InfrastructureCloud VMs

Attach volumes

Attach a Block Storage volume to a Cloud VM when you need persistent storage that survives plan changes, OS rebuilds, and VM deletion. Volumes attach as additional disks (vdb, vdc, …) alongside the root disk (vda).

When to use a separate volume

  • Your data should outlive the VM (databases, file servers, user uploads).
  • You want to grow capacity independently of CPU and RAM.
  • You need to move data between VMs (detach from one, attach to another).
  • You want snapshot scope flexibility — capture data volumes selectively (Selective volumes capture mode).

For ephemeral data that lives and dies with the VM, the included root disk on each instance type is fine.

Attach a volume

1

1. Create the volume

If you don’t already have one, create a volume in the same region as the VM. See Create a volume.

2

2. Attach from the volume or VM

From the Block Storage detail page, click Attach and pick the VM. Alternatively, from the VM detail page open the volumes section and add the volume from there.

3

3. Wait for the attachment to complete

The activity feed shows VM attach_volume operation accepted followed by VM attach_volume operation completed. The volume now appears as a new block device inside the guest.

Mount the volume inside the guest (Linux)

Use the platform’s mount instructions, or follow these standard steps the first time you attach a fresh volume.

$# 1. Confirm the new device
$lsblk
$
$# 2. (First time only) Create a filesystem
$sudo mkfs.ext4 /dev/vdb
$
$# 3. Create a mount point
$sudo mkdir -p /mnt/volume_<id>
$
$# 4. Mount it
$sudo mount /dev/vdb /mnt/volume_<id>
$
$# 5. Persist across reboots — use UUID for stability
$echo "UUID=$(blkid -s UUID -o value /dev/vdb) /mnt/volume_<id> ext4 defaults 0 0" | sudo tee -a /etc/fstab

Use UUID-based fstab entries. Device names like /dev/vdb can change after detach/reattach or restore. Mounting by UUID keeps the path stable.

The IBEE portal surfaces these exact steps in Snapshots → Recovery Point Details → Mount Instructions after a restore, including the device path, suggested mount point, and the four-step sequence above.

Mount the volume inside the guest (Windows)

  1. Open Disk Management.
  2. Bring the new disk Online and Initialize it (GPT for >2 TB).
  3. Right-click the unallocated space → New Simple Volume and follow the wizard.
  4. Assign a drive letter and format as NTFS.

Detach a volume

  1. Unmount inside the guest first (sudo umount /mnt/volume_<id>) to avoid filesystem corruption.
  2. From the volume or VM page, click Detach.
  3. The activity feed shows VM detach_volume operation accepted → completed.

A detached volume keeps its data and can be reattached to any VM in the same region.

Volumes and snapshots

When you take a snapshot, you choose the Capture Mode:

ModeWhat’s captured
Root volume onlyJust the boot disk. Attached data volumes are skipped.
All attached volumesRoot disk plus every attached data volume.
Selective volumesRoot is always included; pick which attached data volumes to add.

After restore, captured data volumes are auto-attached to the target VM. Mount instructions are surfaced in the snapshot detail view. See Create a snapshot.

Troubleshooting

lsblk doesn’t show the new device Wait 10–20 seconds after the activity feed reports completion, then rerun. If it still doesn’t appear, reboot the VM.

mount fails with “wrong fs type” The volume isn’t formatted yet. Run sudo mkfs.ext4 /dev/vdX on the first attach only.

Volume is read-only after restore The platform restores the volume but doesn’t auto-mount it inside the guest. Open Snapshots → Recovery Point Details → View instructions for the exact mount command for that volume.