Block Storage

• 1: Overview
• 1.1: Monitoring Metrics
• 2: How-to guides
• 2.1: Connecting to the Server
• 2.2: Using Snapshots
• 2.3: Move Volume
• 3: API Reference
• 4: CLI Reference
• 5: Release Note

1 - Overview

Service Overview

Block Storage is a high-performance storage that stores data in block units sorted by a certain size and arrangement.
It is suitable for large-scale, high-performance requirements such as databases and mail servers, and users can directly allocate volumes on the server for use.

Features

• Large volume provision: OS configuration volumes are created with at least the minimum size per image and can be expanded up to 12TB, and data storage volumes outside the OS can be created and expanded from a minimum of 8GB to a maximum of 12TB. Volume expansion is performed reliably while online.
• Providing high performance based on Full SSD: Provides high durability and availability based on redundant Controller and Disk Array Raid. Since Full SSD disks are provided by default, it is suitable for high-speed data processing tasks such as database workloads.
• Snapshot Backup: Through the image snapshot feature, recovery of changed and deleted data is possible. Users select a snapshot created at the point in time they wish to recover from the list and perform the recovery.

Service Architecture Diagram

Provided Features

Block Storage provides the following features.

• Volume Name: Users can set or edit names for each volume.
• Capacity: Volumes can be created with capacities ranging from a minimum of 8 GB up to a maximum of 12 TB, and can be expanded during use. The OS default volume can be created with at least the minimum capacity for each image.
• Connection Server: You can select a Virtual Server to connect or disconnect.
  • Multi-Server Connection (Multi Attach): Connect to two or more servers, no limit on the number of servers per volume, and a Virtual Server can connect up to 26 volumes
• Encryption: All volumes of Block Storage have AES-256 algorithm encryption applied by default, and if the volume is HDD/SSD_KMS disk type, it additionally provides transmission encryption for the Block Storage segment connected to the instance and the instance.
• Snapshot: Through the image snapshot feature, recovery of changed and deleted data is possible. Users select a snapshot created at the point in time they wish to recover from the list and recover it.
• Volume Transfer: Through the volume transfer feature, you can transfer the volume to another Account.
• Monitoring: IOPS, Latency, Throughput, usage, etc. Monitoring information can be checked through the Cloud Monitoring service.

Components

You can enter the capacity and select the disk type to create a volume according to the user’s service scale and performance requirements. When using the snapshot feature, you can restore data to the point in time you want to recover.

Volume

Volume (Volume) is the basic creation unit of the Block Storage service and is used as data storage space. Users select name, capacity, and disk type to create a volume, then attach it to a Virtual Server for use.
The volume name creation rules are as follows.

Snapshot

A snapshot is an image backup of a volume at a specific point in time. Users can view the snapshot name and creation date in the snapshot list to select the snapshot they want to restore, and can recover data that was changed or deleted using that snapshot.
The notes for using snapshots are as follows.

Preceding Service

This is a list of services that must be pre-configured before creating the service. For details, refer to the guide provided for each service and prepare in advance.

1.1 - Monitoring Metrics

Block Storage monitoring metrics

The table below shows the monitoring metrics of Block Storage that can be checked through Cloud Monitoring. For detailed usage of Cloud Monitoring, refer to the Cloud Monitoring guide.

2 - How-to guides

The user can enter the required information for Block Storage through the Samsung Cloud Platform Console, select detailed options, and create the service.

Create Block Storage

You can create and use the Block Storage service in the Samsung Cloud Platform Console.

To create Block Storage, follow the steps below.

1. All Services > Compute > Virtual Server Click the menu. Navigate to the Service Home page of Virtual Server.

2. Block Storage Click the menu. Navigate to the Block Storage List page.

3. Click the Create Service button on the Block Storage page. You will be taken to the Create Block Storage page.

4. Block Storage Creation On the page, enter the information required to create the service, and select detailed options.

