For Zone KVM-based virtual servers (VPS), you can increase disk space, but not decrease it. This is due to a number of technical and practical limitations that make reducing the disk space of an existing server highly insecure and unreliable.
You can read more about how to modify VPS resources here.
The main reasons why a reduction is not possible
1. Technical limitations of file systems
Most file systems in common distributions (e.g. ext4, XFS) do not allow you to safely shrink an existing partition, as this always carries the risk of data corruption.
2. The virtual disk structure does not support downsizing
VPS uses disk space in the form of a virtual disk (for example, a .qcow2 file). This volume can be increased, but reducing it would require complex manual work. There is still a risk of data loss at every step:
- Shrinking the file system from the inside out.
- Reducing partitions.
- Reducing virtual disk space.
3. High operational risk and risk of data loss
These are time-consuming and risky operations that cannot be automated or provided as a service because:
- the whole process is very specific and requires specialists with deep knowledge.
- each VPS is unique, i.e. it has its own characteristics.
- irreversible data loss can be caused by one wrong step.
4. What can be done as an alternative?
- Creating a new smaller VPS: we recommend ordering a new VPS with the desired smaller disk size and the same OS.
- Data migration: using, for example,
rsyncor a backup or snapshot created in your own container, you can migrate your data to a new VPS. - IP address replacement: after everything is set up on the new server, Zone customer support can offer IP address replacement as a paid service so that the new VPS container retains the old VPS address. To do so, please send a request to info@zone.ee.