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Nobus Flexible Block Storage

Nobus FBS volume is a durable, block-level storage device that you can attach to a single FCS instance. You can use FBS volumes as primary storage for data that requires frequent updates, such as the system drive for an instance or storage for a database application.

Nobus Flexible Block Store is recommended when fast data accessibility is needed and comprehensive persistence is required. Nobus FBS make available, block storage volumes for use with FCS instances which can be configured dynamically. These volumes can be positioned as devices with any instances. Multiple volumes can be positioned on the same instance however, each volume can be attached to one instance at a time.

Multiple volumes can be attached to the same instance within the limits specified by your account. FBS volumes are particularly well-suited for use as the primary storage for file systems and databases.

See FBS pricing for information about pricing.

Note:

Volume attached to an instance, can be used like any other physical hard drive. FBS volumes persist independently from the running life of an FCS instance.

FBS volumes are created in a specific location ( Availability Zone ), and can then be attached to any instances in that same Account. You can copy snapshots to other Availability Zone and then restore them to new volumes there making it easier for disaster recovery and migration.

Standard FBS Volume is provided by Nobus. Starndard SSD volumes are ideal for a wide range of use cases such as boot volumes, small and medium-size databases, and development and test environments.

Your FBS volumes can be encrypted to meet a wide range of data-at-rest encryption requirements for regulated/audited data and applications. When you create an encrypted FBS volume and attach it to a supported instance type, data stored at rest on the volume, disk I/O, and snapshots created from the volume are all encrypted. The encryption occurs on the servers that host FCS instances, providing encryption of data-in-transit from FCS instances to FBS storage. For more information, see Nobus FBS Encryption. Snapshots protect data for long-term durability, and they can be used as the starting point for new FBS volumes. Snapshots can be copied across several Availability Zone and used to instantiate as many volumes as you wish. For more information, see Nobus FBS Snapshots

Benefits of Using FBS Volumes

Persistence of data

if you uncheck the Delete on Termination checkbox when you configure FBS volumes for your instance on the FCS console, When the instance is terminated, the FBS volumes attached to the running instance will automatically detach from the instance with their data intact. Then the volume can be re-attached to a new instance, allowing rapid recovery. If the checkbox for Delete on Termination is checked, the volume(s) will delete upon termination of the FCS instance. You can stop and reboot this instance without an impact on the data stored in the attached volume when using a FBS-backed instance.

By default, the root FBS volume that is created and attached to an instance at launch is deleted when that instance is terminated. You can modify this behavior by changing the value of the flag DeleteOnTermination to false when you launch the instance. This modified value causes the volume to persist even after the instance is terminated, and enables you to attach the volume to another instance.

By default, additional FBS volumes that are created and attached to an instance at launch are not deleted when that instance is terminated. You can modify this behavior by changing the value of the flag DeleteOnTermination to true when you launch the instance. This modified value causes the volumes to be deleted when the instance is terminated.

Note:

The FBS volume is off-instance storage which can be retrievable and you continue to pay for volume use regardless of the life of an instance.

Availability of data

a FBS volume and the instance to which it attaches must be in the same location (account). If you build a FBS volume in a specific account, it is automated to prevent data loss in the account because of a hardware component's failure.

Just one instance can be connected to a FBS volume at a time, but a single instance can be connected to several volumes. You can strip data across the volumes for greater performance by attaching multiple volumes to a named device.

Note:

Without interruption to operation, you can switch volume type and volume size.

Encryption of data

Nobus FBS encryption uses 256-bit Advanced Encryption Standard algorithms (AES-256) and a Nobus-managed key infrastructure. The encryption occurs on the server that hosts the FCS instance, providing encryption of data-in-transit from the FCS instance to Nobus FBS storage. Encrypted FBS volumes enables you to meet a wide range of data-at-rest encryption requirements for regulated/audited data and applications.

Snapshots

When you keep writing data in a volume, you will regularly snapshot a volume that will be used as a reference for new volumes. Nobus FBS can backup all FBS volumes and These snapshots may be used to create several new FBS volumes or to move volumes in the available areas.The snapshots can be shared with specific Availability Zone or made public. Snapshots of FBS volumes are automatically encrypted. To take a snapshot it is not necessary to add the volume to a running instances.