   Category	Required	Detailed description
   Volume Name	Required	Volume Name Enter up to 255 characters using English letters, numbers, spaces, and special characters (-, _)
   Snapshot Name	Select	Select a snapshot to use when creating a volume via snapshot Provide the recovery snapshot name when creating a service through snapshot recovery volume creation If not selected, an empty volume is created After selection, can delete by clicking the X button next to the name
   Disk Type	Required	Select Disk Type HDD: Standard volume SSD: High-performance standard volume HDD/SSD_KMS: Volume that additionally provides in-transit encryption between the instance and Block Storage HDD/SSD_MultiAttach: Volume that can be attached to two or more servers Cannot be modified after service creation When creating the service via snapshot recovery volume creation, it is set identical to the original and cannot be modified
   Capacity	Select	Capacity Settings Can be created within 8~12,228 GB Enter the number of units provided in 8 GB increments When creating a service via snapshot recovery volume creation, input a capacity that is equal to or larger than the original

   Table. Block Storage Service Information Input Items

5. Summary Check the detailed information and estimated billing amount generated in the panel, and click the Complete button.

   • Once creation is complete, check the created resource on the Block Storage List page.

Block Storage Check Detailed Information

Block Storage 서비스는 전체 자원 목록과 상세 정보를 확인하고 수정할 수 있습니다. Block Storage 상세 페이지는 상세 정보, 스냅샷 목록, 태그, 작업 이력 탭으로 구성되어 있습니다.

To view detailed information about the Block Storage service, follow these steps.

1. All Services > Compute > Virtual Server Click the menu. Navigate to the Service Home page of Virtual Server.
2. Click the Block Storage menu. Go to the Block Storage List page.
3. Click the resource to view detailed information on the Block Storage List page. It moves to the Block Storage Details page.
   • Block Storage Details page displays status information and additional feature information, and consists of Details, Snapshot List, Tags, Operation History tabs.

     Category	Detailed description
     Volume Status	Status of the volume Creating: Creating Downloading: Creating (applying OS image) Available: Creation completed, server connection possible Reserved: Waiting for server connection Attaching: Connecting to server Detaching: Server connection released In Use: Server connection completed Deleting: Service termination in progress Awaiting Transfer: Waiting for volume transfer Extending: Capacity expansion Error Extending: Abnormal state during capacity expansion Backing Up: Volume backup in progress Restoring Backup: Volume backup restoration in progress Error Backing Up: Abnormal state of volume backup Error Restoring: Abnormal state of volume backup restoration Error Deleting: Abnormal state during deletion Error Managing: Abnormal state Error: Abnormal state Maintenance: Temporary maintenance state Reverting: Snapshot restoration in progress
     Volume Transfer	Transfer the volume to another account For detailed information about volume transfer, refer to Volume Transfer
     Snapshot Creation	Immediately create a snapshot at the time of creation For detailed information on snapshot creation, see Create Snapshot
     Snapshot Recovery	Recover the volume with the latest snapshot in Available state For detailed information about snapshot recovery, see Snapshot Recovery
     Service Cancellation	Button to cancel the service

     Table. Status Information and Additional Functions

Detailed Information

Block Storage list page, you can view detailed information of the selected resource and edit the information if needed.

Snapshot List

Block Storage List page allows you to view the snapshot of the selected resource.

Tag

Block Storage List page allows you to view the tag information of selected resources, and you can add, modify, or delete them.

Work History

You can view the operation history of the selected resource on the Block Storage List page.

Block Storage Resource Management

If you need to modify the settings of a created Block Storage or add or delete a connected server, you can perform the tasks on the Block Storage Details page.

Edit Volume Name

You can edit the name of the volume. To edit the volume name, follow the steps below.

