Mount a NAS file system when creating an ECS instance - File Storage NAS

Mount a NAS file system automatically when you create an ECS instance.

Prerequisites

A file system is created. Create a General-purpose NAS file system.
A mount target is created. Create a mount target.

Background

The simplest way to mount a NAS file system is when you create an ECS instance. You can mount up to five file systems on a single instance.

Limitations

Automatic mounting has the following limitations:

Image: Only official images are supported. Custom images created from snapshots are not supported.
Mount path: Only the root directory of a file system can be mounted, not subdirectories.

Note

If automatic mounting does not meet your needs, manually mount the file system after instance creation. Mount a file system on an ECS instance.

Mount a single NAS file system

Log on to the ECS console.

Create an ECS instance. Use Custom Launch to create an instance.

On the Custom Launch page, set these key parameters:

Region: Select the region of your NAS file system.
Network and Zone: Select the same VPC, vSwitch, and availability zone as your NAS file system for optimal performance.
Instance Type: Select an instance type that meets your workload requirements.
Image: Select an image. CentOS 7.6 is recommended for Linux, and Windows Server 2019 Datacenter for Windows.

Storage: In the NAS File System (Optional) section, click Add File System and configure the following parameters.

Parameter	Description
File system	Linux images require an NFS file system. Windows images require an SMB file system.
Mount target	Provides network connectivity between NAS and ECS. Must be in the same VPC as the ECS instance. If no options are available, create one first. Create a mount target.
Mount path	The local path where the file system is mounted. Example: /mnt for Linux or a drive letter such as Z for Windows.
Protocol type	For NFS file systems, select NFSv3 or NFSv4.0. NFSv3 is recommended unless you need file locking. For an SMB file system, select SMB.

Mount multiple NAS file systems

Click Add File System for each file system and configure its settings:

Mount Target:
- All mount targets must be in the same VPC.
- If no mount targets are available in the VPC, add them to your file system first. Create a mount target.
Mount Path:
- Each mount path must be unique.
- For Linux images, nested paths are allowed, such as /mnt and /mnt/sub.

Note

If you need to mount more than five file systems, submit a ticket.

Verify the mount

The NAS file system mounts automatically after instance creation and remounts on each restart. To verify:

Linux instances

Connect to the ECS instance.

Run df -h to verify the mount.

[root@xxx ~]# df -h
Filesystem                                Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
/dev/vda1                                  40G  1.8G   36G   5% /
devtmpfs                                  3.8G     0  3.8G   0% /dev
tmpfs                                     3.8G     0  3.8G   0% /dev/shm
tmpfs                                     3.8G  452K  3.8G   1% /run
tmpfs                                     3.8G     0  3.8G   0% /sys/fs/cgroup
xxx xxx.cn-shenzhen.nas.aliyuncs.com:/    1.0P  1.1G  1.0P   1% /mnt
tmpfs                                     768M     0  768M   0% /run/user/0

Used shows consumed storage. Size shows total file system capacity, which is not the basis for billing.

Note

The mount configuration is stored in /etc/fstab. To modify it, see Mount an NFS file system.

Windows instances

Connect to the ECS instance.
Open File Explorer. The mounted SMB file system appears as a network drive.
If the mapped drive does not appear, you can access it by entering its path, such as \\<mount-target-domain>\myshare, in the File Explorer address bar. Replace <mount-target-domain> with the domain of your mount target.

Note

The mount configuration is stored in c:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\StartUp\my_mount.bat. Modify this file as needed.