Access Methods

Overview

XSDS exposes storage through multiple access protocols. The appropriate method depends on the consumer application and the storage type being accessed. This page covers all supported access methods with configuration steps for each.

Prerequisites

An active Xloud account with project member access
For CLI access: openstack CLI installed (CLI Setup)
For S3 API access: S3 access keys generated from the Dashboard

Access Method Overview

Access Method	Storage Type	Typical User
Xloud Dashboard	Block, Object	GUI-based management and exploration
`openstack` CLI	Block, Object	Scripted management and automation
S3-compatible API	Object	Application integration, SDK access
NFS / SMB mount	Shared File	Legacy application and workstation access
iSCSI / RBD	Block	Hypervisor-level attachment (managed automatically)

Dashboard Access

Block Storage
Object Storage

Navigate to Volumes

Manage volumes

From the volume list you can:

Create a new volume (click Create Volume)
Attach/Detach volumes to instances (via the Actions menu)
Create Snapshot for point-in-time backup
Extend volume size
Transfer volume to another project

Use the Filter bar to search volumes by name, status, or volume type across large projects.

CLI Access

Block Storage CLI
Object Storage CLI

Authenticate

Load credentials

source openrc.sh

Common volume commands

List volumes

openstack volume list

Create a volume

openstack volume create \
  --size 50 \
  --type ceph-ssd \
  --description "Application data disk" \
  app-data-01

Show volume details

openstack volume show app-data-01

Attach to a running instance

openstack server add volume <INSTANCE_ID> app-data-01

Authenticate

Load credentials

source openrc.sh

Common object storage commands

List containers

openstack container list

Create a container

openstack container create my-bucket

Upload an object

openstack object create my-bucket /local/path/to/file.tar.gz

Download an object

openstack object save my-bucket file.tar.gz

List objects in a container

openstack object list my-bucket

S3-Compatible API

The XSDS object storage service exposes a fully S3-compatible API. Any application or tool that supports the AWS S3 API can connect to XSDS without modification.

Generate Credentials
Python (boto3)
CLI (aws s3)

Navigate to Access Keys

In the Xloud Dashboard, navigate to Project → Object Store → Access Keys and click Create Key.

Save your credentials

The Access Key ID and Secret Access Key are shown once. Store them securely — they cannot be retrieved after the dialog is closed.

Treat S3 access keys as sensitive credentials. Do not commit them to source control. Use environment variables or a secrets manager in application code.

Connect with boto3

import boto3

s3 = boto3.client(
    's3',
    endpoint_url='https://object.<your-domain>',
    aws_access_key_id='YOUR_ACCESS_KEY',
    aws_secret_access_key='YOUR_SECRET_KEY',
    region_name='xloud-region-1'
)

# List buckets
response = s3.list_buckets()
for bucket in response['Buckets']:
    print(bucket['Name'])

# Upload a file
s3.upload_file('local_file.txt', 'my-bucket', 'remote_object.txt')

# Download a file
s3.download_file('my-bucket', 'remote_object.txt', 'downloaded_file.txt')

Configure AWS CLI profile

aws configure --profile xloud
# AWS Access Key ID: YOUR_ACCESS_KEY
# AWS Secret Access Key: YOUR_SECRET_KEY
# Default region name: xloud-region-1
# Default output format: json

List buckets

aws s3 ls --endpoint-url https://object.<your-domain> --profile xloud

Upload a file

aws s3 cp local_file.txt \
  s3://my-bucket/remote_object.txt \
  --endpoint-url https://object.<your-domain> \
  --profile xloud

Sync a directory

aws s3 sync ./local-dir/ \
  s3://my-bucket/remote-dir/ \
  --endpoint-url https://object.<your-domain> \
  --profile xloud

NFS / SMB Mount (Shared File Storage)

NFS (Linux)
SMB (Windows)

Get the NFS export path

Navigate to Project → Shared File Systems → Shares and note the export path for your share (format: <gateway-ip>:/<share-path>).

Mount the share

Create mount point

mkdir -p /mnt/shared-data

Mount via NFS

mount -t nfs \
  -o vers=4,rw,hard,intr \
  <gateway-ip>:/<share-path> \
  /mnt/shared-data

Persist mount across reboots

Add to /etc/fstab:

/etc/fstab entry

<gateway-ip>:/<share-path>  /mnt/shared-data  nfs  vers=4,rw,hard,intr  0  0

Mount is accessible at /mnt/shared-data and persists after reboot.

Get the SMB share path

Navigate to Project → Shared File Systems → Shares and note the SMB UNC path for your share (format: \\<gateway-ip>\<share-name>).

Map network drive

In Windows Explorer, right-click This PC and select Map network drive. Enter the UNC path and provide your Xloud credentials when prompted.Or from PowerShell:

Map network drive (PowerShell)

net use Z: \\<gateway-ip>\<share-name> /user:<USERNAME> <PASSWORD> /persistent:yes

Drive Z: appears in Windows Explorer and is accessible to applications.

Next Steps

Data Protection

Configure replication and erasure coding to protect your data

Snapshots

Create and restore point-in-time snapshots for volumes and buckets

Performance

Storage tiering, deduplication, and caching to optimize I/O

Troubleshooting

Diagnose and resolve common access and connectivity issues

Core Services

Other Services

Access Methods

Overview

Access Method Overview

Dashboard Access

Navigate to Volumes

Manage volumes

Navigate to Object Store

Manage containers and objects

CLI Access

Authenticate

Common volume commands

Authenticate

Common object storage commands

S3-Compatible API

Navigate to Access Keys

Save your credentials

NFS / SMB Mount (Shared File Storage)

Get the NFS export path

Mount the share

Persist mount across reboots

Get the SMB share path

Map network drive

Next Steps

Data Protection

Snapshots

Performance

Troubleshooting

​Overview

​Access Method Overview

​Dashboard Access

Navigate to Volumes

Manage volumes

Navigate to Object Store

Manage containers and objects

​CLI Access

Authenticate

Common volume commands

Authenticate

Common object storage commands

​S3-Compatible API

Navigate to Access Keys

Save your credentials

​NFS / SMB Mount (Shared File Storage)

Get the NFS export path

Mount the share

Persist mount across reboots

Get the SMB share path

Map network drive

​Next Steps

Data Protection

Snapshots

Performance

Troubleshooting

Overview

Access Method Overview

Dashboard Access

CLI Access

S3-Compatible API

NFS / SMB Mount (Shared File Storage)

Next Steps