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Hari Bantwal
Hari Bantwal

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OCI Instance with External Block Volume

#oci #volume #selfhost #productivity

There are moments when simple tasks can slow down our progress, often because they're not part of our regular routine. A recent experience brought this to my attention when I decided to delve into self-hosting for Windmill.dev and Supabase.

I realized that I needed external references to navigate the foundational aspects due to the multitude of available approaches. This post serves as a record of this experience, with the hope that the lessons learned can be valuable in future, more intricate endeavors.

Objective: Provision Instance in OCI, with external Block volumes to cater to Different Docker Services

Create compute instance through OCI Console
Create Instance

With below information:

Image: Oracle Linux 8
Shape: Ampere VM.Standard.A1.Flex
Cost: CHF 2.00/month
Subnet: Public
Add SSH Keys: Yes

Create Block Volumes through OCI Console
Create Block Volume

With below information:

Volume size: 50 GB Estimated Price: CHF 0.02301885/GB
Volume performance: Balanced 10 VPUs at CHF 0.00153459/PU/GB
IOPS: 25,000 IOPS (60 IOPS/GB)

Attach the Block Volume to the Instance
Navigate to Attached Instances on Block Volume Screen
Attach with below information

Attachment type: ISCSI
Access Type: Read/Write
Instance: Created in Step 1
Device path: /dev/oracleoci/oraclevdb

Run iSCSI commands & information

iSCSI commands to connect should be run using the commands shown "Attached Block Volumes"

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Remote SSH to the Instance to run the commands

ssh -i <Your SSH Private Key> opc@<PUBLIC_IP> sudo iscsiadm -m node -o new -T ... sudo iscsiadm -m node -o update -T ... sudo iscsiadm -m node -T ...
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Create Disk Partition, Create File System Mount File System

sudo fdisk -l /dev/oracleoci/oraclevdb sudo mkfs -t ext4 /dev/oracleoci/oraclevdb
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Mount file system

sudo mkdir /vol sudo mount /dev/oracleoci/oraclevdb /vol
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OCI Block Volume is now mounted on Instance under the path /vol

Entry in /etc/fstab file for mounting after instance restart

/dev/oracleoci/oraclevdb /var/html-bv ext4 defaults,_netdv,nofail 0 2

How to Detach

  • Unmount the drive 
sudo umount /vol
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  • Run the disconnect commands 
sudo iscsiadm -m node -T iqn.... sudo iscsiadm -m node -o delete -T iqn....
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Find the commands below iSCSI commands & information

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  • Detach the instance

Blockvoulume is extended, How to make it available

After extending the Blockvolume, commands to run for repartition

 ubuntu@instance-wordpress-template-755807:~$ sudo parted /dev/oracleoci/oraclevdb GNU Parted 3.4 Using /dev/sdb Welcome to GNU Parted! Type 'help' to view a list of commands. (parted) unit s (parted) print Model: ORACLE BlockVolume (scsi) Disk /dev/sdb: 4294967296s Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/4096B Partition Table: msdos Disk Flags: Number Start End Size Type File system Flags 1 2048s 2147483647s 2147481600s primary ext4 (parted) rm 1 Warning: Partition /dev/sdb1 is being used. Are you sure you want to continue? Yes/No? Yes Error: Partition(s) 1 on /dev/sdb have been written, but we have been unable to inform the kernel of the change, probably because it/they are in use. As a result, the old partition(s) will remain in use. You should reboot now before making further changes. Ignore/Cancel? Ignore (parted) mkpart Partition type? primary/extended? primary File system type? [ext2]? ext4 Start? 2048 End? 100% (parted) quit Information: You may need to update /etc/fstab.
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Resize the extended Block Volume

sudo resize2fs /dev/oracleoci/oraclevdb1 df -h
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