1. All Services > Compute > Virtual Server menu, click it. Navigate to the Virtual Server’s Service Home page.
2. Block Storage Click the menu. Navigate to the Block Storage List page.
3. Block Storage List page, click the resource to edit the volume name. Block Storage Details page, navigate.
4. Click the Volume name Edit button. The Volume name Edit popup opens.
5. Enter the volume name and click the Confirm button.

Increase Capacity

You can increase the volume capacity. To increase the capacity, follow the steps below.

1. All Services > Compute > Virtual Server Click the menu. Navigate to the Service Home page of Virtual Server.
2. Click the Block Storage menu. Go to the Block Storage List page.
3. Block Storage List page, click the resource to expand the capacity. Block Storage Details page, navigate.
4. Click the Capacity Edit button. The Capacity Edit popup window opens.
5. Enter the capacity and click the Confirm button.

Edit Connected Server

You can connect or disconnect the server. To modify the connected server, follow the steps below.

1. All Services > Compute > Virtual Server Click the menu. Navigate to the Service Home page of Virtual Server.
2. Click the Block Storage menu. You will be taken to the Block Storage List page.
3. Click the resource to edit the connected server on the Block Storage List page. You will be taken to the Block Storage Detail page.
4. When adding a Virtual Server connection, click the Connection Server item’s Add button. The Add Connection Server popup window opens.
5. After selecting the Virtual Server you want to connect to, click the Confirm button.
6. When disconnecting the Virtual Server, click the Connection Server Disconnect button.
   • Please perform the disconnection after the disconnect operation (Umount, Disk Offline) on the server.

Block Storage Cancel

You can reduce operating costs by terminating unused Block Storage. However, if you terminate the service, the running service may be stopped immediately, so you should consider the impact of service interruption sufficiently before proceeding with the termination.

To cancel Block Storage, follow the steps below.

1. All Services > Compute > Virtual Server Click the menu. Navigate to the Service Home page of Virtual Server.
2. Click the Block Storage menu. You will be taken to the Block Storage List page.
3. On the Block Storage List page, select the resource to cancel and click the Cancel Service button.
4. When termination is complete, check on the Block Storage list page whether the resource has been terminated.

2.1 - Connecting to the Server

When using a volume on a server, connection or disconnection work is required.
From the Block Storage Details page, add the connection server and then connect to the server to perform the connection work (Mount, Disk Online). After use, perform the disconnection work (Umount, Disk Offline) and then remove the connection server.

Connecting to the Server (Mount, Disk Online)

To use the volume added to the connection server, you must connect to the server and perform the connection work (Mount, Disk Online). Follow the procedure below.

Linux Operating System

1. Click the All Services > Compute > Virtual Server menu. Move to the Service Home page of Virtual Server.
2. Click the Block Storage menu. Move to the Block Storage List page.
3. On the Block Storage List page, click the resource to be used by the connection server. Move to the Block Storage Details page.
4. Check the server in the Connection Server section and connect to it.
5. Refer to the procedure below to connect (Mount) the volume.

• Switch to root privileges

  $ sudo -i
  

• Check the disk

  # lsblk
  NAME    MAJ:MIN  RM   SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINT
  vda       252:0   0    24G  0 disk
  ├─vda1    252:1   0  23.9G  0 part [SWAP]
  └─vda14   252:14  0     4M  0 part /
  └─vda15   252:15  0   106M  0 part /boot/efi
  vdb       252:16  0    24G  0 disk
  

• Create a partition

  # fdisk /dev/vdb
  Command (m for help): n
  
  Partition type:
     p   primary (0 primary, 0 extended, 4 free)
     e   extended
  Select (default p): p
  Partition number (1-4, default 1): 1
  First sector (2048-50331646, default 2048):
  Last sector, +/-sectors or +/-size{K,M,G,T,P} (2048-50331646, default 50331646):
  
  Created a new partition 1 of type 'Linux' and of size 24 GiB.
  
  Command (m for help): w
  The partition table has been altered!
  Calling ioctl() to re-read partition table.
  Syncing disks.
  

