After you have created and attached your Cloud Block Storage (CBS) Volume you must prepare it for use on your Server. In order to prepare your Volume you must partition, format, and mount it.  Once you have successfully completed these steps your Volume will be usable like a drive on your Server.

On This Page:

• Prepare your Volume for use with a Linux Server
• Prepare your Volume for use with a Windows Server

Prepare your Volume for use with a Linux Server

Step 1: SSH into your Server.

When you created your Server, you were given a password. You will need that password for this step. If you do not have the password, click the "Actions" button next to the server name and select "Change Password." Find the IP for your Server on the Server Details page. SSH into the Server with its IP address and password.

Input:

MHC03SDV7M:~ user4975$ ssh root@198.61.222.58
root@198.61.222.58's password: 

Output:

Linux nosnetdfw 2.6.32-31-server #61-Ubuntu SMP Fri Apr 8 19:44:42 UTC 2011 x86_64 GNU/Linux
Ubuntu 10.04 LTS

Welcome to the Ubuntu Server!
 * Documentation:  http://www.ubuntu.com/server/doc
Last login: Thu Oct 18 02:26:38 2012 from 70.114.215.201

Once you are logged in, you can list the disks on your Server. Your CBS Volume will typically be listed as the last drive in this list. In this example, our 100 GB drive is attached to /dev/xvdb. (It shows up as 107.4 GB due to how the MB are counted.)

Input:

root@nosnetdfw:~# fdisk -l

Output:

Disk /dev/xvdc: 1073 MB, 1073741824 bytes
127 heads, 3 sectors/track, 5504 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 381 * 512 = 195072 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x00029648

    Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/xvdc1               1        5250     1000000   83  Linux

Disk /dev/xvda: 42.9 GB, 42949672960 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 5221 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x000dc852

    Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/xvda1               1        5222    41942016   83  Linux

Disk /dev/xvdb: 107.4 GB, 107374182400 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 13054 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x00000000

Disk /dev/xvdb doesn't contain a valid partition table

Step 2: Partition the disk.

Partitioning the disk tells the Server how much space on the drive you want to use. We want to use all of it, so we tell the Server to start at the first cylinder of the drive and go to the last.

Input:

root@nosnetdfw:~# fdisk /dev/xvdb

Output:

Device contains neither a valid DOS partition table, nor Sun, SGI or OSF disklabel
Building a new DOS disklabel with disk identifier 0x59a4ec2c.
Changes will remain in memory only, until you decide to write them.
After that, of course, the previous content won't be recoverable.

Warning: invalid flag 0x0000 of partition table 4 will be corrected by w(rite)

WARNING: DOS-compatible mode is deprecated. It's strongly recommended to
         switch off the mode (command 'c') and change display units to
         sectors (command 'u').

Command (m for help): m
Command action
   a   toggle a bootable flag
   b   edit bsd disklabel
   c   toggle the dos compatibility flag
   d   delete a partition
   l   list known partition types
   m   print this menu
   n   add a new partition
   o   create a new empty DOS partition table
   p   print the partition table
   q   quit without saving changes
   s   create a new empty Sun disklabel
   t   change a partition's system id
   u   change display/entry units
   v   verify the partition table
   w   write table to disk and exit
   x   extra functionality (experts only)

Command (m for help): 

Enter "n" for new partition:

Input:

Command (m for help): n

Output:

Command action
   e   extended
   p   primary partition (1-4)

Enter "p" for primary partition

Input:

p

Output:

Partition number (1-4):

Enter "1"; we are only creating one partition on this disk.

Input:

Partition number (1-4): 1

 Output:

First cylinder (1-13054, default 1):   

Press the "Enter" key to use the default, which is "1". We are using the entire Volume for our partition, so we start the partition at the beginning.

Input:

<Enter>

Output:

Using default value 1
Last cylinder, +cylinders or +size{K,M,G} (1-13054, default 13054):

We select the last cylinder of the disk for the partiton to use up the entire disk. The last partition is the default, so we just need to press the "Enter" key on the keyboard.

Input:

<Enter>

 Ouput:

Using default value 13054

Command (m for help): 

Enter "w" to write the partition.

Input:

Command (m for help): w

Output:

The partition table has been altered!

Calling ioctl() to re-read partition table.
Syncing disks.

If we list the disks on our Server again, we see that our CBS Volume is ready as a disk. Remember, it was attached at /dev/xvdb and we created one partition on it. So, now our available drive shows up at /dev/xvdb1.

Input:

 root@nosnetdfw:~# fdisk -l

Ouput:

Disk /dev/xvdc: 1073 MB, 1073741824 bytes
127 heads, 3 sectors/track, 5504 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 381 * 512 = 195072 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x00029648

    Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/xvdc1               1        5250     1000000   83  Linux

Disk /dev/xvda: 42.9 GB, 42949672960 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 5221 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x000dc852

    Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/xvda1               1        5222    41942016   83  Linux

Disk /dev/xvdb: 107.4 GB, 107374182400 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 13054 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x59a4ec2c

    Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/xvdb1               1       13054   104856223+  83  Linux

Step 3. Format the Volume

Formatting the drive makes it speak the language of your Server. In this example, we format the drive with ext3.

