> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.rafftechnologies.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Create a volume
> Provision a new block volume — pick size, billing term, target VM, and how it should be formatted
Updated May 8, 2026
A **volume** is block storage you attach to a VM as additional disk capacity beyond its base disk. Volumes live in the same region as the VM they attach to, can be detached and reattached to a different VM in that region, and survive the VM if it's deleted.
This page walks the dashboard create flow. For the in-guest formatting / mounting / resizing steps, see [Attach to a VM](/products/store/volumes/quickstart-guides/attach-to-vm).
## Before you start
* A Raff account
* (Optional) A target VM in `active` or `passive` state — you can also create the volume unattached and attach later
* An idea of how much space you need (volumes range from **10 - 1000 GiB**)
## 1. Open the Add Volume dialog
From the **Compute Resources** page, switch to the **Volumes** tab and click **+ Add Volume**.
The Add Volume dialog opens with all the fields you'll fill on this one form.
## 2. Select volume size
Type a size in GiB. Range is **10 - 1000 GiB**.
You can [grow the volume later](/products/store/volumes/quickstart-guides/resize-volume), but you can't shrink it — pick conservatively if you're unsure.
## 3. Pick a billing period
Volumes are **subscription-based by default**, paid in advance from your account balance. Pay-as-you-go is available for enterprise and SMB customers on request — same effective \$0.05/GiB/month rate, billed hourly at cycle close.
| Term | Rate |
| ----------- | ---------------------- |
| **Monthly** | \$0.05 / GiB / month |
| **Yearly** | \$0.60 / GiB / year |
| **2 Years** | \$1.20 / GiB / 2 years |
The volume cost is reserved at creation. If you delete the volume mid-term, the unused days and hours are credited back to your account balance — same model as VMs. See [Billing model](/products/build/virtual-machines/concepts/billing-model).
## 4. Select VM to attach to (optional)
| Choice | Effect |
| --------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Specific VM** | Volume is attached on creation; visible inside the VM as a new block device |
| **None (No VM attachment)** | Volume is created standalone in your selected region; attach later via the Volumes tab |
The VM must be in `active` or `passive` state to attach. **Volumes inherit the VM's region and project** — they can only be reattached to other VMs in the same region.
If you pick **None**, the volume is created in the dashboard's currently-selected region.
## 5. Name the volume
A free-form label. Pick something descriptive — `db-backups`, `customer-uploads`, `acme-data` — so it's easy to spot in the Volumes list.
## 6. Choose configuration options
This step **changes based on the selected VM's OS**. Linux and Windows behave differently.
### Linux VMs (or no VM selected)
Two options:
| Option | What it does | When to use |
| --------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Automatically Format** | Raff formats the volume with your chosen filesystem before attaching. You still have to **mount it manually** inside the VM after creation. | Default for most workloads — saves a step |
| **Manually Format & Mount** | Volume is attached raw. You handle `mkfs`, `mount`, and `/etc/fstab` yourself. | When you need a specific filesystem version, mount options, or LVM/RAID setup |
**Filesystem (Auto-format only):**
| Filesystem | Best for |
| ---------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Ext4** | Default Linux choice — broadly compatible, well-understood, fine for nearly any workload |
| **XFS** | Large volumes (multi-hundred-GB+), parallel I/O, databases with many concurrent writes |
Either way, you'll need to mount the volume in the OS after creation. See [Attach to a VM](/products/store/volumes/quickstart-guides/attach-to-vm) for the `lsblk` → `mount` → `/etc/fstab` flow.
### Windows VMs
Auto-format is **not supported on Windows**. The dashboard surfaces this with an inline note and only offers manual format & mount:
The volume attaches as a raw disk. After creation, format it from inside Windows:
1. **Server Manager → Tools → Computer Management → Disk Management**
2. New disk shows as **Offline** and **Not Initialized** → right-click → **Online** → **Initialize Disk** (pick **GPT**)
3. Right-click the unallocated space → **New Simple Volume** → walk the wizard, format **NTFS**, assign a drive letter
This is also covered in the [Attach to a VM](/products/store/volumes/quickstart-guides/attach-to-vm#6-format-and-mount-on-windows) walkthrough.
## 7. Proceed to checkout
Click **Proceed to Checkout**. The order summary applies your account balance first, then charges your saved card for the difference (same flow as VMs). Confirm to provision.
The volume is created in seconds. If you picked a target VM, it appears as a new block device almost immediately — re-scan with `lsblk` (Linux) or **Disk Management** (Windows).
## After creation
* **Linux, auto-formatted** — disk has a filesystem; mount it (`mount /dev/vdX /mnt/data`) and add a `/etc/fstab` entry. See [Attach to a VM → step 4 onward](/products/store/volumes/quickstart-guides/attach-to-vm#4-mount-it-linux).
* **Linux, manual** — same as above, plus `mkfs.ext4` or `mkfs.xfs` first.
* **Windows** — Disk Management as described above.
## Pricing summary
| Item | Rate |
| --------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Per-GiB storage | \$0.05 / GiB / month (same per-GiB cost on all subscription terms) |
| Charges accrue | Continuously while the volume exists |
| Settlement | Month-end on the 1st against your account balance |
Bandwidth between a VM and its attached volume is **free and not metered** — the volume bills only for stored capacity.
## Next steps
Format, mount, and persist the volume inside the VM.
Grow capacity later (one-way).
Performance and persistence model.