Scenarios and Disk Partitions

If you have added a data disk during ECS creation, you must initialize the data disk after logging in to the ECS.

Scenarios

After a disk is attached to a server, you need to log in to the server to initialize the disk, that is, format the disk. You must initialize a disk before accessing it.
  • System disk

    A system disk does not require manual initialization because it is automatically created and initialized upon server creation. The default partition style is master boot record (MBR).

  • Data disk
    • If a data disk is created along with a server, it will be automatically attached to the server.
    • If a data disk is created separately, you need to manually attach it to a server.

    In both cases, you must initialize the data disk before using it. Choose an appropriate partition style based on your service plan.

Partitioning Operation Guide

Table 1 lists the common disk partition styles. In Linux, different disk partition styles require different partitioning tools.

Table 1 Disk partition styles

Disk Partition Style

Maximum Disk Capacity Supported

Maximum Number of Partitions Supported

Linux Partitioning Tool

Master Boot Record (MBR)

2 TB
  • 4 primary partitions
  • 3 primary partitions and 1 extended partition
With MBR, you can create several primary partitions and one extended partition. The extended partition must be divided into logical partitions before use. For example, if 6 partitions need to be created, you can create them in the following two ways:
  • 3 primary partitions and 1 extended partition, with the extended partition divided into 3 logical partitions
  • 1 primary partition and 1 extended partition, with the extended partition divided into 5 logical partitions
  • fdisk
  • parted

GUID Partition Table (GPT)

18 EB

1 EB = 1048576 TB

Unlimited

Disk partitions created using GPT are not categorized.

parted
Parent topic: Initializing EVS Data Disks