Although snapshots are incrementally saved, only the most recent snapshots are maintained in restoring the volume.

When you create a new volume in a snapshot, the original volume is exactly copied when you take the snapshot. There is automated encryption of FBS volumes restored from encrypted snapshots. You are charged for creating snapshots on the basis of the total volume size. You are charged only for additional data outside the original volume for a successive snapshot of the volume.

Quickstart Guide

Note:

You can create a Nobus FBS volume that you can then attach to any running FCS instance or detach a volume and attach it to another instance at any time. within the same Availability Zone

Items

Creating a Nobus FBS Volume

Method of Creating a Volume

  1. Log in to the dashboard.

  2. Select the appropriate project from the drop down menu at the top left.

  3. On the Project tab, open the Volumestab and click Volumes category.

  4. Click Create Volume.

    In the dialog box that opens, enter or select the following values.

    Volume Name: Specify a name for the volume.

    Description: Optionally, provide a brief description for the volume.

    Volume Source: Select one of the following options:

    • No source, empty volume: Creates an empty volume. An empty volume does not contain a file system or a partition table.

    • Snapshot: If you choose this option, a new field forUse snapshot as a source displays. You can select the snapshot from the list.

    • Image: If you choose this option, a new field for Use image as a source displays. You can select the image from the list.

    • Volume: If you choose this option, a new field forUse volume as a source displays. You can select the volume from the list. Options to use a snapshot or a volume as the source for a volume are displayed only if there are existing snapshots or volumes.

    Type: Leave this field blank.

    Size (GB): The size of the volume in gibibytes (GiB).

    Availability Zone: Select the Availability Zone from the list. By default, nova.

  5. Click Create Volume.

The dashboard shows the volume on the Volumes tab.

Attaching a Nobus FBS Volume to an Instance

You can attach an available FBS volume to one of your instances that is in the same Availability Zone as the volume.

To attach a FBS volume to an instance using the console

  1. Log in to the dashboard.

  2. Select the appropriate project from the drop down menu at the top left.

  3. On the Project tab, open the Volumes tab and click Volumes category.

  4. Select the volume to add to an instance and clickManage Attachments.

  5. In the Manage Volume Attachments dialog box, select an instance.

  6. Enter the name of the device from which the volume is accessible by the instance.

    Note:

    The actual device name might differ from the volume name because of hypervisor settings.

  7. Click Attach Volume.

    The dashboard shows the instance to which the volume is now attached and the device name.

You can view the status of a volume in the Volumes tab of the dashboard. The volume is either Available or In-Use. You can log in to the instance and mount, format, and use the disk.

See Nobus FBS Volume Information

To view information about a FBS volume using the console

  1. Open the Nobus FCS console
  2. In the navigation pane, choose Volumes.
  3. To view more information about a volume, select it. In the details pane, you can inspect the information provided about the volume.
  4. In the details pane, you can inspect the information provided about the volume.

To view the FBS volumes that are attached to an instance

  1. Open the Nobus FCS console.
  2. In the navigation pane, choose Instances.
  3. To view more information about an instance, select it.
  4. In the details pane, you can inspect the information provided about root and block devices.

Edit a Nobus FBS Volume

To edit a Nobus FBS volumes

  1. Log in to the dashboard.

  2. Select the appropriate project from the drop down menu at the top left.

  3. On the Project tab, open the Volumes tab and click Volumes category.

  4. Select the volume that you want to edit.
  5. In the Actions column, click Edit Volume.
  6. In the Edit Volume dialog box, update the name and description of the volume.
  7. Click Edit Volume.

Detaching a Nobus FBS Volume from an Instance

Nobus FBS volume may be expressly detached from an instance or the instance can be terminated. Unmount the volume from the instance if the instance is running. If an instance's root device is a FBS volume, you must interrupt the instance before detaching the volume.

You can reattach a volume that you detached (without unmounting it), but it might not getthe same mount point. If there were writes to the volume in progress when it was detached, the data on the volume might be out of sync.

