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class="visually-hidden">Toggle Light / Dark / Auto color theme</div> <svg class="theme-icon-when-auto-light"><use href="#svg-sun-with-moon"></use></svg> <svg class="theme-icon-when-auto-dark"><use href="#svg-moon-with-sun"></use></svg> <svg class="theme-icon-when-dark"><use href="#svg-moon"></use></svg> <svg class="theme-icon-when-light"><use href="#svg-sun"></use></svg> </button> </div> <label class="toc-overlay-icon toc-content-icon" for="__toc"> <div class="visually-hidden">Toggle table of contents sidebar</div> <i class="icon"><svg><use href="#svg-toc"></use></svg></i> </label> </div> <article role="main" id="furo-main-content"> <section id="storage-pools-volumes-and-buckets"> <span id="exp-storage"></span><h1>Storage pools, volumes, and buckets<a class="headerlink" href="#storage-pools-volumes-and-buckets" title="Link to this heading">¶</a></h1> <p>LXD stores its data in storage pools, divided into storage volumes of different content types (like images or instances). You could think of a storage pool as the disk that is used to store data, while storage volumes are different partitions on this disk that are used for specific purposes.</p> <p>In addition to storage volumes, there are storage buckets, which use the <a class="reference external" href="https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/API/Welcome.html">Amazon <abbr title="Simple Storage Service">S3</abbr></a> protocol. Like storage volumes, storage buckets are part of a storage pool.</p> <section id="storage-pools"> <span id="id1"></span><h2>Storage pools<a class="headerlink" href="#storage-pools" title="Link to this heading">¶</a></h2> <p>During initialization, LXD prompts you to create a first storage pool. If required, you can create additional storage pools later (see <a class="reference internal" href="../../howto/storage_pools/#storage-create-pool"><span class="std std-ref">Create a storage pool</span></a>).</p> <p>Each storage pool uses a storage driver. The following storage drivers are supported:</p> <ul class="simple"> <li><p><a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/storage_dir/#storage-dir"><span class="std std-ref">Directory - <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">dir</span></code></span></a></p></li> <li><p><a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/storage_btrfs/#storage-btrfs"><span class="std std-ref">Btrfs - <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">btrfs</span></code></span></a></p></li> <li><p><a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/storage_lvm/#storage-lvm"><span class="std std-ref">LVM - <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">lvm</span></code></span></a></p></li> <li><p><a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/storage_zfs/#storage-zfs"><span class="std std-ref">ZFS - <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">zfs</span></code></span></a></p></li> <li><p><a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/storage_ceph/#storage-ceph"><span class="std std-ref">Ceph RBD - <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">ceph</span></code></span></a></p></li> <li><p><a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/storage_cephfs/#storage-cephfs"><span class="std std-ref">CephFS - <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cephfs</span></code></span></a></p></li> <li><p><a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/storage_cephobject/#storage-cephobject"><span class="std std-ref">Ceph Object - <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cephobject</span></code></span></a></p></li> <li><p><a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/storage_powerflex/#storage-powerflex"><span class="std std-ref">Dell PowerFlex - <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">powerflex</span></code></span></a></p></li> <li><p><a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/storage_pure/#storage-pure"><span class="std std-ref">Pure Storage - <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">pure</span></code></span></a></p></li> </ul> <p>See the following how-to guides for additional information:</p> <ul class="simple"> <li><p><a class="reference internal" href="../../howto/storage_pools/#howto-storage-pools"><span class="std std-ref">How to manage storage pools</span></a></p></li> <li><p><a class="reference internal" href="../../howto/storage_create_instance/#howto-storage-create-instance"><span class="std std-ref">How to create an instance in a specific storage pool</span></a></p></li> </ul> <section id="data-storage-location"> <span id="storage-location"></span><h3>Data storage location<a class="headerlink" href="#data-storage-location" title="Link to this heading">¶</a></h3> <p>Where the LXD data is stored depends on the configuration and the selected storage driver. Depending on the storage driver that is used, LXD can either share the file system with its host or keep its data separate.