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Adding Storage to DSX

You can add storage to a DSX node after the initial installation is complete. Each of these steps are detailed in the sections that follow:

  1. Add storage [External task]

  2. Refresh the configuration [Hammerspace task]

  3. Create a logical volume [Hammerspace task]

  4. Register the new volume [Hammerspace task]

Part 1: Adding Storage

This step is done outside of the Hammerspace interface. This example has added storage using the VMware vCenter interface. The DSX node automatically detects this storage and adds the new block devices at the operating system level. Additional steps, described in Steps 2 and 3 below, are required before the new storage is usable.

It is also possible to use a Fibre Channel storage area network (FC SAN) or an Internet Small Computer Systems Interface storage area network (iSCSI SAN) to add new storage; however, multi-pathing options are not available. In a VMware environment, it is recommended that the hypervisor present the storage to the virtual machine so that it is configured to support multi-pathing.

Part 2: Refreshing the DSX Configuration

  1. On Anvil, log in as administrator and execute node-refresh on the DSX where you added new storage.

    Admin CLI

    Command:

    node-refresh --name dsx.example.com --rescan

    Expected output:

    Name:                          dsx.example.com
    Type:                          Product
    Product node type:             DSX
    Internal ID:                   1073741832
    ID:                            406901cd-c185-5a5d-93b1-8ad3e91a5809
    HW state:                      OK
    Node state:                    MANAGED
    Node mode:                     ONLINE
    <Additional output removed for brevity>
    • node-list: Identify the correct DSX.

    • node-refresh options:

      • --id: ID of the DSX node.

      • --rescan: Forces the DSX to discover new block devices. Does not affect existing, already discovered devices. This is a required option when adding new storage.

Part 3: Creating a New Logical Volume

  1. Identify the added block device(s) first. In this example, the device added is /dev/sdb:

    Admin CLI

    Command:

    drive-list --node-name dsx.example.com

    Expected output:

    total 6
    Type:                    Hdd
    ID:                      11967fd2-1caa-4f3e-b81e-59d8e6b62a02
    Name:                    /dev/dm-1
    State:                   OK
    
    Type:                    Hdd
    ID:                      1dc3944b-4b10-40f7-8155-1eee83d73852
    Name:                    /dev/sda
    State:                   OK
    
    Type:                    Hdd
    ID:                      3f827138-aa01-4db2-bd40-404c69b68669
    Name:                    /dev/sdc
    State:                   OK
    
    Type:                    Hdd
    ID:                      6c301217-cf61-45f5-918a-517bd21db199
    Name:                    /dev/sdb
    State:                   OK
    
    Type:                    Hdd
    ID:                      b38b67e2-6634-44a1-a7a5-372223a27506
    Name:                    /dev/dm-0
    State:                   OK
    
    Type:                    Hdd
    ID:                      bf256e29-b1a6-4b78-a4ce-199dc8ca43da
    Name:                    /dev/dm-2
    State:                   OK
  2. Create a logical volume using the new device path with the --device-path option.

    Admin CLI

    Command:

    logical-volume-create --node-name dsx.example.com --device-path /dev/sdb

    Expected output:

    Type:                    Logical Volume
    ID:                      42a939fe-7ee7-4208-b950-c781077fc88c
    Name:                    /hsvol0
    Exported path:           /hsvol0
    Addresses:
                             [IP: 192.0.2.21/20, Port: 3049, NetId: tcp, NodeNum: 0]
    Node:                    dsx.example.com
    Usage:                   DS
    Reserved:                false
    Filesystem type:         XFS
    Capacity:                [Total: 21.4GB]
    Hardware:
                             [Type: Hdd, ID: fd037f43-3880-475b-a8bc-6852a0d8c817, Name: /dev/sdb, State: OK]

Part 4: Registering the New Volume

This step creates a new file system on the logical volume and adds the new volume into the available storage configuration. Depending on how the system objectives are configured, it is possible that data will be placed on the new volume as soon as this step is complete.

The logical-volume-name is found in the output from the previous command.
Add the volume

Command:

volume-add --logical-volume-name /hsvol0 --node-name dsx.example.com

Expected output:

ID:                      eddc2054-ddba-4315-b15c-d0afd2a90eaa
Name:                    dsx.example.com::/hsvol0
Internal ID:             15
Discovered addresses:
                         [IP: 192.0.2.21/20, Port: 3049, NetId: tcp, NodeNum: 0]
Effective IPs:
                         [IP: 192.0.2.21/20, Port: 3049, NetId: tcp, NodeNum: 0]
Path:                    /hsvol0
State:                   OK
Access type:             Read Write
Node:                    dsx.example.com
Oper state:              Up
Admin state:             Up
Capacity:                [Total: 21.4GB, Used: 225MB (1%), Free: 21.2GB]
Capabilities:            Max read IOPs:            35782
                         Max write IOPs:           772
                         Min read latency:         0.144167064 milliseconds
                         Min write latency:        3.6410911550000002 milliseconds
                         Max read bandwidth:       2255200 KB/s
                         Max write bandwidth:      148365 KB/s
                         NFS read request size:    1.0 MiB
                         NFS write request size:   1.0 MiB
                         Tolerable read latency:   100000 milliseconds
                         Tolerable write latency:  100000 milliseconds
                         High threshold:           75%
                         Low threshold:            60%
                         Availability:             99%
                         Availability (effective): 99%
                         Availability drop:        Disabled
                         Durability:               99.9%
                         Durability (effective):   99.9%
                         Clone status:             Functional
                         Online delay:             Online
Created:                 2026-09-22 00:35:03 UTC
Modified:                2026-09-22 00:35:03 UTC
Root file handle:        0100060064472081d8e54c58b65cdb219cdccf3f
Locations:
                         [Type: Node, ID: 406901cd-c185-5a5d-93b1-8ad3e91a5809, Name: dsx.example.com]
                         [Type: Storage Volume, ID: eddc2054-ddba-4315-b15c-d0afd2a90eaa, Name: dsx.example.com::/hsvol0]
                         [Type: Volume Group, ID: c368268b-6a9b-4b40-99ef-5cc6f59b55ff, Name: all]
Random writes:           Enabled

The new volume will be viewable in the UI after a short wait as the system refreshes.