• Set the partition format (e.g., ext4)

  # lsblk
  NAME    MAJ:MIN  RM   SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINT
  vda       252:0   0    24G  0 disk
  ├─vda1    252:1   0  23.9G  0 part [SWAP]
  └─vda14   252:14  0     4M  0 part /
  └─vda15   252:15  0   106M  0 part /boot/efi
  vdb       252:16  0    24G  0 disk
  └─vdb1    252:17  0    24G  0 part
  
  # mkfs.ext4 /dev/vdb1
  mke2fs 1.46.5 (30-Dec-2021)
  ...
  Writing superblocks and filesystem accounting information: done
  

• Mount the volume

  # mkdir /data
  
  # mount /dev/vdb1 /data
  
  # lsblk
  NAME    MAJ:MIN  RM   SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINT
  vda       252:0   0    24G  0 disk
  ├─vda1    252:1   0  23.9G  0 part [SWAP]
  └─vda14   252:14  0     4M  0 part /
  └─vda15   252:15  0   106M  0 part /boot/efi
  vdb       252:16  0    24G  0 disk
  └─vdb1    252:17  0    24G  0 part /data
  
  # vi /etc/fstab
  (add) /dev/vdb1     /data       ext4     defaults   0 0
  

Windows Operating System

1. Click the All Services > Compute > Virtual Server menu. Move to the Service Home page of Virtual Server.
2. Click the Block Storage menu. Move to the Block Storage List page.
3. On the Block Storage List page, click the resource to be used by the connection server. Move to the Block Storage Details page.
4. Check the server in the Connection Server section and connect to it.
5. Refer to the procedure below to connect (Disk Online) the volume.

   • Right-click the Windows start icon and run Computer Management

   • In the Computer Management tree structure, select Storage > Disk Management

   • Check the disk

     

   • Bring the disk online

     

   • Initialize the disk

     

     

   • Format the partition

     

     

     

   • Check the volume

     

Disconnecting from the Server (Umount, Disk Offline)

Connect to the server and perform the disconnection work (Umount, Disk Offline), and then remove the connection server from the console.

Follow the procedure below.

Linux Operating System

1. Click the All Services > Compute > Virtual Server menu. Move to the Service Home page of Virtual Server.
2. Click the Block Storage menu. Move to the Block Storage List page.
3. On the Block Storage List page, click the resource to be disconnected from the connection server. Move to the Block Storage Details page.
4. Check the server in the Connection Server section and connect to it.
5. Refer to the procedure below to disconnect (Umount) the volume.
   • Umount the volume

  # umount /dev/vdb1 /data
   
  # lsblk
  NAME    MAJ:MIN  RM   SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINT
  vda       252:0   0    24G  0 disk
  ├─vda1    252:1   0  23.9G  0 part [SWAP]
  └─vda14   252:14  0     4M  0 part /
  └─vda15   252:15  0   106M  0 part /boot/efi
  vdb       252:16  0    24G  0 disk
  └─vdb1    252:17  0    24G  0 part
   
  # vi /etc/fstab
  (delete) /dev/vdb1     /data       ext4     defaults   0 0

Windows Operating System

1. Click the All Services > Compute > Virtual Server menu. Move to the Service Home page of Virtual Server.

2. Click the Block Storage menu. Move to the Block Storage List page.

3. On the Block Storage List page, click the resource to be disconnected from the connection server. Move to the Block Storage Details page.

4. Check the server in the Connection Server section and connect to it.

5. Unmount the file system.

6. Refer to the procedure below to disconnect (Disk Offline) the volume.

   • Right-click the Windows start icon and run Computer Management

   • In the Computer Management tree structure, select Storage > Disk Management

   • Right-click the disk to be removed and run Offline

     

   • Check the disk status

     

2.2 - Using Snapshots

You can create, delete, or restore snapshots of the created Block Storage using snapshots. You can perform actions on the Block Storage Details page and Snapshot List page.