Input:

root@nosnetdfw:~# mkfs -t ext3 /dev/xvdb1

Output:

mke2fs 1.41.11 (14-Mar-2010)
Filesystem label=
OS type: Linux
Block size=4096 (log=2)
Fragment size=4096 (log=2)
Stride=0 blocks, Stripe width=0 blocks
6553600 inodes, 26214055 blocks
1310702 blocks (5.00%) reserved for the super user
First data block=0
Maximum filesystem blocks=4294967296
800 block groups
32768 blocks per group, 32768 fragments per group
8192 inodes per group
Superblock backups stored on blocks: 
32768, 98304, 163840, 229376, 294912, 819200, 884736, 1605632, 2654208, 
4096000, 7962624, 11239424, 20480000, 23887872

Writing inode tables: done                            
Creating journal (32768 blocks): done
Writing superblocks and filesystem accounting information: done

This filesystem will be automatically checked every 31 mounts or
180 days, whichever comes first.  Use tune2fs -c or -i to override.

You can substitute another file system your installation supports for "ext3" in the command (like ext4).

Step 4. Mount the Device

After partitioning and formatting the disk, you must mount it on the Server. Once the drive is mounted, it is available for use. Here you assign the drive a name for use on your Server. In this example, the drive is called "cbsvolume1".

Input:

root@nosnetdfw:~# mkdir -p /mnt/cbsvolume1
root@nosnetdfw:~# mount /dev/xvdb1 /mnt/cbsvolume1/

Output:

There is no feedback given once the drive is mounted. However, you may check that your drive is ready by running the df command to show your free disk space. Your new drive is listed last in the list of available drives.

Input:

root@nosnetdfw:~# df -h

Output:

Filesystem            Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
/dev/xvda1             40G  632M   37G   2% /
none                  493M  136K  493M   1% /dev
none                  498M     0  498M   0% /dev/shm
none                  498M   36K  498M   1% /var/run
none                  498M     0  498M   0% /var/lock
none                  498M     0  498M   0% /lib/init/rw
none                   40G  632M   37G   2% /var/lib/ureadahead/debugfs
/dev/xvdb1             99G  188M   94G   1% /mnt/cbsvolume1

Your drive is ready for use with your Linux Server. However, you may want to add the following step to ensure that your Volume remains persistant after a server reboots.

Step 5. Make Volume permanent

This is an optional step, but it will keep your Volume attached to your Server after reboots. To make this happen, add your Volume to the static file system information in the fstab file.

Input:

root@nosnetdfw:~# nano /etc/fstab 

Output:

#
# /etc/fstab
# Created by anaconda on Tue May 29 20:13:27 2012
#
# Accessible filesystems, by reference, are maintained under '/dev/disk'
# See man pages fstab(5), findfs(8), mount(8) and/or blkid(8) for more info
#
/dev/xvda1          /               ext3    defaults,noatime,barrier=0 1 1
/dev/xvdc1          swap            swap    defaults    0 0

For this example, we add the following line beneath /dev/xvdc1... to add the volume to the static filesystem:

/dev/xvdb1          /mnt/cbsvolume1  ext3    defaults,noatime      0      2

The Volume persists on the Server after reboot.

Prepare your Volume for use with a Windows Server

Note: In the example below, we attach a 100 GB Volume to a Windows Server 2012. The steps taken are similar for all Next Generation Windows Servers.

Step 1: Remote into your Server.

When you created your Server, you were given a password. You will need that password for this step. If you do not have the password, click the "Actions" button next to the server name and select "Change Password." Find the IP for your Server on the Server Details page. Remote Desktop into the Server as administrator with its IP address and password.

When you first log in and view the "Computer" window, you will not see the Cloud Block Storage Volume that is attached to the Server. In the example below, we only see the Server's C drive.

 Click the Server Manager Window. If the Server Manager window is not displayed, right-click on the "Computer" icon and select "Manage". You may also click the "Server Manager" icon at the bottom left of the Windows taskbar.

The Server Manager window:

At the left side of the Server Manager window, select the "File and Storage Services" link:

 Select "Disks" in the left-hand panel. Here we see a 100 GB Volume attached to the Server. It is listed as "Offline", it has 100 GB of unallocated space, and its partition size is "Unknown".

Step 2 - Partition and Format the Drive

For Windows Servers, the Volume is partitioned, formatted, and mounted in the New Volume Wizard. The mounting process--called bringing it Online in Windows terminology--is done automatically.

Under the "Disks" window, right-click the offline drive and select "Bring Online" from the pop-up menu.

Under "Disks", right-click the drive and select "New Volume" from the pop-up menu. In Windows Server 2008, you right-click the unallocated drive and select "New Simple Volume".

The "New Volume Wizard" launches.

Click the "Next" button. Under the "Disk" window, the unformatted CBS Volume displays.

Select the disk and click "Next".If the "Offline or Uninitialized Disk" window displays, click the "OK" button.

Select the drive size, then drive letter, and then format and name. Confirm your settings in the "File System Settings" window. In this example, we have used the disk's full 100GB, assigned it drive letter D, formatted it as NTFS, and named it "My New CBS Volume".

Click the "Create" button to complete the process.

When you display the "My Computer" window, the new CBS drive displays like a regular hard drive.

Your CBS Volume is now ready for use.