---
title: Block Storage - Quickstart
description: Get started with Scaleway Block Storage. This guide covers creating, attaching, and mounting Block Storage volumes to your Instances for efficient data management.
tags: block storage overview get started
dates:
validation: 2025-06-20
posted: 2023-11-23
---
import Requirements from '@macros/iam/requirements.mdx'
Scaleway Block Storage provides network-attached storage that can be plugged in and out of [Instances](/instances/concepts/#instance) like a virtual hard drive. Block Storage devices are independent of the Local Storage of Instances, and the fact that they are accessed over a network connection makes it easy to move them between Instances in the same [Availability Zone](/instances/concepts/#availability-zone).
From the user's point of view, once [mounted](/block-storage/how-to/mount-a-volume/), the block device behaves like a regular disk.
## Console overview
Discover the Block Storage interface on the Scaleway console.
- A Scaleway account logged into the [console](https://console.scaleway.com)
- [Owner](/iam/concepts/#owner) status or [IAM permissions](/iam/concepts/#permission) allowing you to perform actions in the intended Organization
- Created an [Instance](/instances/how-to/create-an-instance/)
## How to create a Block Storage volume
1. Click **Block Storage** in the **Storage** section of the [Scaleway console](https://console.scaleway.com) side menu. The Block Storage page displays.
2. Click **+ Create volume**.
3. Follow the steps in the creation wizard:
- Choose an [Availability Zone](/instances/concepts/#availability-zone).
- Configure the volume:
- Enter a name for your volume or leave the automatically generated name.
- Select an [IOPS](/block-storage/concepts/#iops).
You cannot edit the IOPS after you create your volume.
- Define a volume size.
The volume size must be at least 5 GB.
- Select an Instance from the drop-down to attach your volume. This step is optional.
- Check the estimated cost.
4. Click **Create volume**. The volume's **Overview** page displays.
The volume must be in the same Availability Zone as the Instance you want to connect it to.
## How to attach a Block Storage volume to an Instance
1. Click **Block Storage** in the **Storage** section of the [Scaleway console](https://console.scaleway.com) side menu. Your volumes display.
2. Click > **Attach to Instance** next to the volume of your choice. A pop-up displays.
3. Select the Instance to which you want to attach your volume from the drop-down.
4. Click **Attach volume to Instance**.
## How to mount and use a Block Storage volume
In order to mount and use your Block Storage volume, you need to [connect to the Instance it is attached to via SSH](/instances/how-to/connect-to-instance/#troubleshooting-connection-problems).
Then, check that the volume is available, format it, and mount it, following the instructions below.
### How to verify device availability
1. Open a terminal and use the following command to connect to your Instance. Replace `` with your Instance's IP. You can also find the SSH command in your Instance's **Overview** tab in the Scaleway console.
```
ssh root@
```
2. Use the `lsblk` command to confirm that your volume is available:
```
lsblk
```
You should see an output similar to the following. The root Block volume `sda`, runs your OS. The Block volume named `sdb` is the one we will be mounting to the Instance.
```sh no-copy
root@scw-festive-agnesi:~# lsblk
NAME MAJ:MIN RM SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINTS
sda 8:0 0 18.6G 0 disk
├─sda1 8:1 0 18.5G 0 part /
├─sda14 8:14 0 4M 0 part
└─sda15 8:15 0 106M 0 part /boot/efi
sdb 8:16 0 27.9G 0 disk
```
The Scaleway ecosystem uses [GB](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gigabyte) to define storage sizes and not [GiB](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibibyte) as the default on Linux.
### How to format the Block Storage volume
Formatting your volume prepares it for storing files.
1. In the same terminal as the steps above, create a file system with the following command. This command uses the `ext4` file system, though you can choose another if you prefer.
```
# Make sure that you replace `/dev/sdX` with the name of your volume
mkfs.ext4 /dev/sdX
```
2. Run the following command to check if your file system is correctly created:
```
lsblk -f
```
You should see an output like the following. Check that the `FSTYPE` field matches `ext4` for your Block volume. In this example, we have formatted the `sdb` volume.
```sh no-copy
root@scw-festive-agnesi:~# lsblk -f
NAME FSTYPE FSVER LABEL UUID FSAVAIL FSUSE% MOUNTPOINTS
sda
├─sda1
│ ext4 1.0 cloudimg-rootfs
│ cf5b092b-9a8b-49e9-980c-b44b5e3ed197 14.5G 18% /
├─sda14
│
└─sda15
vfat FAT32 UEFI D590-3FD4 98.3M 6% /boot/efi
sdb ext4 1.0 d36bdf8b-b2ff-4e2b-9736-cc05940aea35
```
### How to mount the Block Storage volume
Once you have created your file system, you need to define where you want to mount your volume, and create a mount point (directory) for it.
1. Create the mount point. Feel free to replace `block-volume` with another name for your mount point.
```
mkdir /mnt/block-volume
```
2. Mount the volume. We recommend that you use the `defaults` option, as in the command below.
```
# Make sure that you replace sdX with the name of your volume
mount -o defaults /dev/sdX /mnt/block-volume
```
If you want to see all available options, you can run `man mount` on your Instance.
3. Make sure your file system is properly mounted by running the `lsblk` command.
```
lsblk
```
You should see an output like the following. Check the `MOUNTPOINT` field.
```sh no-copy
root@scw-festive-agnesi:~# lsblk
NAME MAJ:MIN RM SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINT
sda 8:0 0 18.6G 0 disk
├─sda1 8:1 0 18.5G 0 part /
├─sda14 8:14 0 4M 0 part
└─sda15 8:15 0 106M 0 part /boot/efi
sdb 8:16 0 27.9G 0 disk /mnt/block-volume
```
The `sdb` volume is mounted at `/mnt/block-volume`
### How to use fstab for Persistent Mounting
With the current configuration, your volume will not be mounted automatically upon reboot. Use the `/etc/fstab` file to ensure the reboot does not impact your file system.
Run the following command to make sure your volume is automatically mounted to your Instance upon reboot. You must replace `sdX` with your volume.
```
echo "UUID=$(blkid --output value /dev/sdX | head -n1) /mnt/block-volume ext4 defaults 0 0" >> /etc/fstab
```
You can now use your Block Storage volume like a regular disk of your Instance, and store data on it as you wish.