Volume States and Billing
The lifecycle states a Shared Storage Volume can be in, the actions available in each, and how billing applies.
This guide explains the lifecycle states a Shared Storage Volume (SSV) can be in, which actions are available in each state, and how billing applies. Use it to understand why a volume might be temporarily locked out of certain actions and what to do about it.
Volume States Summary
The table below describes each volume state, the actions available to you, and the billing status.
| State | Description | Actions Allowed | Billing |
|---|---|---|---|
AVAILABLE | The volume exists but is not attached to any virtual machine. Ready to be attached or deleted. | Attach, Delete, Update environment | Billed |
IN-USE | The volume is attached to a virtual machine and available for reads and writes. Shown as ATTACHED on the virtual machine's Volumes tab. | Detach (from VM details page) | Billed |
RESERVED | The volume's data remains in storage (which is why billing continues at the standard rate; see more), but its attachment cannot be released. This happens when the VM it is attached to is hibernated, or when the VM is deleted while the volume is still attached. See Reserved Volumes for symptoms, prevention, and recovery steps. | Delete | Billed |
ERROR | The last operation on the volume failed. | Delete (in most cases) | Not Billed |
Transitional States
Volumes pass through transitional states while operations are in progress. No user actions are allowed on a volume while it is in a transitional state. The option will be disabled in the UI until the transition completes.
| State | Description | Billing |
|---|---|---|
CREATING | The volume is being provisioned. | Not Billed |
ATTACHING | The volume is being attached to a virtual machine. | Not Billed |
DETACHING | The volume is being detached from a virtual machine. | Not Billed |
DELETING | The volume is being deleted. | Not Billed |
Billing by Volume State
Volume billing is tied to state. In summary:
- Billed:
AVAILABLE,IN-USE,RESERVED - Not billed:
ERROR, all transitional states - Rate: $0.000096774 per GB per hour (approximately $0.07 per GB/month). Applies to
AVAILABLE,IN-USE, andRESERVEDvolumes.
For the full billing model including virtual machine states, see Virtual Machine States and Billing.
Billing for RESERVED Volumes
Volumes in the RESERVED state continue to be billed at the standard SSV rate because their data remains in storage. To stop charges, either delete the volume if you no longer need the data, or return it to AVAILABLE if you want to reuse it. See Reserved Volumes for symptoms, prevention, and recovery steps.