Rackspace Cloud Block Storage is a block-level storage solution that allows you to expand the storage capacity of your Rackspace Next Generation Cloud Server™. This means you can increase your storage without increasing the size or capacity of your Server or by provisioning new ones. Once you mount and format your drive, you can use it just like a regular hard drive attached to your Server. Or you can detach your block storage Volume from one server and attach it to another. Or you can delete your server, keeping your data intact and ready for the next time you need it. And since you're leveraging the power of the Cloud, you only pay for what you use. Cloud Block Storage offers you power and ease with the kind of storage that works for you.

There are two types of volumes you can attach to your Next Generation Server:

• A standard speed option for customers who just need additional storage on their Cloud server
• A high performance option for databases and high performance applications, leveraging solid state drives for speed

Both types are priced per gigabyte (GB) of storage and not by input/output operations per second (IOPS), which can be difficult to predict or control.

On This Page:

• Uses of Cloud Block Storage
• Access to Cloud Block Storage
• Limits of Cloud Block Storage
• Cloud Block Storage Terminology
• Cloud Block Storage Getting Started Table of Contents

Some Uses of Cloud Block Storage

• Mount a drive to a Cloud Server to scale storage without paying for more compute capability
• Add standard speed storage for customers who just need additional storage on their Cloud Server
• Add high performance storage for databases and high performance applications, leveraging solid state drives for speed
• Detach your block storage and delete your server, keeping your data available and your costs down, because you only pay for what you use
• Re-attach your block storage Volume and move data from one server to another

Access Cloud Block Storage

Access Cloud Block Storage the way you like: you can use it through the GUI interface of the Cloud Cloud Control Panel or through the API. This Getting Started Guide walks you through Control Panel access. If you prefer to interact with Cloud Block Storage programmatically, you may view the Developer's Guide, located in docs.rackspace.com.

Limits of Cloud Block Storage

100 GB to 1 TB / Volume
14 Volumes max / Server
50 Volumes max / region OR 10 TB max/ region (whichever is first)

Cloud Block Storage Terminology

You may run across some unfamiliar terms in this Getting Started Guide. Here are some common terms and definitions we use in Cloud Block Storage.

• Instance -- An instance is a virtual machine that runs inside the cloud.

• Instance Type -- An instance type describes the compute, memory and storage capacity of Nova computing instances. In layman's terms, this is the size (in terms of vCPUs, RAM, and so forth) of the virtual server that you will be launching.
• Region -- The location of your server and storage volumes. Your choices are Dallas, Chicago, or London (DFW, ORD, or LON). You should create your block storage volumes in the same data center as your server to avoid bandwidth fees.
• Snapshot -- A snapshot is a point in time copy of the data contained in a volume.
• Volume -- A volume is a detachable block storage device. You can think of it like a USB hard drive. It can only be attached to one instance at a time.
• Volume Type -- The volume type is the type of a block storage volume. There are two types: SATA for standard performance and SSD for high performance.

Cloud Block Storage Getting Started Table of Contents

In this Getting Started Guide, you will learn how to:

• Create and Attach a Volume
• Prepare Your Volume for use with a Server (Linux or Windows)
• Take Snapshots of your Volume
• Detach and Delete a Volume

Let's get started and Create your first Volume.