# What is Origin Cloud Storage?

Storage gives your instances durable block volumes and point-in-time snapshots. Learn the parts, how they relate to images, and how to access them.

Origin Cloud Storage provides durable block volumes for your instances and point-in-time snapshots of those volumes. A volume is a disk that keeps its data independently of any instance. A snapshot captures a volume's data so you can create new volumes or images from it. Most instances get their volumes automatically from their image at launch; this guide covers volumes and snapshots as resources you manage yourself.

## How the parts fit together [#how-the-parts-fit-together]

Data moves between volumes, snapshots and images like this:

- **Import**: a disk image at a URL becomes a volume.
- **Create snapshot**: a volume becomes a snapshot.
- **Create volume**: a snapshot becomes a new volume.
- **Create image**: a snapshot becomes an image.
- **Launch**: an image becomes a new instance's volume.

A snapshot becomes usable as a source only after you protect it. For the rules, see [Snapshot states](/docs/storage/snapshots/snapshot-states).

## Features [#features]

- **Volumes**: Durable block disks that you create, import, resize, attach to instances, and delete. See [Volumes](/docs/storage/volumes).
- **Storage classes**: Performance tiers for volumes. `gp1` (general purpose, SSD-backed) is the tier you can select. See [Storage classes](/docs/storage/volumes/storage-classes).
- **Snapshots**: Point-in-time, crash-consistent copies of a volume, used as the source for new volumes and images. See [Snapshots](/docs/storage/snapshots).
- **Disk image import**: Create a volume whose initial content is a disk image you download from an HTTP(S) URL. See [Import a disk image as a volume](/docs/storage/volumes/import).

## Ways to access Storage [#ways-to-access-storage]

- **origin CLI**: The `origin storage` command group covers volumes, storage classes, and snapshots. See [origin storage commands](/docs/storage/reference/cli).
- **GraphQL API**: Volumes, snapshots, and storage classes live under the `pvs` namespace of the API. See [Storage reference](/docs/storage/reference).
- **Origin Cloud console**: The web interface at [console.origincloud.eu](https://console.origincloud.eu), for working with your volumes and snapshots in a browser. These docs cover the CLI and the API.

For installing the CLI and authenticating, see [Access Origin Cloud](/docs/platform/access).

## Related services [#related-services]

- [Instance storage](/docs/compute/instance-storage): how an instance's own volumes are created at launch.
- [Attach and detach volumes](/docs/compute/instance-storage/attach-detach): connect a volume you created to an instance.
- [Create an image](/docs/compute/images/create): turn a protected snapshot into an image you can launch instances from.
- [Pricing](/docs/pricing): how volumes and snapshots are billed.

## Next steps [#next-steps]

- [Create a volume](/docs/storage/volumes/create)
- [Create and protect a snapshot](/docs/storage/snapshots/create-and-protect)
- [Troubleshoot storage](/docs/storage/troubleshooting)