</p> <div class="table-wrapper colwidths-auto docutils container"> <table class="docutils align-default"> <thead> <tr class="row-odd"><th class="head text-left"><p>Storage location</p></th> <th class="head text-center"><p>Directory</p></th> <th class="head text-center"><p>Btrfs</p></th> <th class="head text-center"><p>LVM</p></th> <th class="head text-center"><p>ZFS</p></th> <th class="head text-center"><p>Ceph (all)</p></th> <th class="head text-center"><p>Dell PowerFlex</p></th> <th class="head text-center"><p>Pure Storage</p></th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr class="row-even"><td class="text-left"><p>Shared with the host</p></td> <td class="text-center"><p>✓</p></td> <td class="text-center"><p>✓</p></td> <td class="text-center"><p>-</p></td> <td class="text-center"><p>✓</p></td> <td class="text-center"><p>-</p></td> <td class="text-center"><p>-</p></td> <td class="text-center"><p>-</p></td> </tr> <tr class="row-odd"><td class="text-left"><p>Dedicated disk/partition</p></td> <td class="text-center"><p>-</p></td> <td class="text-center"><p>✓</p></td> <td class="text-center"><p>✓</p></td> <td class="text-center"><p>✓</p></td> <td class="text-center"><p>-</p></td> <td class="text-center"><p>-</p></td> <td class="text-center"><p>-</p></td> </tr> <tr class="row-even"><td class="text-left"><p>Loop disk</p></td> <td class="text-center"><p>-</p></td> <td class="text-center"><p>✓</p></td> <td class="text-center"><p>✓</p></td> <td class="text-center"><p>✓</p></td> <td class="text-center"><p>-</p></td> <td class="text-center"><p>-</p></td> <td class="text-center"><p>-</p></td> </tr> <tr class="row-odd"><td class="text-left"><p>Remote storage</p></td> <td class="text-center"><p>-</p></td> <td class="text-center"><p>-</p></td> <td class="text-center"><p>-</p></td> <td class="text-center"><p>-</p></td> <td class="text-center"><p>✓</p></td> <td class="text-center"><p>✓</p></td> <td class="text-center"><p>✓</p></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </div> <section id="shared-with-the-host"> <h4>Shared with the host<a class="headerlink" href="#shared-with-the-host" title="Link to this heading">¶</a></h4> <p>Sharing the file system with the host is usually the most space-efficient way to run LXD. In most cases, it is also the easiest to manage.</p> <p>This option is supported for the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">dir</span></code> driver, the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">btrfs</span></code> driver (if the host is Btrfs and you point LXD to a dedicated sub-volume) and the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">zfs</span></code> driver (if the host is ZFS and you point LXD to a dedicated dataset on your zpool).</p> </section> <section id="dedicated-disk-or-partition"> <h4>Dedicated disk or partition<a class="headerlink" href="#dedicated-disk-or-partition" title="Link to this heading">¶</a></h4> <p>Having LXD use an empty partition on your main disk or a full dedicated disk keeps its storage completely independent from the host.</p> <p>This option is supported for the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">btrfs</span></code> driver, the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">lvm</span></code> driver and the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">zfs</span></code> driver.</p> </section> <section id="loop-disk"> <h4>Loop disk<a class="headerlink" href="#loop-disk" title="Link to this heading">¶</a></h4> <p>LXD can create a loop file on your main drive and have the selected storage driver use that. This method is functionally similar to using a disk or partition, but it uses a large file on your main drive instead. This means that every write must go through the storage driver and your main drive’s file system, which leads to decreased performance.</p> <p>The loop files reside in <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">/var/snap/lxd/common/lxd/disks/</span></code> if you are using the snap, or in <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">/var/lib/lxd/disks/</span></code> otherwise.</p> <p>Loop files usually cannot be shrunk. They will grow up to the configured limit, but deleting instances or images will not cause the file to shrink. You can increase their size (quota) though; see <a class="reference internal" href="../../howto/storage_pools/#storage-resize-pool"><span class="std std-ref">Resize a storage pool</span></a>.</p> </section> <section id="remote-storage"> <h4>Remote storage<a class="headerlink" href="#remote-storage" title="Link to this heading">¶</a></h4> <p>The <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">ceph</span></code>, <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cephfs</span></code> and <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cephobject</span></code> drivers store the data in a completely independent Ceph storage cluster that must be set up separately. The same applies to the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">powerflex</span></code> and <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">pure</span></code> drivers.