To detach a FBS volume using the console

  1. Open the Nobus FCS console at https://cloud.nobus.io/.
  2. In the navigation pane, choose Volumes.
  3. Select a volume and choose Actions, Detach Volume.
  4. In the confirmation dialog box, choose Yes, Detach.

Deleting a Nobus FBS Volume

when you no longer need a Nobus FBS volume, you can delete it. After deletion, the volume can't be attached to any instance because the data is gone . You can store a snapshot of the volume, which you can use to re-form the volume later before you delete the volume.

To delete a volume, it must not be attached to an instance.

To delete a FBS volume using the console

  1. Open the Nobus FCS console at https://cloud.nobus.io/.
  2. In the navigation pane, choose Volumes.
  3. Select a volume and choose Actions, Delete Volume.

  4. Click Delete Volumes and confirm your choice.

Data Services

Nobus FBS extendable volumes

You can increase the volume size, change the volume type, or reset the performance of your FBS volumes with Nobus FBS extendable volumes. without detaching the volume or restarting the instance. Enabling you to continue using your application while the changes are effecting. In some cases, you must stop the instance or detach the volume for modification to continue.

After provisioning much IOPS on an existing volume, you may need to do one of the following to see the full performance improvements:

1. Detach and attach the volume.

2. Restart the instance

when you make changes to a volume that has not been fully initialized, there is an addition in modification time. when changes to a volume has completed, wait at least five (5) hours and ensure that the volume is in the available state before attempting extra modifications to the same volume. No charges are incured while making changes to the confguration of a volume until the volume modification starts.

To extend a FBS volume using the console
  1. Open the Nobus FCS console at https://cloud.nobus.io/.
  2. Select Volumes, choose the volume to extend, and then choose Actions, Extend Volume.
  3. To extend the size, enter a value (permitted) for Size.
  4. Click the Extend volume button.

FBS Volume Snapshots

When you keep writing data in a volume, you can regularly snapshot a volume that will be used as a reference for new volumes. Nobus FBS can backup all FBS volumes and These snapshots may be used to create several new FBS volumes or move volumes to the available areas.The snapshots can be shared with specific account or made public. To take a snapshot it is not necessary to add the volume to a running instances.

Although snapshots are progressively saved, only the most recent snapshots are maintained in restoring the volume. Snapshots of FBS volumes are automatically encrypted. When you create a new volume in a snapshot, the original volume is exactly copied when you take the snapshot. There is automated encryption of FBS volumes restored from encrypted snapshots.

Group snapshots allow you to capture accurate, organized, crash-compatible snapshots of the FCS instance over several FBS volumes because the transition is automatic. You can track the status of your FBS snapshots through the Dashboard

Items

Creating Nobus FBS Snapshots

You can create a FBS snapshot at a particular moment and use it as a reference to new volumes or to backup your data. Snapshots taken at a particular moment is created immediately, but while in progress it is not affected by an ongoing reads and writes to the volume.

It is possible to take a snapshot of an attached volume that is in use. data written to your Nobus FBS volume are only recorded at the time of the output of the snapshot command. When the snapshot state is pending, the volume can be remounted and used.

Snapshot Encryption

Snapshots that are taken from encrypted volumes are automatically encrypted. Volumes that are created from encrypted snapshots are also automatically encrypted. At any point in time the data in your encrypted volumes and any associated snapshots are protected.

Consider the following when creating snapshots
  1. Ensure that the instance is stopped before taking the snapshot when you create a snapshot for a FBS volume that serves as a root device.
  2. While you can take a volume snapshot when the status of a previous snapshot of that volume is pending, having multiple pending volume snapshots will result in reduced volume output until the snapshots complete.
  3. Snapshots cannot be created from hibernated instances.

Creating a Snapshot

Take the following steps to make a snapshot of the volume listed using the console.
  1. Open the Nobus FCS console at https://cloud.nobus.io/.
  2. Choose Snapshots under Volumes in the navigation pane.
  3. Choose Create Snapshot.
  4. For Select resource type, choose Volume.
  5. For Volume, select the volume.
  6. (Optional) Enter a description for the snapshot.
  7. (Optional) Choose Add Tag to add tags to your snapshot. For each tag, provide a tag key and a tag value.
  8. Choose Create Snapshot.

