> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://gcore-doc-1046.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Configuring file shares
Create NFS-based file shares and mount them to Linux virtual machines, bare metal servers, or GPU clusters.
Two types of file shares are available:
* **Standard** are general-purpose file shares using a Ceph-based backend.
* **VAST** are high-performance type file shares, available in selected GPU-enabled regions.
File share types are **mutually exclusive**, meaning each region has either Standard **or** VAST file shares, but not both.
The best practice is to create VAST shares **when** creating [GPU clusters](/edge-ai/ai-infrastructure/create-a-bare-metal-gpu-cluster) or **before** provisioning the corresponding [compute resources](/cloud/virtual-instances/types-of-virtual-machines) (such as VMs).
The creation flow for both types starts the same. Use the steps below and follow the instructions for the selected file share type.
Please ensure that there are enough quotas to create the file share. To increase quotas, send us a request according to our guide. The quotas for File Shares are located on the Storage tab and include File Share count and File Share size (GiB).
## Prepare the network for Bare Metal
To mount the file share on a bare-metal server, the network must support bare-metal, and these servers require a dedicated VLAN.
If needed, create a new network and enable the **Bare Metal Network** toggle during configuration.
Manually change the OS settings' existing Bare Metal network interface.
## Configure file shares for Linux VMs and Bare Metal
This section describes creating and connecting a standard NFS-based file share using a private network. It can be used with Linux virtual machines or bare-metal servers.
### Step 1. Create a file share
1. In the **Cloud** menu, click **Storage**, select **File Shares**, and click **Create File Share** on the right.
2. In the **Basic settings** panel, enter *File Share name*, specify *Size*, and select **Standard** as the *File Share type*.
3. In the **Network settings** panel, select the private *Network* and *Subnetwork* to use for the file share.
4. In the **Access** panel, click **Add rule** and specify the IP addresses of the resources that should have access to the file share, and their access modes.
5. Set **Additional options**, if required.
### Step 2. Set up NFS client support
Connect to the server via the [Gcore Customer Portal](/cloud/virtual-instances/connect/connect-to-your-instance-via-control-panel) or SSH and set up NFS client support.
For Ubuntu and Debian:
```bash theme={null}
sudo apt -y install nfs-common
```
For CentOS:
```bash theme={null}
sudo yum install nfs-utils
```
### Step 3. Mount the file share
1. Use an existing directory for mounting the share, or create a new one, for example:
```bash theme={null}
sudo mkdir -p /mount/path
```
2. Copy the mount command from the file share **Overview** tab.
Mount the file share:
```bash theme={null}
mount 0.0.0.0:/shares/share-d54589b8-132f-4de4-ae99-af5c6cdfdb9c /mount/path
```
Replace `/mount/path` with the absolute local directory path where the file share should be mounted.
## VAST file shares
VAST-based file shares are only available in regions with GPU support and use a high-performance backend designed for intensive data workloads.
The best practice is to create VAST shares **when** creating [GPU clusters](/edge-ai/ai-infrastructure/create-a-bare-metal-gpu-cluster) or **before** provisioning the corresponding [compute resources](/cloud/virtual-instances/types-of-virtual-machines) (such as VMs).
### Step 1. Create a VAST share
1. In the **Cloud** menu, click **Storage**, select **File Shares**, and click **Create File Share** on the right.
2. In the **Basic settings** panel, enter *File Share name*, specify *Size*, and select **VAST** as the *File Share type*.
3. Set **Additional options**, if required.
When VAST share type is selected, controls in **Network settings** and **Access** panels are disabled, and the network is assigned automatically.
The access rules cannot be configured manually — the VAST share is always available in read/write mode within its assigned network only. This network is not visible in the general **Network** tab. It is only available when attaching interfaces to a resource (VM, Bare Metal, or GPU cluster).
VAST file shares always use read/write access; access rules are not supported.
### Step 2. Add VAST network interface to a compute resource
Once the VAST file share is created, it is best to add the VAST network interface while provisioning the corresponding GPU cluster or compute resource.
