Rackspace Flex Cloud Block Storage Volumes

Volumes are a component of OpenStack that handle persistent data storage. Volumes are block-level storage devices that can be attached to instances. They behave like hard drives for virtual machines and can be detached and reattached to different instances. You can also boot VMs from volumes if they are bootable and outfitted with an OS from an image. For example, if your instance needs additional storage beyond what’s available on the root disk, you would create a volume and attach it to your instance.

Data Source Types

Volumes can be built from three possible sources. These sources dictate what will be on the volume once it's finished creating.

• Blank Volume - This is a blank volume, useful for acting as a storage repository attached to an instance.
• Image - This is a volume that will contain an operating system from a chosen image. Usually these are built to be the boot source for an instance.
• Volume Snapshot - A snapshot of another storage volume. Useful for cloning a volume.

Types

Note: LUKS encryption, which stands for "Linux Unified Key Setup," is a disk encryption standard primarily used on Linux systems that allows users to encrypt entire partitions or hard drives by requiring a passphrase to access the data. While "encryption at rest" refers to any method of encrypting data while it's not actively being used (like on a hard drive), LUKS is a specific, widely used implementation of this concept primarily within the Linux ecosystem

• Performance: High-performance storage with LUKS encryption. Suitable for workloads that require high I/O demands like databases, virtual machines with heavy workloads, and data-intensive applications.
• Standard: Standard storage with LUKS encryption. Standard Storage works well for general-purpose data storage, backups, and applications that don't require high performance.
• HA-Standard: High-availability standard block storage with at-rest encryption. Designed for workloads requiring redundancy and failover capabilities. The HA component refers to a redundant block storage system designed to maintain data availability in case of hardware failures
• HA-Performance: High-availability block storage optimized for performance, with at-rest encryption. This is the best choice for mission-critical applications that need both speed and HA. The HA component refers to a redundant block storage system designed to maintain data availability in case of hardware failures
• Capacity: Large-capacity storage with LUKS encryption. Best for workloads that require large volumes but may not need high-speed performance.

Additional Documentation

OpenStack Cinder Documenation