Disks on Hikube
Hikube disks are replicated persistent block storage volumes that you attach to your virtual machines. A disk exists independently of the VM that uses it: you can create it in advance, attach it, detach it, expand it or reattach it to another VM, without losing its data.
You manage your disks self-service from the Hikube console, in the Infrastructure → Disks menu of your project.
What the console lets you do
- Create an empty disk (data disk) or a system disk from an image (cloud image from the catalog or custom ISO/QCOW2 image);
- Choose the replication (Asynchronous Replication or Synchronous Replication) and enable encryption (LUKS);
- Track the status of each disk, including the download progress of an image;
- See which VM a disk is attached to;
- Expand a disk;
- Delete a disk that is not attached to any VM.
Attaching a disk to a VM is done from the VM creation wizard or the VM edit page (see Attach a disk to a VM).
Disk types
| Type | Console label | Usage |
|---|---|---|
| Data disk | Empty Disk / Data Disk | Raw storage space to format and mount in a VM |
| System disk | System Disk | Disk containing a pre-installed operating system, used as the boot disk of a VM |
Disks and VMs
- A disk is attached to a single VM at a time.
- The Storage Disks list shows, for each disk, the VM it is Attached to.
- Deleting a VM detaches its disks without deleting them: they remain in the list and can be reused.
Replication and security
- Asynchronous Replication (recommended): deferred replication, RTO < 5 min, RPO < 5 min.
- Synchronous Replication: real-time replication across several nodes, RTO < 5 min, RPO < 1 min.
- Disk Encryption: LUKS encryption of data at rest.
Details are provided in the concepts.
Typical use cases
| Use case | Description |
|---|---|
| Application data | Dedicated volume for a database or files, separate from the system disk |
| Preparing a VM | System disk created in advance from an image, then attached to a new VM |
| Migration between VMs | Detach a disk from one VM and attach it to another |
| Sensitive data | Encrypted disk (LUKS) with synchronous replication |
tip
For file storage accessible through an API from several applications, use S3 Buckets instead.