Server ensures that all necessary actions are performed.
Once the Oracle VM Server has restarted, you may attempt to recreate the repository.