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File Storage Service - Getting started

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OVHcloud provides a File Storage Service powered by OpenStack Manila. This service offers managed NFS shares on private networks, supporting ReadWriteMany (RWX) access across multiple instances or Kubernetes pods.

It can be accessed via OVHcloud API, OpenStack CLI and API, Manila CSI, OVHcloud Control Panel, and Terraform.

 

Requirements

Warning

NOTE: To see instructions for use with a dedicated server, scroll to the bottom of this article.

OVHcloud Control Panel Access

 

Instructions

Via the OVHcloud Control Panel
Via the OVHcloud API
Via the OpenStack CLI with the Manila plugin
Via Manila CSI in Kubernetes environment
Via Terraform
Info

Some features of the File Storage service, such as snapshots, are not yet available in the OVHcloud Control Panel. You can use the OVHcloud APIs, OpenStack CLI, or Manila CSI for these features.

1. Create a share

In the left sidebar, go to Storage > File Storage, then click + Create a share.

Enter the share name, then filter by deployment mode to select the target region.

Set the performance level and size (in GiB), associate a private network, and click Confirm to complete the share creation.

 

2. Authorize a client VM (ACL)

Info

Retrieve the private IP address of your client VM and ensure it is on the same private network as the share.

Once the share is created, click on it to open its dashboard, then go to the Access Control List (ACL) tab.

Click + Add a new access, enter the private IP address or a CIDR range (e.g., 10.1.0.123 or 10.1.0.0/24), and select the permissions:

  • Read-only: read access only
  • Read and write: full read/write access
Info

File Storage can only be used with OVHcloud Private IPs (vRack).

To remove an access rule, click the trash icon on the right side of the ACL entry.

 

3. Mount the share on your client VM

Linux

Retrieve the mount path (displayed as Mount Path in the General information tab of your share), then connect to your client VM and install the NFS utilities:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y nfs-common

Create a mount point and mount the share:

sudo mkdir -p /mnt/share
sudo mount -t nfs4 <NFS_MOUNT_PATH> /mnt/share

Verify the mount:

df -h /mnt/share

Save the mount configuration in fstab for easy remounting:

echo "<NFS_MOUNT_PATH> /mnt/share nfs nfsvers=4 defaults,noauto 0 0" | sudo tee -a /etc/fstab

This lets you remount the NFS share after a reboot with the mount /mnt/share command.

Windows

Retrieve the mount path (displayed as Mount Path in the General information tab of your share), and edit the path to have the following format: \\server_ip\shares\share-<share_Id>.

Create a mount point and mount the share by entering the following command in your client VM:

mount.exe <edited_mount_path>

On your Windows VM, open the Server manager, choose Add roles and features, and select your server.

Skip to the Features section, check ☑️ the Client for NFS option, and save your changes.

Windows activate NFS client

To verify the mount point, open File Explorer to see your share.

 

To connect with a dedicated server

To use File Storage Service with a dedicated server, you will follow a similar process; the difference will be that, rather than authorizing a Public Cloud instance to connect to the share, you will authorize your dedicated server.

You will need the following products in your OVHcloud account:

Info

Notes:

  • While these steps are for a dedicated server, this process should work with other services, such as VMware.
  • Ensure that there are no overlapping IP address used throughout this process.
  • If a VLAN is configured, ensure that the same VLAN is used across the involved servers and shares.
  1. Add your dedicated server to your vRack (see more information).

  2. In your Public Cloud project, create a private network using the same vRack that your server is on.

    Danger

    WARNING: Your server and private network must be on the same vRack.

  3. Get the Network ID and Subnet ID of that private network you just created.

  4. Following the instructions above, create a File Storage share using that Network ID and Subnet ID.

  5. Following the instructions above, add the IP address of your dedicated server to the share's ACL.

 

Go further

Browse all the File Storage guides.

Browse the rest of the OVHcloud US documentation for guides on our other products and services.

Learn more about File Storage on the OVHcloud US website.