PacketStream Block Storage
Block Storage is block-level storage you attach to a Virtual Server. It offers four tiers — Archive, Hybrid, Flash, and Express — and every volume is replicated three times across separate physical locations for 99.999% durability and 99.99% availability.
How it works
You create a volume and attach it to a Virtual Server, where it appears as a block device. Performance is set by the tier and the volume size: grow the volume and its IOPS and throughput grow with it. Capacity expands online without downtime, and the volume is rebalanced automatically afterward.
The default OS disk is created on the Express tier. For how each tier’s performance is calculated and priced, see Plans.
Storage tiers
Archive
HDD-backed tier. IOPS is fixed at 500, for long-term retention such as log archives, backups, and cold storage.
Hybrid
HDD-backed general-purpose tier. IOPS is fixed at 1,000, suited to web servers, file servers, and dev/test environments.
Flash
SSD-backed high-performance tier. IOPS scales with volume size from 100 to 16,000, for databases such as MySQL, PostgreSQL, and MongoDB, and for real-time processing.
Express
SSD-backed top tier and the default for OS disks. IOPS scales from 4,000 to 32,000, for high-performance databases, real-time analytics, and high-volume transactions.
Performance comparison
| Tier | Backend | IOPS | IOPS Burst | Throughput | Throughput Burst | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Archive | HDD | 500 (Fixed) | - | 50-100 MB/s | - | Up to 2TB |
| Hybrid | HDD | 1,000 (Fixed) | 1,500 (Fixed) | 50-200 MB/s | - | Up to 2TB |
| Flash | SSD | 100-16,000 (Variable) | 3,000 (Conditional) | 150-350 MB/s | - | Up to 2TB |
| Express | SSD | 4,000-32,000 (Variable) | - | 200-1,000 MB/s | - | Up to 2TB |
Data protection
- Triple replication: Data is replicated three times across separate physical locations to maintain 99.999% durability and 99.99% availability. Failures are detected and recovered automatically.
- Encryption: Data at rest is encrypted with AES-256, and network traffic is encrypted in transit.
- Access control: Access is managed by permissions, and every access and operation is written to an audit log.
Snapshots
Snapshots are taken per volume. They are incremental, storing only changed blocks, and you can restore to a specific point in time. Set a schedule to create snapshots automatically.
Monitoring
Track IOPS, throughput, and usage in real time, and get alerts when thresholds are reached.
Getting started
- Create a volume — Pick the tier and capacity for your workload and create the volume.
- Attach to an instance — Attach the volume to a Virtual Server and confirm the device path.
- Set up the filesystem — Format the volume, create a filesystem, and mount it.
- Start using it — Use the volume from your application and set a snapshot policy if needed.
Related Services
Virtual Server: Virtual Server Overview
Backup Service: Backup Overview
Technical Support: [email protected]