Manage a volume

Each volume has its own Volume Details page. It shows every fact we keep about the disk: its size and type, the server it is attached to, its backups and backup plans. You also change the volume from here. To create a volume, see Create a volume.

Open a volume

1. Open Infrastructure, then Volumes, under Storage & Backups.
2. Select the volume’s name, or open its row menu and select Open Details.

Read the top of the page

The top card shows the volume’s name and its status, such as In Use or Available. A volume with no name of its own reads, for example, Boot Disk of web-01, Disk 2 of web-01, or Volume followed by the first 8 characters of its ID. Boot marks a server’s boot volume. The line under the name says where it is attached, for example Attached to web-01 as /dev/vdb, or Not Attached.

Three figures sit on the right:

• Size is the volume’s size in GB.
• Backups counts the backups of this volume. It reads None when there are none.
• Backup Plans counts the plans that back it up on a schedule. It reads None when there are none. A dash means the plans couldn’t be read.
• Snapshots counts the volume’s snapshots. It reads None when there are none.

The buttons Attach to Server and Delete Volume sit under the figures, when you can use them.

Under the top card, two tabs: Overview, with the cards below, and Snapshots. See Take and revert snapshots below.

Read the volume’s details

The Volume Details card lists:

• Volume ID, the volume’s unique identifier. Select the copy icon to copy it.
• Name, and Description, a note for your team. A dash means it has none.
• Size and Type, the kind of storage, such as Standard.
• Status, what the volume is doing now. See Create a volume for every status.
• Bootable, Encrypted and Multi-Attach, each Yes or No. Multi-Attach means the volume can be attached to more than one server at once.
• Availability Zone, the part of the region it lives in, when the platform reports one.
• Created and Last Changed.
• Restored From, when the volume was restored from a backup, or Copied From Volume, when it was copied from another volume.

Read where it is attached

The Attachment card shows:

• Attached To, the server. Select its name to open the server’s Storage tab.
• Device, the name the server sees the disk under, such as /dev/vdb.
• Attached, when it was attached.
• Also Attached To, other servers, for a multi-attach volume.

A volume on no server shows This volume isn’t attached to a server. Attach it from a server’s Storage tab.

Read its backups

The Backups card shows how many Backups the volume has and its Latest Backup. Backup Plans names the plans that cover it. A count of zero reads None. Couldn’t be read means the plans couldn’t be loaded right now.

A row with something to open ends with an arrow. Select the arrow beside Backups to open the backups of this volume. Its name is View Backups. Select the arrow beside Backup Plans to open its plans. Its name is View Backup Plans. When a count is None, the row has no arrow.

If the volume is attached to a server and has no backups and no backup plan, the foot of the card shows Add to a Backup Plan. It opens the server’s Backups tab on its backup plans, where you add the volume to a plan. See Set up a backup plan.

To read a backup or a plan in detail, see Manage a backup and Manage a backup plan.

Read its disk activity

Disk activity is measured per server, across all of its volumes. The Disk Activity card names the server. Select Open Server Stats to see its graphs. See Read server graphs and activity. A volume on no server has no disk activity.

Rename a volume

1. Select the pencil icon on the Name row (Rename Volume).
2. Type the new name and confirm. You see Volume Renamed.

Nothing on the disk changes. A boot volume’s name can’t be changed.

Describe a volume

1. Select the pencil icon on the Description row (Edit Description).
2. Type a note for your team, up to 255 characters, then select Save Description. You see Description saved.

Leave it empty to clear it. The description also shows under the volume’s name in the Volumes list. Nothing on the disk changes.

Take and revert snapshots

A snapshot is a point-in-time copy of the volume, kept on the same storage. Take one before a risky change, such as an upgrade, so you can go back to it. A snapshot isn’t a backup: it is deleted with the volume. For a copy that outlives the volume, see Back up a volume.

Select the Snapshots tab. Its list shows each snapshot’s Name, Size, Status and Created date. Latest marks the newest snapshot that is ready. Select a snapshot’s name to open its own page, with all its details and whether it can be reverted to.

