Add a disk to a node¶

Format a free disk on a node, mount it, and deliver it to Longhorn (replicated storage for Kubernetes) or to Incus (a new pool for containers and VMs).

Destructive

The playbook formats the disk: it deletes any data on it. Confirm the exact device before running it. The playbook has a safety pause and does not reformat a disk that already has a file system.

In the examples: disk /dev/nvme0n1 on the node deborah.

1. Identify the disk¶

Run the node discovery and read the Storage Recommendations section of reports/<nodo>.md:

cd ansible
ansible-playbook -i inventory.ini playbook-discovery.yml --limit deborah

Confirm it also on the node (lsblk -f): the disk must be empty and unmounted.

2. Choose who to deliver to¶

Consumer	When	What the playbook does
`longhorn`	For Kubernetes volumes with node-to-node replication	Mounts the disk and marks the node so Longhorn can use it
`incus`	For more space for Incus containers and VMs	Mounts the disk and creates a new storage pool, separate from the pool `local`

3. Declare it in `host_vars`¶

In host_vars/deborah.yml:

storage_provision_disks:
  - device: /dev/nvme0n1
    consumer: longhorn            # o incus
    mount_path: /var/lib/longhorn-nvme0n1
    filesystem: ext4
    # solo si consumer: incus
    # incus_pool_name: nvme-pool

Without this variable, the playbook does nothing on that node.

4. Apply¶

ansible-playbook -i inventory.ini playbook-storage-provision.yml --limit deborah

Confirm in the safety pause when the device shown is correct.

Verify¶

The ssh logs in with single sign-on (opkssh login before):

# montado, con la entrada en /etc/fstab
ssh devops@deborah.homelab.local findmnt /var/lib/longhorn-nvme0n1

Longhorn:
🖱️ From the UI⌨️ From the console
In the UI, Node → deborah shows the new disk with Schedulable enabled.
The disks on the node are in the resource nodes.longhorn.io; the new disk should appear with the condition Schedulable in True:
kubectl -n longhorn-system get nodes.longhorn.io deborah -o jsonpath='{.status.diskStatus}'
Incus: sudo incus storage list shows the new pool.

If it fails¶

Symptom	Check
The playbook does nothing	Missing `storage_provision_disks` in `host_vars` of the node, or `--limit` points to another node
"Already has filesystem" and does not format	By design: the disk is not empty. Check what it contains before manually deleting it
Longhorn does not show the disk	Wait a minute and check the node annotation: `kubectl get node deborah -o yaml \\| grep longhorn`

More details about the role: storage_provision.