Akasha.
DocsAbout storageCustom volumes

Custom volumes

Create custom storage volumes, attach them to instances, and resize, copy, migrate, export or delete them.

Custom volumes are extra disks that exist independently of any instance. Use them to keep data separate from an instance's root disk, share a filesystem between instances, or add block storage to a virtual machine.

Create a volume

  1. Go to Storage → Volumes and click Create volume.

  2. Fill in the form:

    FieldNotes
    Storage poolThe pool the volume lives in. Cannot be changed later (use migrate instead).
    Cluster memberShown only for pools that are local to a specific host; fixed after creation.
    NameRequired; must be unique in the project.
    SizeOptional. If empty, the volume has no size limit within its storage pool.
    Content typefilesystem (mountable) or block (VMs only). Immutable after creation.

  3. Click Create.

Depending on the pool's driver, additional sections appear with driver-specific options; the defaults are suitable for most workloads.

Choose the content type carefully: filesystem volumes can be mounted into containers and virtual machines, while block volumes can only be attached to virtual machines and cannot be changed to filesystem later.

Attach a volume to an instance

Volumes are attached as disk devices on the instance:

  1. Open the instance and go to Configuration → Devices → Disk.
  2. Click Attach disk device and select the custom volume (you can also create a new volume inline from this dialog).
  3. For a filesystem volume, set the mount path inside the instance (for example /data). block volumes take no mount path — the VM sees a new raw disk.
  4. Save the instance configuration.

A filesystem volume can be attached to more than one instance. To detach a volume, remove the disk device from the instance's configuration. See Configure instances for more on devices.

Resize a volume

Only custom volumes can be resized; the size of instance, image and other internal volumes is managed by the platform.

  1. Open the volume from Storage → Volumes.
  2. Go to the Configuration tab, change the size, and save.

Rename a volume

Open the volume's detail page and click the volume name in the header to rename it.

Copy a volume

Open the volume and click Copy in the header to duplicate it. If the copy action is not available in your deployment, export the volume and upload it as a new volume instead.

Migrate a volume

Migration moves a volume without changing its name:

  1. Open the volume and click Migrate in the header.
  2. Choose the target storage pool. For volumes on member-local pools you can instead move the volume to another cluster member.
  3. Confirm.

Export a volume

Export creates a backup file of the volume and downloads it in your browser:

  1. Open the volume and click Export.
  2. Choose the options: compression (Gzip or none), whether to use the storage-driver optimized format (restorable only on a pool with a similar driver), whether to exclude snapshots (volume only), and how long the backup remains available on the server before it expires.
  3. Click Export. The backup is created and the download starts automatically.

Export is disabled when your project blocks backup creation (restricted.backups); ask your administrator if the button is unavailable.

Upload a volume from a file

To import a previously exported volume backup, go to Storage → Volumes, click Create volume, then click Upload volume file at the bottom of the create form. Select the backup file, the target pool and a name for the new volume.

Delete a volume

A volume can only be deleted when nothing uses it — detach it from all instances, and remove it from any profiles that reference it, first. Delete a single volume from its detail page, or select multiple volumes in the list at Storage → Volumes and use the bulk delete action. Deleting a volume also deletes its snapshots.