Is there any difference between /dev/sd[f-p] to /dev/xvd[a-z] when assigned a device name to a volume in EC2

When assigning a volume to EC2 there are options for setting the device name /dev/sd[f-p] to /dev/xvd[a-z]. does sd series have any different between xvd series? the volume I am attaching is General Purpose SSD (gp2)


Solution 1:

  • /dev/sd* (SCSI Disk) are set for Boot devices
  • /dev/xvd* (XEN Virtual Device) are set for Extension devices

Based on the AWS Docs, the following apply:

  1. "/dev/sda1" is reserved for ROOT Volume on both Windows and Linux.
  2. "xvd*" is recommended for EBS and Instance Store in Windows.
  3. "/dev/sd*" is recommended for EBS and Instance Store in Linux.

Detailed information in the links below:

  • Device naming on Linux instances - Available device names - https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/device_naming.html#available-ec2-device-names
  • Device naming on Windows instances - Available device names - https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/WindowsGuide/device_naming.html#available-ec2-device-names