Adding an additional block storage device to an existing Instance

Each virtual machine instance may have multiple disks attached to them.  For instance, you may want to keep the disk that is automatically provisioned with the instance for operating system purposes and attach one or more additional disks to store user applications and data.

Changing an Instance Hardware Profile

1. To add an additional block storage device to a virtual machine instance, the instance must be first placed in an offline state.  Visit related tutorials for details on how to place a virtual machine instance in a stopped state.

   
   With the virtual machine instance already in a stopped state, select the item in the All Items or Virtual Machine menu.  This will present an instance welcome message for the instance that was selected.
   
   
   
   
   
   

2. Select the Configure button at the top of the screen to bring up configuration options for the instance.  This menu includes the ability to adjust hardware profiles, add/remove network interface and add/remove/resize block storage devices.
   
   
   
   
3. In the bottom menu, select the Attach button, followed by selecting Disk.  This will launch the attach device wizard that will be utilized to add a new block storage device.
   
   
   
   
4. Within the Attach Disk wizard, we need to specify a name of this disk.  For the purposes of this tutorial we will simply label it as "storage" however you may use a name of your choosing.  Under the Available Disk(s) options, select 100GB Empty Disk.  Disk sizes can be adjusted after their creation.  If you require a disk larger than 100GB, please leverage the Expanding a Block Storage Device tutorial to scale the disk to your desired size.  Optionally, you may also designat which SCSI Address you would prefer to disk drive to utilize.  The default setting will suffice for most situations.
   
   
   
   
5. When all fields are completed, click the Check Box to execute the addition.  After a few moments, you should receive a success message.  Your disk addition has been completed.
   
   
   
   
6. Please note that although you have successfully added an additional block storage device to your virtual machine instance, you will need to leverage the tools of your respective operating system to format the drive for use.