StarCluster has the ability to Amazon Elastic Block Storage volumes for persistent storage. These volumes can be anywhere from 1GB to 1TB in size. StarCluster will mount each volume specified in a cluster template to the MOUNT_PATH specified in the volume’s configuration section on the master node. This MOUNT_PATH is then shared on all nodes using the network file system (NFS).
StarCluster has the ability to create new EBS volumes via the createvolume command. This command completely automates the process of creating a new EBS volume, launching a host instance to attach the volume on, partitioning the volume, formatting the volume, and terminating the host instance afterwards.
Currently, the createvolume command only supports partitioning the entire volume into a single partition that uses all of the space on the device. The idea being that if you really need more than one partition, you’re probably better off creating a new volume entirely. If this is not the case and you have a reasonable use-case for partitioning an EBS volume into more than one partition, please send a note to the StarCluster mailing list (starcluster@mit.edu).
To have StarCluster create, partition, and format a new volume for you automatically simply run:
$ starcluster createvolume 20 us-east-1c
The above command will create, partition, and format a new 20GB volume in the us-east-1c availability zone. If you wish to leave the host instance used to partition/format the new volume running after creating the volume:
$ starcluster createvolume --no-shutdown 20 us-east-1c
This will leave the host instance running with the new volume attached. Use the listinstances command to list all instances and find the volume host:
$ starcluster listinstances
Once you've identified the volume host's instance id you can then login using:
$ starcluster sshinstance i-9d23ad31
It is recommended to use the createvolume command mentioned above to create new volumes for use with StarCluster. Below are instructions on how to manually create, partition, and format a new EBS volume using ElasticFox. These instructions are mostly for reference and should only be used if the createvolume command is not working or does not meet your partitioning needs.