</p> </section> </section> <section id="default-storage-pool"> <span id="storage-default-pool"></span><h3>Default storage pool<a class="headerlink" href="#default-storage-pool" title="Link to this heading">¶</a></h3> <p>There is no concept of a default storage pool in LXD.</p> <p>When you create a storage volume, you must specify the storage pool to use.</p> <p>When LXD automatically creates a storage volume during instance creation, it uses the storage pool that is configured for the instance. This configuration can be set in either of the following ways:</p> <ul class="simple"> <li><p>Directly on an instance: <a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/manpages/lxc/launch/#lxc-launch-md"><span class="std std-ref"><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">lxc</span> <span class="pre">launch</span> <span class="pre"><image></span> <span class="pre"><instance_name></span> <span class="pre">--storage</span> <span class="pre"><storage_pool></span></code></span></a></p></li> <li><p>Through a profile: <a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/manpages/lxc/profile/device/add/#lxc-profile-device-add-md"><span class="std std-ref"><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">lxc</span> <span class="pre">profile</span> <span class="pre">device</span> <span class="pre">add</span> <span class="pre"><profile_name></span> <span class="pre">root</span> <span class="pre">disk</span> <span class="pre">path=/</span> <span class="pre">pool=<storage_pool></span></code></span></a> and <a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/manpages/lxc/launch/#lxc-launch-md"><span class="std std-ref"><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">lxc</span> <span class="pre">launch</span> <span class="pre"><image></span> <span class="pre"><instance_name></span> <span class="pre">--profile</span> <span class="pre"><profile_name></span></code></span></a></p></li> <li><p>Through the default profile</p></li> </ul> <p>In a profile, the storage pool to use is defined by the pool for the root disk device:</p> <div class="highlight-yaml notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="w"> </span><span class="nt">root</span><span class="p">:</span> <span class="w"> </span><span class="nt">type</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="l l-Scalar l-Scalar-Plain">disk</span> <span class="w"> </span><span class="nt">path</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="l l-Scalar l-Scalar-Plain">/</span> <span class="w"> </span><span class="nt">pool</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="l l-Scalar l-Scalar-Plain">default</span> </pre></div> </div> <p>In the default profile, this pool is set to the storage pool that was created during initialization.</p> </section> </section> <section id="storage-volumes"> <span id="id2"></span><h2>Storage volumes<a class="headerlink" href="#storage-volumes" title="Link to this heading">¶</a></h2> <p class="youtube_link"> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvQ111pbqtk" target="_blank"> <span title="Custom storage volumes in LXD - YouTube" class="play_icon">▶</span> <span title="Custom storage volumes in LXD - YouTube">Watch on YouTube</span> </a> </p><p>When you create an instance, LXD automatically creates the required storage volumes for it. You can create additional storage volumes.</p> <p>See the following how-to guides for additional information:</p> <ul class="simple"> <li><p><a class="reference internal" href="../../howto/storage_volumes/#howto-storage-volumes"><span class="std std-ref">How to manage storage volumes</span></a></p></li> <li><p><a class="reference internal" href="../../howto/storage_move_volume/#howto-storage-move-volume"><span class="std std-ref">How to move or copy storage volumes</span></a></p></li> <li><p><a class="reference internal" href="../../howto/storage_backup_volume/#howto-storage-backup-volume"><span class="std std-ref">How to back up custom storage volumes</span></a></p></li> </ul> <section id="storage-volume-types"> <span id="id3"></span><h3>Storage volume types<a class="headerlink" href="#storage-volume-types" title="Link to this heading">¶</a></h3> <p>Storage volumes can be of the following types:</p> <dl class="simple myst"> <dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">container</span></code>/<code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">virtual-machine</span></code></dt><dd><p>LXD automatically creates one of these storage volumes when you launch an instance. It is used as the root disk for the instance and is destroyed when the instance is deleted.