ownCloud is a capable solution for storing your digital life on a private server. By default, data is saved on the same partition as the operating system, which may lead to a lack of free disk space. For instance, with high-resolution pictures and high-definition videos continuously being backed up, it is easy to run out of space. As your storage needs grow, it may become necessary to move ownCloud's
data directory. Whether you are adding more space or just looking to change the default storage location, this tutorial will guide you through relocating ownCloud’s data directory.Prerequisites
Before you begin using this guide, an ownCloud server needs to be installed and configured. You can set one up by following this guide. If our installation guide was used, then the
data directory is in ownCloud’s web root, which by default is located at /var/www/owncloud.In this example, we are moving ownCloud’s
data directory to an attached additional storage volume that is mounted at /mnt/owncloud. Regardless of the underlying storage being used, this guide can help you move the
data directory for ownCloud to a new location.Step 1 — Moving the ownCloud Data Directory
When ownCloud is in use and backend changes are being made, there is the possibility that data may become corrupt or damaged. To prevent that from happening, we will stop Apache with thesystemctl utility:
- sudo systemctl stop apache2
systemctl utility with the status command:
- sudo systemctl status apache2
[Output]
. . .
Stopped LSB: Apache2 web server.
Warning: It is highly recommended that you backup your data prior to making any changes.
Copy the contents of the
data directory to a new directory using the rsync command. Using the -a flag preserves the permissions and other directory properties, while the -v flag provides verbose output so you can monitor the progress. In the example below, we back up our content into a new directory, owncloud-data-bak, within our user's home directory.
- sudo rsync -av /var/www/owncloud/data/ ~/owncloud-data-bak/
Now that Apache is stopped, we will move the
data directory to the new location using the mv command:
- sudo mv /var/www/owncloud/data /mnt/owncloud/
data directory relocated, we will update ownCloud so that it’s aware of this change.Step 2 — Pointing ownCloud to the New Data Location
ownCloud stores its configurations in a single file, which we will edit with the new path to thedata directory.Open the file with the
nano editor:
- sudo nano /var/www/owncloud/config/config.php
datadirectory variable and update its value with the new location./var/www/owncloud/config/config.php
. . .
'datadirectory' => '/mnt/owncloud/data',
. . .
data directory moved and the configuration file updated, we are ready to confirm that our files are accessible from the new storage location.Step 3 — Starting Apache
Now, we can start Apache using thesystemctl command and regain access to ownCloud:
- sudo systemctl start apache2
https://server_domain_or_IP/owncloud
ownCloud is a web application and does not have a way to verify the integrity of its configuration. Therefore, access to the web interface means the operation was successful.
Conclusion
In this tutorial, we expanded the amount of disk space available to ownCloud. We accomplished this by moving its
data directory to an additional storage volume. Although we were using a block storage device, the instructions here should be applicable for relocating the data directory regardless of the technology being used.