Configuring Storage (Volumes)

Persistent storage is critical for applications that need to retain data across deployments or restarts. QuickStack simplifies managing this storage using volumes. This guide will walk you through adding, configuring, and managing volumes for your QuickStack applications.

Understanding Volumes

• What are Volumes? A volume represents a persistent storage location that can be mounted into your application's containers. Data written to a volume persists even if the container is stopped, restarted, or redeployed.
• Mount Path: The location inside your container where the volume will be accessible. Your application will read and write data to this path.

Adding a Volume to Your Application

1. Navigate to Application Settings: Select the app you want to configure a volume for by clicking the application name.

2. Select the Storage Tab: Select the "Storage" tab in the application settings.

3. Create a New Volume: Click on "Add Volume." This action opens the “Edit Volume” dialog.

4. Configure the Volume:

   • Mount Path Container: Specify the path within your container where the volume should be mounted (e.g., /data, /config, /app/uploads). This path is where your application will access the persistent storage.
   • Size in MB: Enter the amount of storage you want to allocate to the volume in megabytes (MB). Be generous, but be mindful of available disk space on your server.
   • Access Mode: Choose the access mode for the volume:
     • ReadWriteOnce (RWO): The volume can be mounted by a single node for reading and writing. This is suitable for most single-instance applications (for example, databases).
     • ReadWriteMany (RWX): The volume can be mounted by multiple nodes for reading and writing. This is necessary for applications with multiple replicas/instances that need to share the same storage (for example, file servers or a wordpress backend).

Important

After creation the Access Mode of the Volume cannot be changed.

5. Save Volume Settings: Click the "Save" button to save the volume configuration. You can configure multiple volumes for one single application.

Deploy changes

Make sure to hit the "Deploy" button after adding a new volume or changing data for an existing volume to apply the changes.

Managing Volumes

The "Storage" tab in the App settings area allows you to:

• View Existing Volumes: See a list of all volumes attached to the application, including their name, mount path, size, and access mode.
• Edit Volumes: Increase the size (in MB) of existing volumes (you cannot decrease the size of a volume) or changing the mount path.
• Delete Volumes: Remove a volume from the application. This will delete all of the data stored on the volume, so use caution when deleting a volume.

Important Considerations

• Data Location: Volumes are physically stored on the server's storage disk (managed via longhorn). The data will persist regardless of whether the container stops.
• Performance: Storage performance will depend on the speed of your server's disk.
• Access Modes and Replicas: If you are using multiple replicas for an application, ensure you use the "ReadWriteMany" (RWX) access mode for any shared volumes.
• Backups: Volumes are backed up by QuickStack. To configure a backup schedule, refer to the Backups guide.

Troubleshooting

• Application Can't Write to Volume:
  • Verify the mount path in your container matches the mount path configured in QuickStack.
  • Check the application's permissions within the container to ensure it has write access to the mount path.
• Incorrect Volume Size: You can increase the size of existing volumes.
• Access Mode Issues: Make sure you have chosen the correct Access Mode for the desired replication of your app.
• Still having problems?
  • Create an issue on our GitHub repository