</p> <p>The storage pool can be explicitly specified by providing the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--storage</span></code> flag to the <a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/manpages/lxc/launch/#lxc-launch-md"><span class="std std-ref">launch command</span></a>. If no pool or profile is specified, LXD uses the storage pool of the default profile’s root disk device.</p> </dd> <dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">image</span></code></dt><dd><p>LXD automatically creates one of these storage volumes when it unpacks an image to launch one or more instances from it. You can delete it after the instance has been created. If you do not delete it manually, it is deleted automatically ten days after it was last used to launch an instance.</p> <p>The image storage volume is created in the same storage pool as the instance storage volume, and only for storage pools that use a <a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/storage_drivers/#storage-drivers"><span class="std std-ref">storage driver</span></a> that supports optimized image storage.</p> </dd> <dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">custom</span></code></dt><dd><p>You can add one or more custom storage volumes to hold data that you want to store separately from your instances. Custom storage volumes of content type <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">filesystem</span></code> or <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">iso</span></code> can be shared between instances, and they are retained until you delete them.</p> <p>You can also use custom storage volumes to hold your backups or images.</p> <p>You must specify the storage pool for the custom volume when you create it.</p> </dd> </dl> </section> <section id="content-types"> <span id="storage-content-types"></span><h3>Content types<a class="headerlink" href="#content-types" title="Link to this heading">¶</a></h3> <p>Each storage volume uses one of the following content types:</p> <dl class="simple myst"> <dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">filesystem</span></code></dt><dd><p>This content type is used for containers and container images. It is the default content type for custom storage volumes.</p> <p>Custom storage volumes of content type <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">filesystem</span></code> can be attached to both containers and virtual machines, and they can be shared between instances.</p> </dd> <dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">block</span></code></dt><dd><p>This content type is used for virtual machines and virtual machine images. You can create a custom storage volume of type <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">block</span></code> by using the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--type=block</span></code> flag.</p> <p>Custom storage volumes of content type <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">block</span></code> can only be attached to virtual machines. By default, they can only be attached to one instance at a time, because simultaneous access can lead to data corruption. Sharing custom storage volumes of content type <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">block</span></code> is made possible through the usage of the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">security.shared</span></code> configuration key.</p> </dd> <dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">iso</span></code></dt><dd><p>This content type is used for custom ISO volumes. A custom storage volume of type <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">iso</span></code> can only be created by importing an ISO file using <a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/manpages/lxc/storage/volume/import/#lxc-storage-volume-import-md"><span class="std std-ref"><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">lxc</span> <span class="pre">storage</span> <span class="pre">volume</span> <span class="pre">import</span></code></span></a> or by copying another volume.</p> <p>Custom storage volumes of content type <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">iso</span></code> can only be attached to virtual machines. They can be attached to multiple machines simultaneously as they are always read-only.</p> </dd> </dl> </section> </section> <section id="storage-buckets"> <span id="id4"></span><h2>Storage buckets<a class="headerlink" href="#storage-buckets" title="Link to this heading">¶</a></h2> <p class="youtube_link"> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1EeXPrjkEY" target="_blank"> <span title="LXD's S3 API - YouTube" class="play_icon">▶</span> <span title="LXD's S3 API - YouTube">Watch on YouTube</span> </a> </p><p>Storage buckets provide object storage functionality via the S3 protocol.