--- title: "Storage overview on Nutanix" description: "Overview of Storage Management in a Nutanix cluster" url: https://docs.ovhcloud.com/en/guides/hosted-private-cloud/nutanix-on-ovhcloud/storage lang: en lastUpdated: 2022-02-23 --- # Storage overview on Nutanix ## Objective This guide will show you how to create a **storage container** and a **volume group**. :::warning OVHcloud provides services for which you are responsible, with regard to their configuration and management. It is therefore your responsibility to ensure that they work properly. This guide is designed to assist you as much as possible with common tasks. Nevertheless, we recommend contacting a specialist provider if you experience any difficulties or doubts when it comes to managing, using or setting up a service on a server. Some options, such as the use of compression or deduplication, require specific licences provided by Nutanix through OVHcloud. Please contact OVHcloud Sales for more information. ::: ## Requirements - A Nutanix cluster in your OVHcloud account - Access to the OVHcloud Control Panel - Being connected to the cluster via the Prism Element web interface ## Overview of storage operations in a Nutanix cluster When a Nutanix cluster is created, the system connects all the nodes' disks in a **Storage Pool**. It is not recommended to have multiple Storage Pools. By default, the **replication factor** is set to 2, and it can be changed to 3 if you have at least 5 nodes. The data is not stored directly in the Storage Pool, it is stored in **Storage Containers** where it is possible to enable options for compression, deduplication, etc. to optimise storage utilisation. There are also **Volume Groups** that provide the ability to access via ISCSI or directly in SCSI simulation for: - A third-party computer outside the cluster or a cluster VM - Multiple third-party computers or VMs in the cluster for applications that require shared storage, such as Microsoft SQL databases in Cluster mode ## Instructions ### Modifying **replication factor** Click the gear in the top right of the Prism Element interface. ![prism element dashboard](/images/hosted-private-cloud/nutanix-on-ovhcloud/04-storage/prism-element-dashboard.PNG) Scroll through the settings and click `Redundancy state `. If you have 5 nodes, you can change the **Desired Redundancy factor** setting from 2 to 3. ![Redundancy State](/images/hosted-private-cloud/nutanix-on-ovhcloud/04-storage/RedondancyState.PNG) It takes some time for the data to be on 3 nodes. ### Creating a **Storage Container** We will create a **Storage Container**, with a minimum of 300 GB reserved for this storage. The other settings are default ones. From the menu, select `Storage `. ![Storage Menu](/images/hosted-private-cloud/nutanix-on-ovhcloud/04-storage/StorageMenu.png) Select the `Storage Container ` tab and click `\+ Storage Container ` on the right. ![Storage Container Dashboard](/images/hosted-private-cloud/nutanix-on-ovhcloud/04-storage/StorageContainerDashboard.PNG) Enter a name for the storage container in the **NAME** entry box. Then click `Advanced Settings `. ![Storage Container Creation1](/images/hosted-private-cloud/nutanix-on-ovhcloud/04-storage/StorageContainerCreation1.PNG) In the **RESERVED CAPACITY** field, enter the size of your container. Other options are also available. ![Storage Container Creation2](/images/hosted-private-cloud/nutanix-on-ovhcloud/04-storage/StorageContainerCreation2.PNG) Then click `Save ` to finish creating the **Storage Container** . ![Storage Container Creation3](/images/hosted-private-cloud/nutanix-on-ovhcloud/04-storage/StorageContainerCreation3.PNG) The new **Storage Container** is then visible in the dashboard. ![Storage Container Dasboard](/images/hosted-private-cloud/nutanix-on-ovhcloud/04-storage/StorageContainerDasboardNC.PNG) For details on creating a **Storage Container**, see the [Go further](#gofurther) section of this guide. ### Create a **Volume Group** Select the `Volume Group ` tab and click `\+ Volume Group ` on the right. ![Volume Group DashBoard](/images/hosted-private-cloud/nutanix-on-ovhcloud/04-storage/VolumeGroupDashBoard.PNG) Click **+ Add New Disk**. ![Volume Group Creation1](/images/hosted-private-cloud/nutanix-on-ovhcloud/04-storage/VolumeGroupCreation1.PNG) Enter a **size** in the dedicated field and click `Add `. ![Volume Group Creation2](/images/hosted-private-cloud/nutanix-on-ovhcloud/04-storage/VolumeGroupCreation2.PNG) The disk appears in the **Volume Group**. You can then add several other disks. ![Volume Group Creation3](/images/hosted-private-cloud/nutanix-on-ovhcloud/04-storage/VolumeGroupCreation3.PNG) Once you have created your disk(s), browse the available options and confirm that you want to create the **Volume Group** by clicking `Save `. ![Volume Group Creation4](/images/hosted-private-cloud/nutanix-on-ovhcloud/04-storage/VolumeGroupCreation4.PNG) The **Volume Group** will then appear in the list. ![VolumeGroupDashBoardCreated](/images/hosted-private-cloud/nutanix-on-ovhcloud/04-storage/VolumeGroupDashBoardCreated.PNG) ## Go further [](#) [Presentation of a Nutanix cluster](/en/guides/hosted-private-cloud/nutanix-on-ovhcloud/nutanix-hci.md) [Nutanix storage documentation](https://portal.nutanix.com/page/documents/details?targetId=Web-Console-Guide-Prism-v5_20:wc-storage-management-wc-c.html) [Nutanix licences](https://www.nutanix.com/products/software-options) If you need training or technical assistance to implement our solutions, contact your sales representative or click on [this link](https://www.ovhcloud.com/en-gb/professional-services/) to get a quote and ask our Professional Services experts for assisting you on your specific use case of your project. Join our community of users on [https://community.ovh.com/en/](https://community.ovh.com/en/).