> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.siderolabs.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Create a Storage Pool > Declare a storage pool on a Talos volume, check its status, and change or remove it. export const version = 'v1.14'; A storage pool is where a host keeps the writable disks of its virtual machines. The pool is declared in the machine configuration with a [`StoragePool`](../../talos/v1.15/reference/configuration/storage/storagepool) document, and Talos creates it in libvirt as a directory on a Talos volume. This page shows how to create a storage pool, check its status, and change or remove it. The host needs the `libvirtd` system extension, whose `ext-virtstoraged` service manages storage pools. To install it, see [Install a hypervisor host](../getting-started/install-a-hypervisor-host). In the commands on this page, replace `` with the IP address of the host. ## Create a storage pool A storage pool is stored on a Talos volume. The volume is declared in its own document, using one of these types: * A `UserVolumeConfig`, for a directory, partition, or disk on the host. * An `ExistingVolumeConfig`, for a volume that already exists on the host. * An [`ExternalVolumeConfig`](../../talos/v1.15/reference/configuration/block/externalvolumeconfig), for a volume mounted from outside the host, such as an NFS export. NFS support was added in Talos Linux v1.15. The volume has two requirements: * It must be writable and have a filesystem. * It can back only one storage pool. Each storage pool and each content library needs its own volume. Talos stores the pool in a directory with the pool's name, inside the volume. The following steps create a storage pool on a directory volume and check that it is ready. 1. Run the following command to create `storage-pool.yaml`, which declares a directory volume named `vm-disks` and a storage pool named `pool1` that uses it: ```bash theme={null} cat <<'EOF' > storage-pool.yaml apiVersion: v1alpha1 kind: UserVolumeConfig name: vm-disks volumeType: directory --- apiVersion: v1alpha1 kind: StoragePool name: pool1 volume: name: vm-disks EOF ``` The `volume.name` field names the volume the pool uses. The pool's `name` can be up to 63 characters long and must start with a letter or digit. It can contain only ASCII letters, digits, hyphens, and underscores. 2. Apply the documents to the host: ```bash theme={null} talosctl patch machineconfig --nodes --patch storage-pool.yaml ``` 3. Check that the pool is ready: ```bash theme={null} talosctl get storagepoolstatuses --nodes ``` Talos reports each pool's state in a `StoragePoolStatus` resource, with the following columns: * `PHASE` is `ready` once the pool is defined and active in libvirt. * `TARGET` is the pool's directory on the host. * `ERROR` explains why a pool is not ready. * `VOLUME` is the backing volume's ID, which Talos derives from its name. For example, a `UserVolumeConfig` named `vm-disks` has the ID `u-vm-disks`. ## Change a storage pool's volume To point a pool at a different volume, change its `volume.name` and apply the change to the host. Talos then uses a directory on the new volume for the pool. Disk files in the old directory are not moved. A virtual machine disk in the pool gets a new, empty file on the new volume, and its data stays on the old volume. The change waits until no running virtual machine uses the pool. Until then, the pool's `PHASE` is `notReady`, and its `ERROR` says that the pool is held. The following steps point `pool1` at a new directory volume named `vm-disks-2`. 1. Run the following command to create `storage-pool-new-volume.yaml`, which declares the new volume and points `pool1` at it: ```bash theme={null} cat <<'EOF' > storage-pool-new-volume.yaml apiVersion: v1alpha1 kind: UserVolumeConfig name: vm-disks-2 volumeType: directory --- apiVersion: v1alpha1 kind: StoragePool name: pool1 volume: name: vm-disks-2 EOF ``` 2. Apply the documents to the host: ```bash theme={null} talosctl patch machineconfig --nodes --patch storage-pool-new-volume.yaml ``` 3. Check that the pool uses the new volume: ```bash theme={null} talosctl get storagepoolstatuses --nodes ``` The `VOLUME` column shows `u-vm-disks-2`, and `PHASE` shows `ready` once the pool is active on the new volume. ## Remove a storage pool Removing a pool stops it and removes it from libvirt. The pool's files and its volume are not deleted, so its data stays on the volume. A pool cannot be removed while a virtual machine disk uses it. The patch that removes the pool must also remove those virtual machines, or change their disks to use a different pool. The following steps remove the `pool1` storage pool. 1. Run the following command to create `storage-pool-delete.yaml`, a patch that deletes the `pool1` document: ```bash theme={null} cat <<'EOF' > storage-pool-delete.yaml apiVersion: v1alpha1 kind: StoragePool name: pool1 $patch: delete EOF ``` 2. Apply it to the host: ```bash theme={null} talosctl patch machineconfig --nodes --patch storage-pool-delete.yaml ``` 3. Check that `pool1` no longer appears in the output: ```bash theme={null} talosctl get storagepoolstatuses --nodes ``` ## Next steps To add a writable disk in a storage pool to a virtual machine, see [Disks](../virtual-machines/create-and-configure-a-virtual-machine#disks). To store the images that virtual machines boot from, see [Upload and manage images](./upload-and-manage-images). This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.