#### Adding VAST interface while creating a compute resource
While provisioning a compute resource:
1. Scroll down to the **Network settings** panel.
2. Click **Add interface**.
3. Click the interface to configure, and select the **VAST network**.
4. Continue with provisioning the compute resource.
The VAST network only becomes available after the file share has been created. It is a third, dedicated network, separate and distinct from public and private networks.
#### Adding VAST interface to an existing compute resource
While the VAST interface can be attached to an already-provisioned GPU cluster or compute resource, this requires additional manual network configuration and is not the standard workflow.
The best practice is to create VAST shares **when** creating [GPU clusters](/edge-ai/ai-infrastructure/create-a-bare-metal-gpu-cluster) or **before** provisioning the corresponding [compute resources](/cloud/virtual-instances/types-of-virtual-machines) (such as VMs).
**Attach VAST network interface**
1. Go to server **Resource** settings ([VM](/cloud/virtual-instances/create-an-instance), [Bare Metal](/cloud/bare-metal-servers/create-a-bare-metal-server), or [GPU cluster](/edge-ai/ai-infrastructure/create-a-bare-metal-gpu-cluster)).
2. Select the **Networking** tab and click **Add interface**.
3. Click the **Network** drop-down and select the **VAST network**, then click **Add**.
4. Once the interface is added, **note the following details** for use in subsequent steps:
* **IP** address (such as `198.51.100.25`)
* **MAC** address (such as `fa:16:3e:12:34:56`)
* **CIDR** range (such as `198.51.102.0/22`)
#### Configure attached VAST network interface
This configuration is required only when adding an interface to an existing, already provisioned resource; for interfaces added during resource creation and provisioning, this configuration is performed automatically.
**Automatic configuration with DHCP (recommended)**
DHCP is now enabled on VAST subnets. This automatically provides IP address, CIDR, gateway, and route information when attaching a VAST subnet to a compute resource.
When attaching a VAST subnet to an existing compute resource, use DHCP to automatically configure the network interface. This is the recommended method as it eliminates the need for manual network configuration.
**DHCP configuration for VMs and GPU clusters**
Run the DHCP client on the VAST interface. Replace `enp8s0` with the actual interface name:
```bash theme={null}
sudo dhclient enp8s0
```
**DHCP configuration for Bare Metal servers**
Run the DHCP client on the VAST interface. Replace `ens10f0v0` with the actual interface name:
```bash theme={null}
sudo dhclient ens10f0v0
```
Create the VLAN interface and run the DHCP client. Replace `bond0.2998` with the actual VLAN interface name and VLAN ID:
```bash theme={null}
ip link add link bond0 name bond0.2998 type vlan id 2998
dhcpcd bond0.2998
```
The DHCP client automatically configures the IP address, subnet mask, gateway, and routing information, following the same [network configuration](/cloud/networking/ip-address/create-and-configure-a-reserved-ip-address) approach used across Gcore Cloud.
**Manual configuration (alternative method)**
If you prefer manual configuration or need custom network settings, you can configure the network interface manually.
Connect to the server via the [Gcore Customer Portal](/cloud/virtual-instances/connect/connect-to-your-instance-via-control-panel) or SSH and configure the attached VAST network interface.
1. Use `ip addr` to list all available interfaces.
2. Identify the VAST interface using the MAC address from the previous step.
3. Note the **interface name** (such as `enp8s0` or `enp4s0`) for use in the following steps.
4. Configure the interface as described below for the relevant instance type.
**Configuring VAST interface for VMs and GPU clusters**
Replace `198.51.100.25` with the IP address from Step 2. Replace `enp8s0` with the interface name from above, if different.
Set interface MTU:
```bash theme={null}
sudo ip link set enp8s0 mtu 9000
```
Activate the interface:
```bash theme={null}
sudo ip link set enp8s0 up
```
Set interface CIDR:
```bash theme={null}
sudo ip addr add 198.51.100.25/22 dev enp8s0
```
Add static route to the VAST network. Replace `198.51.100.1` with an address formed by the first three octets from the CIDR range in Step 2, keeping `1` as the last octet for the gateway IP.
