For users who prefer full control over their data or have existing storage infrastructures, External Storage provides the flexibility to integrate cloud or on-premises storage solutions directly into the VESSL platform. This allows users to connect their preferred storage without migrating data into VESSL.

​
Integrate External Storage

In YAML, external storage volumes are specified as volume://{storage-name}/{volume-name}.

​
1. Cloud object storage

VESSL supports AWS S3 and Google Cloud Storage as external cloud storage options. Follow the steps below to integrate cloud storage:
1

Integrate cloud credentials

Integrating AWS S3 or Google Cloud Storage is straightforward. Navigate to Organization settings > Integrations and add your credentials.
2

Integrate external storage

After adding credentials, integrate your external storage using the bucket path. Click Test connection to validate the credentials, and then click Integrate.
3

Create a new volume

Create a volume in the external storage for use in workloads.
You cannot create files or folders directly in External Storage volumes. These must be managed at the source.
4

Import the volume to run

When creating a run in the web console, create a directory (e.g., /dataset) and import the volume from External Storage as follows:Alternatively, you can manually specify the volume in the YAML editor:
import:
    /dataset: volume://{storage-name}/{volume-name}
5

Export a workload volume to storage

To export your workload’s data to External Storage, create a new directory (e.g., /output), and export the data as follows:Alternatively, you can manually specify the export in the YAML editor:
 export:
     /output: volume://{storage-name}/
6

Locate the exported volume

Navigate to Run > Files to find he file tree of the executed run.
Follow the export volume link to access the data in External Storage.

​
2. On-Premises storage

VESSL supports NFS (Network File System) and host path volumes for users who maintain on-premises storage solutions. You can integrate and use data from on-premises storage by following these steps:
1

Integrate external storage

On-premises storage is bound to a specific cluster.
Integrate external storage with the NFS or host path options. Click theIntegrate button.
2

Mount the volume to a run

NFS volumes can be directly mounted to runs, reducing initialization time and making it ideal for large datasets.
Alternatively, you can manually specify the mount in the YAML editor:
mount:
  /mnt: volume://{storage-name}/{volume-name}
Similar to VESSL Storage, you can tag external storage volumes for easy search and retrieval. Tags are supported across both cloud and on-premises storage, ensuring a consistent experience.