Can I use EBS Multi-Attach volumes to turn on multiple EC2 instances to simultaneously access a standard file system?

Resolution

EBS Multi-Attach doesn't support standard file systems. Standard file systems such as XFS, EXT3, EXT4, and NTFS aren't designed to be simultaneously accessed by multiple servers or EC2 instances. These file systems don't have built-in mechanisms to manage the coordination and control of writes, reads, locks, caches, mounts, fencing, and so on.

Allowing multiple servers to simultaneously access a standard file system can result in data corruption or loss.

EBS Multi-Attach allows the attachment of a single io1 Provisioned IOPS volume to up to 16 Nitro-based instances in the same Availability Zone. EBS Multi-Attach volumes can be used as a block-level subcomponent of an overall shared storage solution. It's a best practice to consider the potential pitfalls and configuration requirements before you try to configure and operate shared storage systems. For more information, see Considerations and limitations.

Related information

Work with Multi-Attach