Block Storage
More disk, attached to the server you already have.
A block storage volume is a disk. You attach it to a server, format it, mount it, and from then on it is a folder your software writes to. When it fills, you grow it. When the server is retired, the volume and everything on it survives.
- Mounts as a disk
- format it, mount it, use it
- NVMe-backed
- solid state, like the boot disk
- Detachable
- move it to another server
- Growable
- add capacity without rebuilding
What it is
Every server comes with a disk, and that disk is a fixed part of its size. When a database or a media library outgrows it, the choice used to be to rebuild the server one size up — a migration, an outage and a new IP address for something that is only short of space.
A volume separates the two. Storage grows on its own axis: keep the server you have, attach more disk, and move the data onto it. And because the volume is not part of the server, it can be detached and attached somewhere else — which makes moving a database to a new machine a matter of minutes rather than hours.
What it does for you
Six things Block Storage changes about how your infrastructure behaves.
Grow storage without rebuilding
Add capacity to a running server. No migration, no new address, no telling anyone that anything changed.
It behaves like a disk, because it is one
ext4, xfs, whatever you use. Your database, your backups and your software do not need to know it is not the boot disk.
Detach and move it
Unmount it from one server, attach it to another. Moving a data directory to a bigger machine stops being a copy operation.
It outlives the server
Rebuild, resize or replace the machine and the volume is still there, with the data still on it.
Solid state throughout
NVMe-backed, like the boot disk — not a slower tier you get pushed onto once the data gets large.
Pay for the size you take
Capacity is its own line on the invoice rather than being bundled into a server size you did not otherwise need.
What people use it for
- A database that keeps growing
- Put the data directory on a volume and give it room, without paying for CPU and memory you are not short of.
- Uploads and media
- Files that accumulate for years on a server sized for an application, not for an archive.
- Logs you have to keep
- Retention you are required to hold, kept off the disk your application needs to stay healthy.
What it costs
Volumes are priced by the gigabyte per month, on top of the server they attach to. Tell us how much you need and we will quote it with your server.
We would rather quote you than publish a number we have not checked. Everything on the pricing page is a figure the order form actually charges — this will join it the day the same is true here.
Questions
How is this different from object storage?
A volume is a disk attached to one server, and software writes to it as a filesystem. Object storage is reached over the network by an API, from anywhere, by any number of servers. Databases want a volume; user uploads and static files usually want object storage.
Can two servers share one volume?
No. A volume attaches to one server at a time, like a physical disk. Two servers that need the same files want object storage, or a file server in front of the volume.
Is it backed up?
Not by existing. A volume is storage, not a backup — it protects you from running out of space, not from deleting the wrong thing. Take snapshots or run backups against it, the same as any other disk.
What happens if I delete the server?
The volume survives unless you delete it too. Detach it first and it can be attached to whatever comes next.
Something not answered here? Ask us — it is a short answer or it is a phone call, and either is fine.
The rest of the cloud range
These are built to be used together — a server inside a private network, behind a firewall, with its data on a volume and its history in backups.
Cloud Server (VM)
Scalable Linux and Windows instances
See sizes and pricesBare Metal
A whole physical machine, for demanding workloads
Learn moreLoad Balancers
One address in front of many servers
Learn moreVPC (Virtual Private Cloud)
A private network only your servers can see
Learn moreCloud Firewall
Control incoming and outgoing network traffic
Learn moreObject Storage
Scalable, S3-compatible storage
Learn moreSnapshot
On-demand disk images of a server
Learn moreBackup
Automated data protection and recovery
Learn moreNot sure whether you need this?
Tell us what you are running and what is going wrong with it. We will say which of these actually helps — including when the answer is none of them.