Offline docs (switch to live docs) UI-only CLI-only

Configuring storage layouts

MAAS storage layouts unveiled

Errors or typos? Topics missing? Hard to read? Let us know!

When configuring storage in MAAS, you've got multiple layout options to explore. If your system isn't UEFI-compatible, consider sda2 as sda1 and enjoy an additional 512 MB of space.

One partition to rule them all: Flat layout

The Flat layout means one partition takes up the whole boot disk, formatted with ext4 and mounted at the root (/).

Name	Size	Type	Filesystem	Mount point
sda	-	disk	-	-
sda1	512 MB	part	FAT32	/boot/efi
sda2	rest of sda	part	ext4	/

Options:

boot_size: Sets the size of the boot partition. Default is zero, putting /boot on the root filesystem.
root_device: The block device for the root partition. Usually the boot disk.
root_size: Root partition size, 100% by default.

The flexible friend: LVM layout

LVM (Logical Volume Management) offers flexibility. A volume group vgroot covers a partition on your boot disk. Within it, a logical volume lvroot is defined.

Name	Size	Type	Filesystem	Mount point
sda	-	disk	-	-
sda1	512 MB	part	FAT32	/boot/efi
sda2	rest of sda	part	lvm-pv(vgroot)	-
lvroot	rest of sda	lvm	ext4	/

Options:

vg_name: Customise your volume group's name.
lv_name: Personalise your logical volume's name.
lv_size: Set the size, defaulting to the entire volume group.

The speedster: bcache layout

For better disk performance, the bcache layout uses your boot disk as the backing device and an SSD as the cache.

Name	Size	Type	Filesystem	Mount point
sda	-	disk	-	-
sda1	512 MB	part	FAT32	/boot/efi
sda2	rest of sda	part	bc-backing	-
sdb(ssd)	-	disk	-	-
sdb1	100% of sdb	part	bc-cache	-
bcache0	per sda2	disk	ext4	/

Options:

cache_device: Opt for your cache device, defaulting to the smallest SSD.
cache_mode: Adjust the cache mode; writethrough is standard.
cache_size: Define your cache partition size.
cache_no_part: Decide on partition creation for the cache device.

For VMware aficionados: VMFS6 layout

For VMware ESXi deployments, VMFS6 is your layout, automating both OS and datastore configurations.

Name	Size	Type	Use
sda	-	disk	-
sda1	3 MB	part	EFI
sda2	4 GB	part	Basic Data
sda3	Remaining	part	VMFS Datastore 1

Options:

root_size: Sets the default VMFS Datastore size, generally the remaining disk space.

The blank canvas: Blank layout

The Blank layout clears all, making way for custom configurations. It leaves your system undeployable until you manually configure storage.

Note: Machines with this layout need manual storage configuration before deployment.

Choose wisely and tweak the options to make the storage layout fit your specific requirements.