/workspace
.
For a comparison with other storage types, see Storage options.
If your account lacks sufficient funds to cover storage costs, your network volume may be terminated. Once terminated, the disk space is immediately freed for other users, and Runpod cannot recover lost data. Ensure your account remains funded to prevent data loss.
When to use a network volume
Consider using a network volume when you need:- Persistent data that outlives individual Pods: Keep your data safe and accessible even after a Pod is terminated.
- Shareable storage: Share data across multiple Pods by attaching the same network volume.
- Portable storage: Easily move your working environment and data to a different Pod, perhaps in a different GPU pool if your preferred option isn’t available.
- Efficient data management: Store frequently used models or large datasets to avoid re-downloading them for each new Pod, saving time and bandwidth.
Network volumes are only available for Pods in the Secure Cloud. For more information, see Pod types.
Create a network volume
To create a new network volume:
- Navigate to the Storage page in the Runpod console.
- Select New Network Volume.
-
Configure your volume:
- Select a datacenter for your volume. Datacenter location does not affect pricing, but the datacenter location will determine which GPU types your network volume can be used with.
- Provide a descriptive name for your volume (e.g., “project-alpha-data” or “stable-diffusion-models”).
- Specify the desired size for the volume in gigabytes (GB).
Network volume size can be increased later, but cannot be decreased. - Select Create Network Volume.
Attach a network volume to a Pod
Network volumes must be attached during Pod deployment. They cannot be attached to a previously-deployed Pod, nor can they be unattached later without deleting the Pod.
- Navigate to the Pods page.
- Select Deploy.
- Select Network Volume and select the network volume you want to attach to the Pod from the dropdown list.
- Select a GPU type. The system will automatically tell you which Pods are available to use with the selected network volume.
- Select a Pod Template.
- If you wish to change where the volume mounts, select Edit Template and adjust the Volume Mount Path.
- Configure any other fields as you normally would, then select Deploy On-Demand.
/workspace
by default. Use this directory to upload, download, and manipulate data, and share it with other Pods.
Share data between Pods
You can attach a network volume to multiple Pods, allowing them to share data seamlessly. Multiple Pods can read files from the same volume concurrently, but you should avoid writing to the same file simultaneously to prevent conflicts or data corruption.S3-compatible API
Runpod provides an S3-compatible API that allows you to access and manage files on your network volumes directly, without needing to launch a Pod. This can be particularly useful for:- Uploading large datasets or models before launching your Pod.
- Managing files remotely without maintaining an active Pod connection.
- Automating data workflows using standard S3 tools and libraries.
- Reducing costs by avoiding the need to keep Pods running for file management.
The S3-compatible API is currently available for network volumes in the following datacenters:
EUR-IS-1
, EU-RO-1
, EU-CZ-1
, US-KS-2
, US-CA-2
.