Volumes
Persistent volumes for Standard GPU pods: your data stays when the pod stops, and you pay only for what the volume holds. Confidential Compute has no standalone volumes: every Confidential VM includes its own encrypted disk (320 GB on single-GPU tiers), erased when the VM is stopped, so copy out what you want to keep (rsync, scp or your own S3 bucket) before stopping.
Overview
Volumes are backed by cloud storage and can be attached to your Standard GPU pods, giving you data persistence across rental sessions. They are not hardware-encrypted (no enclave): for sensitive data, use Confidential Compute.
When you attach a volume to your pod, it becomes available at the /mnt directory inside your container, allowing you to easily store and retrieve your data, models, datasets, and other important files.
How It Works
VoltageGPU volumes are implemented using cloud storage technology that seamlessly integrates with your rental containers. When you create a volume, it's allocated in our secure cloud storage infrastructure and can be mounted to any of your active pods.
Key Features
Persistent Storage
Your data remains available even when pods are terminated.
Cross-Pod Access
Attach the same volume to different pods as needed.
Automatic Mounting
Volumes are automatically mounted at /mnt when attached to a pod.
Scalable
Volumes automatically scale with your storage needs.
Getting Started
Step 1: Create a Volume
- Navigate to the VoltageGPU dashboard
- Click "Access" at the bottom of sidebar
- Go to the "Volumes" section
- Click "Create Volume"
- Specify your volume name and description
- Click "Create" to provision your volume
Your volume will be created and ready to attach to any of your pods.
Step 2: Attach Volume to Pod
When deploying a new pod:
- In the pod deployment configuration
- Select your created volume from the "Volumes" dropdown
- Complete your pod deployment as usual
Once your pod is successfully deployed, the volume will be automatically mounted at /mnt inside your container.
Accessing Your Volume
After your pod starts with an attached volume:
# Navigate to your volume
cd /mnt
# List contents
ls -la
# Your persistent data is available hereBilling
Standard volumes are billed on the data actually stored in them, not on a reserved size (there is none: the volume grows with your data). The charge is computed every 15 minutes for the real time elapsed, never a whole hour or month upfront. An empty volume costs nothing.
Volume Pricing
- Standard volumes: $0.000925 per GB per hour, about $0.675 per GB per month (730 h), on the data stored. 100 GB stored for a month is about $67.50.
- Fair use on reads: includes reading your full volume up to 3 times a month; heavier read traffic may be limited or billed separately, we'll contact you first.
- Confidential Compute: no standalone volumes. Each Confidential VM includes its own encrypted disk, erased when the VM stops.
If your balance can no longer cover storage, you get an email and a 7-day grace period (with reminders); after it, an unpaid volume is permanently deleted.
- Storage Cost: Billed based on the amount of data stored
- Always Active: Volumes incur charges even when not attached to a pod
- Pay-as-you-use: Costs scale with your actual storage usage
- Transparent Pricing: Real-time billing updates in your dashboard
Important Billing Note
Volumes continue to incur storage charges even when not attached to any pod. This ensures your data remains persistent and available whenever you need it.
Best Practices
Data Organization
# Recommended directory structure in /mnt
/mnt/
├── datasets/ # Input data and datasets
├── models/ # Trained models and weights
├── checkpoints/ # Training checkpoints
├── outputs/ # Results and generated files
└── backups/ # Important file backupsPerformance Tips
Note
Volume operations may be slower than local storage as data is synced with external cloud storage.
- Use volumes primarily for persistent data storage rather than high-frequency read/write operations
- Store frequently accessed data locally during processing, then save results to volumes
- Use volumes for checkpoint saving during long training runs
- Keep important results on volumes to prevent data loss
- Consider copying critical files from volumes to local storage for intensive processing tasks
Security
- Volumes are private to your account and not accessible by other users
- Volumes are not hardware-encrypted: keep sensitive data on Confidential Compute
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens to my volume if my pod crashes?
Your volume and all data remain completely intact. You can attach the same volume to a new pod and access all your files immediately.
Can I attach one volume to multiple pods simultaneously?
Currently, each volume can only be attached to one pod at a time. However, you can detach and reattach volumes to different pods as needed.
Is there a size limit for volumes?
Volumes automatically scale with your storage needs. You can store as much data as required without pre-defining size limits.
Am I charged for empty volumes?
No. You are only charged for the data actually stored in a volume; an empty volume costs nothing.
Why am I being charged when my volume isn't attached to any pod?
Volumes maintain your data persistently, which requires ongoing storage infrastructure. This ensures your data is always available when you need it.
How can I reduce my volume costs?
Remove unnecessary files, compress large datasets, and delete unused volumes to optimize your storage costs.
Can I access my volume from outside the pod?
Volumes are only accessible from within your rental pods at the /mnt directory. This ensures security and proper access control.
My volume isn't showing up at /mnt. What should I do?
Ensure the volume was properly selected during pod deployment. If the issue persists, restart your pod or contact support.
Ready to Create Your Volume?
Persistent storage for your datasets, models, and checkpoints.