Overview

Block Storage is an IT architecture in which data is stored as a file system. It provides endless possibilities for storing large amounts of information, guarantees the safety of resource planning systems, and provides instant access to the required amount of data without delay.

IONOS provides you with several ready-made IONOS Public Images that you can use immediately. You can also use your own images by uploading them through our FTP access. For more information, see Private Images. Your IONOS account supports many types of HDD images as well as ISO images from which you can install an operating system or software directly, using an emulated CD-ROM drive.

Storage types and options

The virtual storage devices you create in the DCD are provisioned and hosted in one of the IONOS physical data centers. Virtual storage devices are used the same way as physical storage devices and can be configured and managed within the server's operating system.

A virtual storage device is equivalent to an Internet Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI) block device and behaves like direct-attached storage. IONOS Block Storage is managed independently of servers. It is therefore easily scalable. You can assign a hard disk image to each storage device through DCD or API. You can use one of the IONOS images, your own image, or a snapshot created with DCD or API. You have a choice of Hard Disk Drive (HDD) and Solid-State Drive (SSD) storage technologies while SSD is available in two different performance classes. For more information about setting up the storage, see Set Up Block Storage.

Up to 24 storage volumes can be connected to a Dedicated Core Server or a Cube (while the Cube already has one virtual storage device attached per default). You can use any mix of volume types if necessary.

IONOS Cloud provides HDD and SSD block storage in a double-redundant setup. Each virtual storage volume is replicated four times and stored on distributed physical devices within the selected data center location.

Availability Zones

Secure your data, enhance reliability, and set up high-availability scenarios by deploying your Dedicated Core Servers and storage devices across multiple Availability Zones.

Assigning different availability zones ensures redundant modules reside in separate physical resources at IONOS Cloud. For example, a server or a storage device assigned to Availability Zone 1 resides on a different resource than a server or storage device assigned to Availability Zone 2.

For HDD and SSD Storage, you have the following Availability Zone options:

• Zone 1

• Zone 2

• Zone 3

• A - Auto (default; the system automatically assigns an Availability Zone upon provisioning)

The server Availability Zone can also be altered after provisioning. The storage device's Availability Zone is set on first provisioning and cannot be changed subsequently. However, you can take a Snapshot and then use it to provide a storage device with a new Availability Zone.

Authentication

The first time you create a storage unit based on a public image, you must select at least one authentication method. Without authentication, the image on the storage unit cannot be provisioned. The authentication methods available depend on the IONOS operating system image you select.

Authentication methods depend on the operating system.

Authentication Methods	SSH Key	Password
IONOS Linux images	+	+
IONOS Windows images	-	+

We recommend using both SSH and a password with IONOS Linux images. This will allow you to log in with the Remote Console. It is impossible to provision a storage unit with a Linux image without specifying a password or an SSH key.

Passwords: Provisioning a storage device with a Windows image is impossible without specifying a password. It must be between 8 and 50 characters long and may only consist of numbers (0 - 9) and letters (a-z, A-Z). For IONOS Linux images, you can specify a password along with SSH keys to log in without SSH, such as with the Remote Console. For IONOS Linux images, you can specify a password and SSH keys, so you can also log in without SSH, such as with the Remote Console. The password is set as the root or administrator password with corresponding permissions.

SSH (Secure Shell): To use SSH, you must have an SSH key pair of public and private keys. The private key is installed on the client (the computer you use to access the server), and the public key is installed on the (virtual) instance (the server you wish to access). The IONOS SSH feature requires that you have a valid SSH public/private key pair and that the private key is installed as appropriate for your local operating system.

If you set an invalid or incorrect SSH key, it must be corrected on the side of the virtual machine.