# Block Storage

Block Storage provides additional persistent storage volumes that can be attached to VPS instances. Use block storage to scale storage independently of compute resources. This feature is productized as **Volumes** — see the [Volumes guide](https://docs.danubedata.ro/volumes).

## Overview

Block Storage features:

- **Persistent**: Data persists independently of instances
- **Scalable**: 10–500 GB per volume
- **Flexible**: Attach, detach, resize on the fly
- **Network-attached**: SSD-backed, throughput up to ~1 Gbps
- **Snapshots**: Create backups anytime
- **Redundant**: Data replicated for durability

## Creating Block Storage

### Via Dashboard

1. Navigate to **Storage** > **Block Storage**
2. Click **Create Volume**
3. Configure:
   - **Name**: Descriptive name
   - **Size**: 10–500 GB
   - **Region**: Same as VPS instance
4. Click **Create**

Volume ready within 45 seconds.

## Attaching Volumes

### Attach to VPS

1. Go to volume details
2. Click **Attach to VPS**
3. Select VPS instance
4. Click **Attach**

Volume attaches within seconds.

### Mounting on Linux

After attaching:

```bash
# Check device name
lsblk

# Should see new device, e.g., /dev/sda

# Format (first time only)
sudo mkfs.ext4 /dev/sda

# Create mount point
sudo mkdir /mnt/data

# Mount volume
sudo mount /dev/sda /mnt/data

# Add to /etc/fstab for auto-mount
echo '/dev/sda /mnt/data ext4 defaults 0 0' | sudo tee -a /etc/fstab
```

## Resizing Volumes

Expand volume without downtime:

1. Go to volume details
2. Click **Resize**
3. Enter new size (must be larger)
4. Click **Resize**

Then expand filesystem:

```bash
# For ext4
sudo resize2fs /dev/sda

# For xfs
sudo xfs_growfs /mnt/data
```

## Pricing

€0.04/GB/month, billed hourly:

| Size | Monthly Cost |
|------|--------------|
| 50 GB | €2 |
| 100 GB | €4 |
| 250 GB | €10 |
| 500 GB | €20 |

## Related Documentation

- [Storage Overview](https://docs.danubedata.ro/storage-overview)
- [Snapshots](https://docs.danubedata.ro/storage-snapshots)
- [VPS Managing](https://docs.danubedata.ro/vps-managing)