mkfs -L option to add a filesystem label. Labels stay consistent and work as an alternative to /dev/disk/by-id links.
Naming Conventions for DigitalOcean Volumes Block Storage
Validated on 29 Nov 2025 • Last edited on 12 Jan 2026
Volumes are network-attached block storage. You can use them with Droplets or Kubernetes clusters, move or resize them, and create snapshots at any time.
DigitalOcean Volumes use naming conventions for device files, automatic mount points, and systemd unit files. These conventions help you identify the correct device and ensure consistent behavior across reboots.
The following examples show how a volume name maps to each of these components:
| Name | /dev/disk/by-id Link |
Automatic Mount Point | Mount Unit File in /etc/systemd/system |
|---|---|---|---|
example |
scsi-0DO_Volume_example |
/mnt/example |
mnt-example.mount |
volume-nyc1-01 |
scsi-0DO_Volume_volume-nyc1-01 |
/mnt/volume_nyc_01 |
mnt-volume_nyc_01.mount |
The sections that follow explain how each of these naming patterns works.
Volume Identifiers
Linux represents hardware devices using special files in the /dev directory, such as sda and sdb. These names can change between reboots, so we recommend using the /dev/disk/by-id symbolic links, which stay consistent and reliably identify each volume.
/dev/disk/by-id Links
DigitalOcean creates a /dev/disk/by-id link for every volume. Each identifier uses the following parts, in order:
scsi-0DO_Volume_.- The volume name, such as
volume-nyc1-01. - A partition suffix, such as
-part1, if the volume has partitions.
For example, the full device identifier is /dev/disk/by-id/scsi-0DO_Volume_volume-nyc1-01, and the first partition is /dev/disk/by-id/scsi-0DO_Volume_volume-nyc1-01-part1.
Map /dev/disk/by-id Links to /dev/sd* Names
Some tools display traditional /dev/sd* names when you provide a /dev/disk/by-id link. To confirm which device the link points to, run the following command:
file /dev/disk/by-id/*This command returns which /dev/sd* device each /dev/disk/by-id link points to:
/dev/disk/by-id/scsi-0DO_Volume_volume-nyc1-01: symbolic link to ../../sda
/dev/disk/by-id/scsi-0DO_Volume_volume-nyc1-01-part1: symbolic link to ../../sda1Automatic Mounting
Automatic mounting creates a predictable mount point and systemd unit file for each volume. The following examples show how a volume name maps to these paths:
| Name | Automatic Mount Point | Mount Unit File |
|---|---|---|
example |
/mnt/example |
/etc/systemd/system/mnt-example.mount |
volume-nyc1-01 |
/mnt/volume_nyc_01 |
/etc/systemd/system/mnt-volume_nyc_01.mount |
Unit Files
When you create a new volume, you can automatically format and mount it on supported operating systems. Automatic mounting uses systemd, and each mount point has a systemd unit file.
The unit file name is based on the path to the mount point. systemd replaces each / with a -. For example, the mount point /mnt/example becomes /etc/systemd/system/mnt-example.mount.
Mount Points
Automatic mounting places volumes in /mnt using the volume name. For example, a volume named example mounts at /mnt/example.
If the volume name contains hyphens, we replace hyphens with underscores in the mount point. This ensures the mount point name matches the systemd unit file naming rules. For example, the volume volume-nyc1-01 mounts at /mnt/volume_nyc_01.
We apply this naming behavior consistently, even on distributions that do not use systemd.