</p> <p>They can be used in a way that is similar to custom storage volumes. However, unlike storage volumes, storage buckets are not attached to an instance. Instead, applications can access a storage bucket directly using its URL.</p> <p>Each storage bucket is assigned one or more access keys, which the applications must use to access it.</p> <p>Storage buckets can be located on local storage (with <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">dir</span></code>, <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">btrfs</span></code>, <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">lvm</span></code> or <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">zfs</span></code> pools) or on distributed storage (with <a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/storage_cephobject/#storage-cephobject"><span class="std std-ref">Ceph Object</span></a> pools). For Ceph Object storage buckets, the <a class="reference internal" href="../../howto/storage_pools/#howto-storage-pools-ceph-requirements-radosgw"><span class="std std-ref">RADOS Gateway</span></a> configured on the Ceph cluster acts as an S3 interface.</p> <p>See the following how-to guide for additional information:</p> <ul class="simple"> <li><p><a class="reference internal" href="../../howto/storage_buckets/#howto-storage-buckets"><span class="std std-ref">How to manage storage buckets</span></a></p></li> </ul> </section> <section id="related-topics"> <h2>Related topics<a class="headerlink" href="#related-topics" title="Link to this heading">¶</a></h2> <p>How-to guides:</p> <ul class="simple"> <li><p><a class="reference internal" href="../../storage/#storage"><span class="std std-ref">Storage</span></a></p></li> </ul> <p>Reference:</p> <ul class="simple"> <li><p><a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/storage_drivers/#storage-drivers"><span class="std std-ref">Storage drivers</span></a></p></li> </ul> </section> </section> </article> </div> <footer> <div class="related-pages"> <a class="next-page" href="../networks/"> <div class="page-info"> <div class="context"> <span>Next</span> </div> <div class="title">Networking setups</div> </div> <svg class="furo-related-icon"><use href="#svg-arrow-right"></use></svg> </a> <a class="prev-page" href="../../image-handling/"> <svg class="furo-related-icon"><use href="#svg-arrow-right"></use></svg> <div class="page-info"> <div class="context"> <span>Previous</span> </div> <div class="title">Local and remote images</div> </div> </a> </div> <div class="bottom-of-page"> <div class="left-details"> <div class="copyright"> Copyright © 2014-2025 LXD contributors </div> <div class="last-updated"> Last updated on Sep 08, 2025</div> <div class="show-source"> <a class="muted-link" href="../../_sources/explanation/storage.md.txt" rel="nofollow">Show source</a> </div> </div> <div> <a class="display-contributors">Thanks to the 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class="muted-link" href="https://github.com/canonical/lxd/edit/main/doc/explanation/storage.md">Edit this page on GitHub</a> </div> </div> </div> </div> </footer> </div> <aside class="toc-drawer"> <div class="toc-sticky toc-scroll"> <div class="toc-title-container"> <span class="toc-title"> Contents </span> </div> <div class="toc-tree-container"> <div class="toc-tree"> <ul> <li><a class="reference internal" href="#">Storage pools, volumes, and buckets</a><ul> <li><a class="reference internal" href="#storage-pools">Storage pools</a><ul> <li><a class="reference internal" href="#data-storage-location">Data storage location</a><ul> <li><a class="reference internal" href="#shared-with-the-host">Shared with the host</a></li> <li><a class="reference internal" href="#dedicated-disk-or-partition">Dedicated disk or partition</a></li> <li><a class="reference internal" href="#loop-disk">Loop disk</a></li> <li><a class="reference internal" href="#remote-storage">Remote storage</a></li> </ul> </li> <li><a class="reference internal" href="#default-storage-pool">Default storage pool</a></li> </ul> </li> <li><a class="reference internal" href="#storage-volumes">Storage volumes</a><ul> <li><a class="reference internal" href="#storage-volume-types">Storage volume types</a></li> <li><a class="reference internal" href="#content-types">Content types</a></li> </ul> </li> <li><a class="reference internal" href="#storage-buckets">Storage buckets</a></li> <li><a class="reference internal" href="#related-topics">Related topics</a></li> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </aside> </div> </div><script src="../../_static/jquery.js?v=5d32c60e"></script> <script src="../../_static/_sphinx_javascript_frameworks_compat.js?v=2cd50e6c"></script> <script src="../../_static/documentation_options.js?v=187304be"></script> <script src="../../_static/doctools.js?v=9bcbadda"></script> <script src="../../_static/sphinx_highlight.js?v=dc90522c"></script> <script 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