Take a snapshot

1. Select Take Snapshot.
2. Type a Name, or leave it empty for the volume’s name and the date and time (UTC).
3. Confirm. You see Snapshot requested. The snapshot shows Creating, then Available.

If the volume is attached to a server, the dialog warns that the snapshot is crash-consistent, like pulling the power: files the server was writing may be incomplete. For a consistent copy, stop the server first.

Revert to a snapshot

Revert puts the volume back as it was when the snapshot was taken. Everything written to the volume since then is lost, and this can’t be undone.

1. Select Revert on the snapshot.
2. Type the volume’s name to confirm, then select Revert to Snapshot. You see Revert requested.

Revert is greyed out when it can’t be used. Hold the pointer over it, or tap it, to see why:

• Only the latest snapshot can be reverted to. Delete the newer snapshots first: followed by their names. Delete each of them, then revert.
• Detach the volume from its server first. The note above the list names the server: unmount the volume inside it, detach it, then revert.
• The volume was extended after this snapshot was taken. It can’t be reverted to.

Lighthouse never detaches the volume or deletes snapshots for you: each step is yours to take, so nothing changes without you choosing it.

Delete a snapshot

1. Select Delete on the snapshot, or on its own page.
2. Confirm. You see Snapshot delete requested.

The volume itself doesn’t change.

Create a volume from a snapshot

Select Create Volume From Snapshot on an available snapshot, or on its own page, to make a new volume holding the data as it was when the snapshot was taken. The name and size are filled in for you; the size can’t be smaller than the snapshot’s. Confirm, and you see Volume Create Requested. The new volume is on no server and is billed as any volume. The original volume and its snapshot don’t change.

Extend a volume

1. Select the resize icon on the Size row (Extend Volume).
2. Type the new size in GB and confirm. You see Volume Extend Requested.
3. Grow the filesystem from inside the server. See Manage a server’s storage.

A volume can only grow.

Attach or detach a volume

1. To attach it, select Attach to Server, choose the Server and confirm. You see Attach Requested. Format and mount the new disk inside the server.
2. To detach it, unmount it inside the server first. Then select Detach on the Attachment card and confirm. You see Detach Requested.

Its data stays on the volume when you detach it.

Create an image of a volume

You can make a private image of a volume, then deploy new servers from it. The volume must be detached.

1. Open the volume’s page and select Create Image.
2. Check the Image Name and the Operating System. For a volume made from an image, Same as Its Source is chosen. For a volume that wasn’t, Linux is chosen; change it to Windows if that is what the volume holds.
3. Optional: the Minimum Disk (GB), at least the volume’s size, and the Minimum Memory (MB).
4. Select Create Image. Select Open Image in the message to go to its page.

It takes a few minutes. Keep the volume detached until it’s done. The image shows Not Yet Booted until a server made from it boots. If Create Image is greyed out with Detach the volume from its server first., select Open its server and detach it there.

Clone a volume

1. Select Clone Volume.
2. Type the new Volume Name and its Size (GB): at least the size of the volume it copies.
3. Confirm. The copy is a new volume on no server, billed as any volume.

A volume that is attached is copied while it runs, like a backup. For a clean copy, stop the server or detach the volume first.

Delete a volume

1. Select Delete Volume.
2. Type the volume’s name to confirm, then confirm. You see Volume Delete Requested.

Everything on the volume is deleted. Its backups are kept. Its snapshots are deleted with it: the dialog says how many, for example Its 2 snapshots are deleted with it. This can’t be undone.

If something goes wrong

• A greyed-out action means the volume is busy, or your account can’t change it right now. Hold the pointer over it to see why, for example This volume is busy. Try again when it’s finished.
• Too many changes in a short time. Wait a moment and try again.
• A copy can’t be smaller than the volume it copies (100 GB). Choose a size at least as large.
• Choose Linux or Windows: the volume wasn’t made from an image, so it has no operating system to copy.
• Volume Not Found means it may have been deleted, or you don’t have access to it.
• Your account has reached its limit of volume snapshots. Delete a snapshot first, or open a support ticket to raise the limit.
• Error as the status means the last change failed. Try again, or open a support ticket.