Copying a Nobus FBS Snapshot

You could use many accounts for data center relocation and disaster recovery by copying snapshots across accounts. After you create a snapshot of a FBS volume, you can use it to create new volumes in the same Account. A snapshot is restricted to the Nobus Account where it was created.

To copy a snapshot using the console
  1. Open the Nobus FCS console at https://cloud.nobus.io/.
  2. In the navigation pane, choose Snapshots.
  3. Select the snapshot to copy, and then choose Copy from theActions list.
  4. In the Copy Snapshot dialog box, update the following as necessary:
    • Destination Account: Select the Account where you want to write the copy of the snapshot.
    • Description: By default, the description includes information about the source snapshot so that you can identify a copy from the original. You can change this description as necessary.
  5. Choose Copy.
  6. In the Copy Snapshot confirmation dialog box, chooseSnapshots to go to the Snapshots page in the Account specified, or choose Close. To view the progress of the copy process, switch to the destination Account, and then refresh the Snapshots page. Copies in progress are listed at the top of the page.

Sharing a Nobus FBS Snapshot

When sharing a snapshot, you give other people access to all of the snapshot details. Share snapshots only with people you wish to share all of your snapshot data with. You can share a snapshot with the Nobus Availability Zone you define by changing a snapshot's permissions. Authorized users can use the snapshots you share as the basis for creating their own FBS volumes, while your original snapshot remains unaffected. If you choose, you can make your snapshots available publicly to all other users.

To share a snapshot using the console
  1. Open the Nobus FCS console at https://cloud.nobus.io/.
  2. Choose Snapshots in the navigation pane.
  3. Select the snapshot and then choose Actions, Modify Permissions.
  4. Make the snapshot public or share it with specific Nobus Availability Zone as follows:
    • To make the snapshot public, choose Public.
  5. Then Save.

Deleting a Nobus FBS Snapshot

Deleting a snapshot of a volume has no effect on the volume. Deleting a volume has no effect on the snapshots made from it. When you delete a snapshot, only the data referenced exclusively by that snapshot is removed. Unique data will not be deleted unless all of the snapshots that reference that data are deleted. Deleting previous snapshots of a volume does not affect your ability to restore volumes from later snapshots of that volume.

If you make periodic snapshots of a volume, the snapshots are incremental. This means that only the blocks on the device that have changed after your last snapshot are saved in the new snapshot. Even though snapshots are saved incrementally, the snapshot deletion process is designed so that you need to retain only the most recent snapshot in order to restore the volume. Data that was present on a volume, held in an earlier snapshot or series of snapshots, that is subsequently deleted from that volume at a later time, is still considered unique data of the earlier snapshots. This unique data is not deleted from the sequence of snapshots unless all snapshots that reference the unique data are deleted.

Deleting a snapshot might not reduce your organization's data storage costs. Other snapshots might reference that snapshot's data, and referenced data is always preserved. If you delete a snapshot containing data being used by a later snapshot, costs associated with the referenced data are allocated to the later snapshot.

Note:

While you can delete a snapshot that is still in progress, the snapshot must complete before the deletion takes effect. This may take a long time. If you are also at your concurrent snapshot limit (five snapshots in progress), and you attempt to take an additional snapshot, you may get a errormessage.

To delete a snapshot using the console
  1. Open the Nobus FCS console at https://cloud.nobus.io/.
  2. Choose Snapshots in the navigation pane.
  3. Select a snapshot and then choose Delete from the Actions list.
  4. Choose Yes, Delete.

Viewing Nobus FBS Snapshot Information

You can view detailed information about your snapshots.

To view snapshot information using the console
  1. Open the Nobus FCS console at https://cloud.nobus.io/.
  2. In the navigation pane select Snapshots.
  3. Select an option from the Filter list to decrease the list. You can filter your snapshots also by using the advanced search options. Choose the search bar to view the filters available. View more information about a snapshot by also selecting it.

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