Disks

In Server › Disks (administrators only) you see the server's disks: size, type (SSD, NVMe, virtual disk), the partitions with their filesystem, where they are mounted and how much space they use, and the SMART health status when the disk provides it (the providers' virtual disks usually do not).

Each disk has a role:

• System disk: it holds the operating system and the panel. The panel never changes it.
• New, unused: a disk with no partitions, no filesystem and not mounted. It is the only kind the panel can prepare.
• Used by the panel: a disk you prepared here.
• In use: a disk with data or mounted by something else (LVM, RAID, an existing filesystem): the panel does not touch it.

Adding a disk

1. Add a disk (volume) to the server from your provider's panel, or create it from here (see below). It shows as New, unused.
2. Press Prepare the disk and choose how to use it:
   • Space for the sites: the disk is mounted in /srv/panel-data/1 (2, 3… for the next ones). You can have new sites created there and move existing sites to it.
   • Mount in a folder of your choice (for example /srv/data or /mnt/backup), for your own use. System folders (/etc, /var/www, /var/lib…) are not allowed.
3. Choose the filesystem: ext4 (recommended) or xfs.
4. Confirm by typing the disk name (for example vdb): all the content of the disk is erased. Without the typed confirmation nothing is formatted, and before formatting the panel checks again that the disk is empty.

The disk is added to the server start-up in /etc/fstab by UUID and with the nofail option: if one day the disk were missing, the server still boots. A copy of the previous file stays in /etc/fstab.koapanel.bak.

Sites on an additional disk

A site stored on an additional disk keeps its path (/var/www/<domain>): the folder is linked to the disk. Address, SFTP, backups, file manager and the PHP and nginx configuration do not change.

From the site page (Overview › Site disk) you can move it to another disk or back to the system disk. The files are copied while the site stays online; at the switch, for a few seconds, the site reloads and the changes made during the copy are carried over. If something fails, the site stays where it was. The move starts only if the target disk has room (with the 10% reserve).

Extending an enlarged disk

If you enlarged the volume from the provider's panel, the disk shows Extend filesystem: the filesystem is extended to the whole disk without erasing data and without unmounting it.

Detaching a disk

Detach from the panel unmounts the disk and removes it from the server start-up; the data stays on the disk. A disk that still holds sites cannot be detached: move them back to the system disk first.

Creating a disk at the provider

With Create a disk the panel creates a volume at Vultr or Hetzner Cloud and attaches it to this server. The provider's API key is needed (it can be the one already saved for the mail reverse DNS; it is never shown). You enter size and name; the panel shows the monthly cost when the provider publishes it (Hetzner), otherwise it reminds you that the cost is yours per the provider's price list. The disk costs money: it must be confirmed explicitly. When the disk appears on the server, the panel takes you to its preparation: it is not formatted automatically.

To delete a volume created this way, detach it here and then delete it from the provider's panel.