```bash theme={null}
sudo ip route add 172.19.252.0/22 via 198.51.100.1 dev enp8s0
```
**Configuring VAST interface for Bare Metal servers**
Bare Metal servers require different configuration depending on the network hardware.
In the commands below, replace `198.51.100.25` with the IP address from Step 2, and replace `ens10f0v0` with the interface name identified above.
Set interface MTU:
```bash theme={null}
sudo ip link set ens10f0v0 mtu 9000
```
Activate the interface:
```bash theme={null}
sudo ip link set ens10f0v0 up
```
Set interface CIDR:
```bash theme={null}
sudo ip addr add 198.51.100.25/22 dev ens10f0v0
```
Add static route to the VAST network. Replace `198.51.100.1` with an address formed by the first three octets from the CIDR range in Step 2, keeping `1` as the last octet for the gateway IP.
```bash theme={null}
sudo ip route add 172.19.252.0/22 via 198.51.100.1 dev ens10f0v0
```
For Bare Metal servers with Arista switches (Trunks), create a VLAN interface on the bond. A bond (link aggregation) combines multiple physical network interfaces into a single logical interface, providing higher throughput and redundancy.
In the commands below, replace `100` with the VLAN ID shown in the **Networking** tab of the server details page, and replace `198.51.100.25` with the IP address from Step 2.
Create VLAN interface on a bond:
```bash theme={null}
sudo ip link add link bond0 name bond0.100 type vlan id 100
```
Activate the interface:
```bash theme={null}
sudo ip link set bond0.100 up
```
Set interface CIDR:
```bash theme={null}
sudo ip addr add 198.51.100.25/22 dev bond0.100
```
Add static route to the VAST network. Replace `198.51.100.1` with an address formed by the first three octets from the CIDR range in Step 2, keeping `1` as the last octet for the gateway IP.
```bash theme={null}
sudo ip route add 172.19.252.0/22 via 198.51.100.1 dev bond0.100
```
### Step 3. Set up VAST NFS client support
This step is **always required** for VAST file shares, regardless of whether they are added during or after resource provisioning.
Connect to the server via the [Gcore Customer Portal](/cloud/virtual-instances/connect/connect-to-your-instance-via-control-panel) or SSH and set up VAST NFS client support.
1. Install NFS client tools:
```bash theme={null}
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install nfs-common -y
```
2. Install build tools and headers for kernel modules:
```bash theme={null}
sudo apt install dkms debhelper dh-dkms build-essential linux-headers-$(uname -r) -y
```
3. Install VAST NFS package:
```bash theme={null}
curl -sSf https://vast-nfs.s3.amazonaws.com/download.sh | bash -s --
```
### Step 4. Mount the file share
Use an existing directory for mounting the share, or create a new one, for example:
```bash theme={null}
sudo mkdir -p /mount/path
```
Mount the VAST file share:
* Replace `ndp1-2-vast.cloud.gc.onl:/manila/manila-01234567-89ab-cdef-0123-456789abcdef` with the connection point from the VAST file share overview tab.
* Replace `/mount/path` with the absolute local directory path where the file share should be mounted.
```bash theme={null}
sudo mount -o vers=3,nconnect=56,remoteports=dns,spread_reads,spread_writes,noextend ndp1-2-vast.cloud.gc.onl:/manila/manila-01234567-89ab-cdef-0123-456789abcdef /mount/path
```
The contents of the VAST file share are now accessible in the specified directory.
Always use NFS version 3 (vers=3) when mounting VAST file shares. If the system does not support the `nconnect` option, install the [VAST Enhanced NFS Client](https://vastnfs.vastdata.com/docs/4.0/download.html).
## Resizing file shares
* **VAST** shares can be resized directly, without being unmounted.
* **Standard** shares must first be unmounted before they can be resized, for example:
```bash theme={null}
umount -lf /mount/path
```
Once resized, file shares can be remounted as described above for each share type.
### Resize file share
This process is the same for both Standard and VAST-based file shares:
1. In the **Cloud** menu, go to the **Storage** tab, select **File Shares**, and click the file share to be resized.
2. In the **Overview** tab, click **Resize** and enter the new share size:
