Extra data disk request & initialization - Windows & Linux

Extra data disk request & initialization - Windows & Linux

Introduction

The Z-drive (fileshare) is rather slow compared to a managed disk such as the C-drive. Although expansion of the C-drive is possible, it is good to keep in mind that the Operating System (OS) is also installed on the C-drive. It is not a bad idea to keep that separated from a disk which you just use to perform tasks quickly before moving it to the Z-drive. Therefore, it is a possibility to request an extra data disk. For the costs per disk type, please visit: Pricing Managed Disk.

Request an extra data disk

An extra data disk can be requested via the ticket system, please contact your (Core) Research Support Team member for advice. When requesting an extra disk please mention the following:
  1. Permission of the accountable (extra disks incur costs).
  2. The full name of the Virtual Machine in which you want to have the extra data disk incorporated (dwsxxxYYYserverz).
  3. The size of extra data disk.
Warning
Be aware that no snapshots are taken on extra data disks and that a decrease in size is not possible!

NotesFor Research Support Team: How to add an extra data disk to a VM

Initialization extra data disk - Windows

Info
This step is performed by a workspace Accountable or Privileged Member (owner).

To enable the newly created data disk in your VM, a couple of steps have to be performed by one of the Privileged Members (owners) of a workspace.
  1. Connect to the Windows VM, go the to start menu and search for Create and Format hard disk partitions. This will open the Disk Management Console.

  1. Disk Management recognizes that you have a new, uninitialized disk and the Initialize Disk window appears.
  2. Verify that the new disk (Disk 2) is selected and then select OK to initialize it.
Alert
When you see the New Simple Volume option greyed out and wondered why? 

MBR disk has a maximum hard drive size of 2TB and supports up to 4 partitions or 3 primary partitions + 1 extended partition. So you'll inevitably encounter the greyed out error in Disk Management when:
  1. The existing partition size has attained 2TB, and Windows has disallowed, creating a further partition.
  2. You've already created 4 primary partitions or 3 primary and 1 logical partition, and you can't make any more partitions.
Idea
If you are planning in the feature to increase your disk to more then 2TB select GPT!

The solution to fix the New Simple Volume greyed-out option is to select GPT (GUID Partition Table) instead of MBR (Master Boot Record).
GPT disk has a maximum hard drive size of 256TB and can support 128 primary partitions at most.



  1. The new disk appears as unallocated (you might have to scroll down to Disk 2). Right click anywhere on the disk and select New Simple Volume. The New Simple Volume Wizard window opens.



  1. Proceed through the wizard, keeping most defaults, but we suggest giving it the letter G (this will make it visible in the Windows Explorer, while E doesn't, some letters are reserved). Select Finish to complete the wizard.

  1. Close the Disk Management Console.
  2. A pop-up window will appear notifying you that you need to format the disk before you can use it. Select Format disk.
  3. In the Format disk window, check the settings and select Start.
  4. A warning appears that formatting the disk erases all data on it, this is fine because the disk is empty. Select OK.
  5. Check whether the disk is visible in the Windows Explorer. As extra tests, you could deallocate the VM and see if the drive persists. 


Initialization extra data disk - Linux

Similar to requesting an extra disk for Windows, you could request an extra disk for your Linux CentOS VM. After we have created the extra disk, you need to mount the extra disk in your VM. Open your Linux VM following the instructions on Linux CentOS VMs.

The following process takes mainly four steps:
1. controlling;
2. partition;
3. mount;
4. checking.

1. Controlling
  1. Open a terminal:




  1. List the current file system on the VM by typing command 
  1. df -h

  1. Next, find the added disk by typing the command:
  1. sudo fdisk -l

if you are asked for password for your mydre.org account, please type in your account credentials. This will result in the following:



  1. In this case, sdc is the added disk. For controlling purpose, type the following command to check the type of the added disk:
  1. dmesg | grep SCSI


So sdc is SCSI.

2.Partition
Make a new primary partition on sdc by typing the command:
  1. sudo fdisk /dev/sdc
Please note there is a space between fdisk and /dev/sdc in the command script. Use default and finish with w.

You will get the result that looks like:



  1. Next add a filesystem to this partition by typing the command:
  1. sudo mkfs -t ext4 /dev/sdc

  1. Here the sdc comes from the output of the previous command. If the extra disk is very large, the script in this command line might be sdc1. Please check the name for your output and change it accordingly.


3. Mount

  1. First create a mount point for the disk mount by typing the command
  1. cd
  2. mkdir extradisk

  1. Here extradisk is the name I give to the mount point, you can change it to your wish. Check your mount point by typing command:

  1. ls
and you will see 


  1. Now mount the filesystem by typing the command: 
  1. sudo mount /dev/sdc ~/extradisk
  1. This process might take up to an hour depending on the size of the disk you add.

4. Checking

  1. To check that you have successfully mounted the disk, type the command: 

  1. df