Create Snapshot

You can create a snapshot of the current point in time. To create a snapshot, follow these steps.

1. All Services > Compute > Virtual Server Click the menu. Navigate to the Service Home page of Virtual Server.
2. Click the Block Storage menu. Go to the Block Storage List page.
3. Block Storage List On the page, click the resource to create a snapshot. Block Storage Details Go to the page.
4. Click the Create Snapshot button. The Create Snapshot popup window opens.
5. Enter Snapshot Name and Description, then click the Confirm button. It creates a snapshot of the current point in time.
6. Snapshot List Click the button. Block Storage Snapshot List Navigate to the page.
7. Check the generated snapshot.

Edit Snapshot

You can edit snapshot information. To edit the snapshot name or description, follow the steps below.

1. All Services > Compute > Virtual Server Click the menu. Navigate to the Service Home page of Virtual Server.
2. Block Storage Click the menu. Navigate to the Block Storage List page.
3. Block Storage List page, click the resource to edit the snapshot information. You will be taken to the Block Storage Details page.
4. Snapshot List Click the button. Block Storage Snapshot List Navigate to the page.
5. After confirming the snapshot to edit, click the More button.
6. Click the Edit button. The Edit Snapshot popup opens.
7. Enter Snapshot name or Description and click the Confirm button.

Recover Snapshot

You can restore a Block Storage volume to the latest snapshot in Available state. To perform snapshot restoration, follow the steps below.

1. All Services > Compute > Virtual Server Click the menu. Navigate to Virtual Server’s Service Home page.
2. Click the Block Storage menu. Navigate to the Block Storage List page.
3. Click the resource to recover from a snapshot on the Block Storage List page. You will be taken to the Block Storage Details page.
4. Connection Server If there is a server added in the item, after connecting to the server, perform the disconnect operation (Umount, Disk Offline).

• For detailed information about server disconnection, please refer to Disconnect Server.

5. Block Storage Details page, click the Disconnect button in the Connected Server item to remove the server. The connected server will be removed.
   • For details on disconnecting the connection server, see Edit Connection Server.
6. Snapshot List Click the button. Block Storage Snapshot List Navigate to the page.
7. Check the latest snapshot in Available state. The volume will be restored with that snapshot.
8. Click the Snapshot Recovery button. The Snapshot Recovery popup opens.
9. After checking the Snapshot name and creation date/time, click the Confirm button.
   • When recovery starts, it becomes Reverting, and when completed, it becomes Available.
10. Detailed Information Click the page button. Block Storage Detailed Page will navigate to.
11. Click the Add button of the Connected Server. Reconnect the Virtual Server.
    • For detailed information about adding a connection server, please refer to Modify Connection Server.
12. After connecting to the added server, perform the connection tasks (Mount, Disk Online) according to the operating system.
    • For detailed information about server connection, please refer to Connect to Server.

Create snapshot recovery volume

You can create a volume using a snapshot. To create a snapshot recovery volume, follow the steps below.

1. All Services > Compute > Virtual Server Click the menu. Navigate to the Service Home page of Virtual Server.
2. Click the Block Storage menu. You will be taken to the Block Storage list page.
3. Click the resource to create a snapshot recovery volume on the Block Storage List page. You will be taken to the Block Storage Details page.
4. Snapshot List Click the button. Block Storage Snapshot List Navigate to the page.
5. After checking Snapshot name, description and Creation date/time, click the More button of the snapshot you want to restore.
6. Click Create Recovery Volume. The Create Snapshot Recovery Volume popup opens.
7. Click the Confirm button. You will be taken to the Create Block Storage page.
8. Block Storage creation On the page, enter the information required to create the service, and select detailed options.
   • Please enter the volume name and size. You can enter a size that is greater than or equal to the original volume.
   • Disk type is set the same as the original and cannot be modified.

