Question

question about volumes

Posted on August 31, 2023
Engineering
Asked by 8d745ad1d87748f7aaa8cdab273c89

hi guys

if i got a volume with some files, upon detaching all files are lost, what if i try to atach to a completely different droplet, lets say i detach my ubuntu volume and i try to atach it onto a perforce one, is it possible?

basically:

when detaching, is all my info deleted or corrupted, can i attach it again to the original droplet with ease?

can i attach a volume to a completely unrelated droplet from where the volume originally was, will files get pruned?

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Bobby Iliev

Site Moderator

• September 1, 2023

Accepted Answer

Hi there,

The DigitalOcean Volumes are designed to be persistent form of block storage meaning that when you detach a volume from one Droplet, the data on it remains intact. Also, to address your questions individually:

When detaching, is all my info deleted or corrupted?
- No, when you detach a volume from a Droplet, the data on that volume remains intact and is not deleted or corrupted. But the data will no longer be available on that specific Droplet that you’ve detached the volume from and will be available on the new Droplet that you’ve attached the volume on.
Can I attach it again to the original Droplet with ease?
- Yes, you can re-attach the volume to the original Droplet or any other Droplet in the same datacenter/region. The data will still be there, just as you left it.
Can I attach a volume to a completely unrelated Droplet from where the volume originally was?
- Yes, you can. As long as the Droplet is in the same datacenter/region as the volume, you can attach the volume to it. The Droplet’s OS or function (whether it’s an Ubuntu or Perforce or anything else) doesn’t matter in terms of the ability to attach a volume. The volume behaves like an external hard drive in this context.
Will files get pruned?
- No, files on the volume will not get pruned or deleted when you move the volume between droplets.

However, a few things to note:

Always ensure that you unmount the volume correctly from the original Droplet before detaching to ensure data integrity.
When you attach a volume to a different type of droplet (e.g., moving from Ubuntu to Perforce), you’ll need to ensure that the new Droplet’s OS can understand and work with the file system on the volume. In most cases, if you’re using standard file systems like ext4, there should be no issues.

Hope that this helps!

Best,

Bobby