Introduction

1. Introduction

EBS NVME Reservation is a collection of industry-standard storage protection protocols. These protocols are crucial in environments where multiple instances need to access a shared volume, as seen with io2 volumes that have Multi-Attach enabled in the cloud environment. The primary purpose of EBS NVME Reservation is to control and coordinate this access to ensure data consistency and prevent conflicts.

Io2 volumes are a type of cloud storage that provide high performance and durability. When the Multi-Attach feature is enabled, these volumes allow multiple compute instances to access the same volume simultaneously. This feature is particularly useful for applications requiring shared storage, such as databases or clustered file systems, and need to maintain high availability and data redundancy.

2. Requirements

2.1 Requirements for Instances

  • Nitro System Dependency: To use io2 volumes with Multi-Attach enabled with EBS NVME Reservation, instances must be built on the Nitro system. This is a hardware and software platform used by several cloud service providers to offer enhanced networking features, fast storage, and security.

2.2 Supported Operating Systems

  • Compatibility List: EBS NVME Reservation with Multi-Attach enabled io2 volumes is compatible with specific versions of operating systems, as follows:
    • SUSE Linux Enterprise 12 SP3 and higher: Starting with Service Pack 3 (SP3) of SUSE Linux Enterprise 12, EBS NVME Reservation is supported, ensuring compatibility with this Linux distribution.
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 8.3 and higher: Support starts from version 8.3 onwards for RHEL, a widely used enterprise Linux operating system.
    • Amazon Linux 2 and higher: Amazon’s own Linux distribution, Amazon Linux 2, also supports EBS NVME Reservation from its second version onwards.

3. Activating EBS NVME Reservation on io2 Volumes with Multi-Attach

3.1 Default Support for New Volumes

  • Automatic Activation After September 18, 2023: For all Multi-Attach enabled io2 volumes created from September 18, 2023, onwards, EBS NVME Reservation support is enabled by default. No additional actions are required for these volumes to utilize EBS NVME Reservation capabilities.

3.2 Activating EBS NVME Reservation for Existing Volumes

  • Volumes Before September 18, 2023: For io2 volumes created before September 18, 2023, additional steps are needed to activate EBS NVME Reservation.
    • Step 1: Detach Instances: The first step involves detaching all instances currently attached to the volume. This action is important as it prepares the volume for reconfiguration.
    • Step 2: Reattach Instances: After detaching all instances, the necessary instances must then be reattached to the volume. This reattachment process activates EBS NVME Reservation support for the volume.
    • Activation Post-Detachment: Once all instances have been detached and the necessary instances reattached, EBS NVME Reservation will be activated for all subsequent attachments. This ensures that any future instance attachments will automatically support EBS NVME Reservation.