Node storage
Give a node more disk than the one it started with.
A node keeps every game server on one disk to begin with. Add more from the node page.
Which card you use depends on the node.
| Node | Card | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Windows | Storage Drives | Let the daemon use more than one disk. |
| Linux | Storage Pools | Make an extra disk or a fileshare available for the server data. |
Open Admin > Nodes and select a node to find these cards.
Storage drives, on Windows
A drive is a directory on the Windows node where the daemon can hold game server files.
Each drive has three properties:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Path | The full directory path, for example D:\Servers. |
| Label | A friendly name, for example SSD Drive D. |
| Max Disk (MB) | The disk space that game servers can use on this drive. A value of 0 means no limit. |
Adding a drive
The node must be Online. The panel sends the change to the daemon and refuses if the node is offline.
- Navigate to Admin > Nodes and select the Windows node.
- Find the Storage Drives card and click Add Drive.
- Enter the Path, the Label, and the Max Disk (MB).
- Click Add.
If the directory does not exist, the daemon creates it. If the daemon cannot reach the path, the panel shows an error and makes no change.
Changing or removing one
Click the pencil icon on a drive row to change its Label or its Max Disk (MB). You cannot change the path. To move to a new path, add a drive and remove the old one.
Click the X icon to remove a drive. Two rules apply:
- You cannot remove the last drive.
- You cannot remove a drive that still holds server data. Move or delete those servers first.
Removing a drive does not delete files. It stops the daemon from using that path.
Reading the usage
Each drive row shows a bar with the space in use and the total space. If you set a Max Disk value, the row shows that limit as well. The row also shows when the daemon last reported the numbers.
Watch these bars to know when to add a disk.
What a drive decides
The drive list tells the daemon which paths it can use. The daemon looks in every drive for the game servers, the files, and the backups.
The panel does not let you pick a drive for each server yet. New servers go to the default data directory of the daemon.
Storage pools, on Linux
A storage pool is a host path where the data directory of a game server can live. Use a pool to put servers on a second disk or on a fileshare, instead of the local disk of the daemon.
Adding a pool
- Navigate to Admin > Nodes and select the Linux node.
- Find the Storage Pools card and click Add Pool.
- Fill in the form:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Label | A friendly name, for example Fileshare. |
| Host path (absolute) | The path on the node, for example /mnt/fileshare. It must start with /. |
| Mount type | How the path becomes available. Read the next table. |
| Capacity (GB, optional) | The size of the pool. Leave it at 0 if you do not know. |
| Allow server data dirs on this pool | Leave this ticked to offer the pool when somebody creates a server. |
| Default pool for new servers on this node | Tick this to select the pool for you each time. |
- Click Create.
Pool types
| Type | What it means |
|---|---|
| bind (operator pre-mounted) | You mount the path yourself. The daemon uses it as it is. |
| nfs (daemon mounts) | The daemon mounts an NFS share. Give the source as server:/export. |
| cifs / smb (daemon mounts) | The daemon mounts an SMB share. Give the source as //server/share, with a username and a password. |
For NFS and CIFS you can also give mount options, for example rw,vers=4.1,hard,noatime.
Using a pool
When you create a server on Admin > Servers, the resources step has a Storage Pool list. The list offers the default local storage and every pool that is available and allows server data.
The pool that you marked as default is selected for you.
Managing a pool
Each pool row shows its state (available, degraded, or unavailable), its mount type, the number of servers on it, and its capacity.
- Click the star icon to make a pool the default.
- Click the pencil icon to change it.
- Click the bin icon to delete it. A pool that servers use cannot be deleted. Move those servers first.
Deleting a pool removes it from the panel. It does not touch the directory or the data on it.
Advice
Use fast storage for game files. An SSD or an NVMe drive shortens world load times.
Keep the game data off the system disk. A full system disk makes the machine unstable.
Leave headroom. Do not set the limit to the full size of the disk. Leave room for temporary files and logs.
Use clear labels. A label such as NVMe 2TB - Minecraft tells you more than Drive 2.
Next steps
- Windows Nodes - install a Windows node
- Linux Nodes - install a Linux node
- Daemon Configuration - the full configuration reference