# How to Create a Network File Storage Share

Network File Storage is a fully managed, POSIX-compliant file storage solution built for demanding workloads like AI/ML pipelines, containerized applications, and DigitalOcean Kubernetes (DOKS) clusters. It provides scalable, high-throughput shared storage that simplifies storage management for distributed applications.

To create and use a new Network File Storage (NFS) share, you need to create the share itself, and then mount it on a Droplet or DOKS cluster. NFS shares attach to a single VPC network and can only be mounted by resources within that same network. [Create a VPC network](https://docs.digitalocean.com/products/networking/vpc/how-to/create/index.html.md) for the NFS share in one of the supported datacenters before you begin.

## Create a Share Using Automation

## How to Create a Share Using the DigitalOcean API

1. [Create a personal access token](https://docs.digitalocean.com/reference/api/create-personal-access-token/index.html.md) and save it for use with the API.
2. Send a POST request to [`https://api.digitalocean.com/v2/nfs`](https://docs.digitalocean.com/reference/api/digitalocean//index.html.md#operation/nfs_create).

### cURL

Using cURL:

```shell
curl -X POST \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $DIGITALOCEAN_TOKEN" \
  -d '{"name": "sammy-share-drive", "size_gib": 1024, "region": "atl1", "vpc_ids": ["796c6fe3-2a1d-4da2-9f3e-38239827dc91"]}' \
  "https://api.digitalocean.com/v2/nfs"
```

## Create a Share Using the Control Panel

To create a share from the [control panel](https://cloud.digitalocean.com), click the **Create** menu, then click **Network File Storage**.

On the **Create a Network File Storage Share** page select your options for the new share:

- **Choose a datacenter region**: Select the region to create the share in.
- **VPC network**: Select the VPC network to attach the share to. All Droplet and DOKS resources must be in the same VPC network to access the share.
- **Choose a storage tier**: Select the storage tier for the share. **Standard** provides up to 1 Gbps throughput for general-purpose workloads. **High Performance** provides higher throughput that scales with share size. See [NFS features](https://docs.digitalocean.com/products/nfs/details/features/index.html.md) for a full comparison.
- **Choose a storage size**: Enter the share size in GiB. Standard Tier shares must be at least 50 GiB. High Performance Tier shares must be at least 500 GiB.
- **Finalize**: Enter a name for your share. Names must be lowercase letters and can contain dashes. Names must be unique within your team account.

In the **Summary** section, review the selected configuration, then click **Create Network File Storage** to create your share.

The **Network File Share** overview page loads, where all of your NFS shares are listed in a table with the following details:

- **Name**: The unique name you gave your share.
- **Status**: Whether the share is **New**, **Active**, or **Detached**.
- **VPC Network**: The VPC network the share is attached to.
- **Mount Point**: The IP address and path of the share. Use this to [mount the share on a Droplet](https://docs.digitalocean.com/products/nfs/how-to/mount/index.html.md).
- **Created**: The timestamp of when the share was created.
- **…**: The “more” menu provides **Mounting Instructions**, and actions to [**Resize**](https://docs.digitalocean.com/products/nfs/how-to/resize/index.html.md), **Detach** or **Attach**, and [**Delete**](https://docs.digitalocean.com/products/nfs/how-to/delete/index.html.md).

To use the share, you need to mount it on a Droplet or Kubernetes cluster. You can view mounting instructions from the **…** menu next to the share. Click the **…** menu, then click **Mounting Instructions** to open a window with a mounting guide that has step-by-step instructions, preconfigured with the share’s address, for connecting your share to a Droplet or Kubernetes cluster.

For further information read [How to Mount a Network File Storage Share](https://docs.digitalocean.com/products/nfs/how-to/mount/index.html.md).