     Category	Required	Detailed description
     Volume Name	Required	Volume Name Enter up to 255 characters using English letters, numbers, spaces, and special characters (-, _)
     Disk Type	Required	Select Disk Type HDD: Standard volume SSD: High-performance standard volume HDD/SSD_KMS: Volume that additionally provides transmission encryption between the instance and Block Storage HDD/SSD_MultiAttach: Volume that can be attached to more than one server Cannot be modified after service creation When creating a service via snapshot recovery volume creation, it is set identical to the original and cannot be modified
     Capacity	Select	Capacity Setting Can be created within 8~12,228GB Enter the number of units provided in 8GB increments When creating a service via snapshot recovery volume creation, input a capacity equal to or larger than the original
     Recovery Snapshot Name	Optional	Name of the recovery snapshot used when creating the volume Provides the recovery snapshot name when creating a service through snapshot recovery volume creation

     Table. Block Storage Service Information Input Items
9. Summary Check the detailed information and estimated billing amount generated in the panel, and click the Complete button.
   • Once creation is complete, check the created resource on the Block Storage List page.

Delete Snapshot

You can select a snapshot to delete. To delete a snapshot, follow these steps.

1. All Services > Compute > Virtual Server Click the menu. Go to the Service Home page of Virtual Server.
2. Click the Block Storage menu. Go to the Block Storage List page.
3. Block Storage List on the page, click the resource to delete the snapshot. Block Storage Details navigate to the page.
4. Snapshot List button, click it. Block Storage Snapshot List page, navigate to it.
5. After checking the snapshot name, description and creation date/time, click the more button of the snapshot you want to delete.
6. Delete Click the button. Snapshot List page, the snapshot will be removed.

2.3 - Move Volume

You can move the volume to a different Account, and if you move it, the volume will be removed from the existing location. You can perform volume migration from the Block Storage list or Block Storage detail page.

Volume previous

You can move a volume to a different account within the region. To move a volume, follow these steps.

1. Click All services > Compute > Virtual Server menu. It moves to the Service Home page of Virtual Server.
2. Block Storage menu is clicked. It moves to the Block Storage list page.
3. Block Storage list page, select the resource to be moved, and then click the More > Move Volume button at the top left of the list.
   • or click the Volume Migration button at the top of the Block Storage details page of the resource to be migrated.
4. When the pop-up window for volume migration appears, check the volume name you want to migrate and click the Confirm button.
5. When the popup window for previous completion opens, click the Confirm button. The Volume Transfer ID and Approval Key information will be downloaded as a text file.
6. The volume will be changed to Awaiting Transfer status.

Volume rollback cancel

The volume move can be cancelled after it is created. To cancel the volume move, follow these steps.

1. Click All services > Compute > Virtual Server menu. It moves to the Service Home page of Virtual Server.
2. Block Storage menu is clicked. It moves to the Block Storage list page.
3. Block Storage list page, click the resource to cancel the volume move. It moves to the Block Storage detail page.
   • You can cancel if the volume is in the Awaiting Transfer state.
4. Click the Volume Move Cancel button. The Volume Move Cancel popup window will open.
5. Check the volume name you want to cancel the volume move and click the Confirm button.
6. The volume will be changed to Available status.

Get previous volume

You can receive volumes from other accounts within the region. To receive a volume, follow these steps.

1. Click All Services > Compute > Virtual Server menu. It moves to the Service Home page of Virtual Server.
2. Block Storage menu is clicked. It moves to the Block Storage list page.
3. On the Block Storage list page, click the More > Receive Volume Transfer button in the upper left corner of the list. The Receive Volume Transfer popup window opens.4. Volume Migration Enter the Volume Migration ID and Approval Key provided when creating the volume migration.
4. Block Storage list page will have the volume created.

3 - API Reference

4 - CLI Reference

5 - Release Note

Block Storage