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Attach a volume to a VM

A volume in the Available state can be attached to any VM in the same account. The VM does not need to be stopped before attaching (hot-attach).

A volume attaches to one VM at a time

Each volume can be attached to exactly one VM at a time. To share data between multiple VMs, use Object Storage (Simple Storage) or a self-hosted NFS share.

Attach the volume in the Portal​

Step 1. Open the action menu on the volume​

Go to Cloud Server → Volumes, click ⋯ next to the volume → Attach to server.

Action menu on a volume with the Attach to server item

Step 2. Pick the target VM​

Pick a VM from the dropdown and click Attach.

Dialog to pick the VM for attaching the volume

The volume transitions to In use and the Attached server column shows the VM name.

Format and mount inside the OS​

A freshly attached volume is just a raw block device — there is no filesystem yet. Format and mount it inside the OS before using it.

Linux​

# 1. Find the device name of the new volume (usually /dev/sdb, /dev/sdc...)
lsblk

# 2. Create an ext4 filesystem
sudo mkfs.ext4 /dev/sdb

# 3. Create a mount point and mount the volume
sudo mkdir -p /mnt/data
sudo mount /dev/sdb /mnt/data

# 4. Mount on boot — add a line to /etc/fstab
sudo blkid /dev/sdb   # grab the UUID
echo "UUID=<uuid> /mnt/data ext4 defaults,nofail 0 2" | sudo tee -a /etc/fstab

# 5. Verify
df -h /mnt/data
Use the UUID, not the device name

Device names (/dev/sdb) can shift after a reboot or when extra volumes are attached. Use the UUID in /etc/fstab for a stable mount.

Windows​

  1. Open Disk Management (diskmgmt.msc).
  2. The new disk shows up as Offline / Not Initialized — right-click → Initialize Disk (pick GPT for disks > 2 TB).
  3. Right-click the empty area → New Simple Volume → format as NTFS → assign a drive letter.

Next steps​