Add a second disk to system using vagrant

Vagrantfile

file_to_disk = './tmp/large_disk.vdi'

Vagrant::Config.run do |config|
  config.vm.box = 'base'

  config.vm.customize ['createhd', '--filename', file_to_disk, '--size', 500 * 1024]
  config.vm.customize ['storageattach', :id, '--storagectl', 'SATA Controller', '--port', 1, '--device', 0, '--type', 'hdd', '--medium', file_to_disk]
end

Note that there is a plugin to achieve this:
https://github.com/kusnier/vagrant-persistent-storage

Thanks for the gist and helpful comments. Using ubuntu/xenial64, I need to use a higher port number, since this box uses a second config disk, so I've got '--port', 4.

Using ubuntu/xenial64, I need to use a higher port number, since this box uses a second config disk, so I've got '--port', 4.

This was very helpful. I was seeing errors when Vagrant would try to connect the machine otherwise.

==> vm-0: Waiting for machine to boot. This may take a few minutes...
    vm-0: SSH address: 127.0.0.1:2222
    vm-0: SSH username: ubuntu
    vm-0: SSH auth method: password
    vm-0: Warning: Remote connection disconnect. Retrying...
    vm-0: Warning: Remote connection disconnect. Retrying...
    vm-0: Warning: Remote connection disconnect. Retrying...

Trying to SSH in locally was causing the following errors.

ssh_exchange_identification: read: Connection reset by peer

Things seemed to be working using port 2. I believe you can see which ports are in use on the base box by launching a single-disk configuration and looking at the output of vboxmanage showvminfo $VIRTUALBOX_VM_NAME.

just to add, for Virtual box 5.1.12, you can get the controller by running;

14:26:04 $ VBoxManage storagectl
Usage:

VBoxManage storagectl       <uuid|vmname>
                            --name <name>
                            [--add ide|sata|scsi|floppy|sas|usb|pcie]
                            [--controller LSILogic|LSILogicSAS|BusLogic|
                                          IntelAHCI|PIIX3|PIIX4|ICH6|I82078|
                            [             USB|NVMe]
                            [--portcount <1-n>]
                            [--hostiocache on|off]
                            [--bootable on|off]
                            [--rename <name>]
                            [--remove]

Here is what worked for me

Vagrant.configure("2") do |config|
 config.vm.provider "virtualbox" do |vb|
      file_to_disk = 'D:/UniServerZ/www/VM/tealit.com/large_disk.vdi'
      unless File.exist?(file_to_disk)
        vb.customize ['createhd', '--filename', file_to_disk, '--size', 500 * 1024]
      end
      vb.customize ['storageattach', :id, '--storagectl', 'SATA Controller', '--port', 1, '--device', 0, '--type', 'hdd', '--medium', file_to_disk]
   end
end

Here is my solution. It works with VBox 5.2
The disk is stored together with the Virtual Machine

class VagrantPlugins::ProviderVirtualBox::Action::SetName
  alias_method :original_call, :call
  def call(env)
    machine = env[:machine]
    driver = machine.provider.driver
    uuid = driver.instance_eval { @uuid }
    ui = env[:ui]

    # Find out folder of VM
    vm_folder = ""
    vm_info = driver.execute("showvminfo", uuid, "--machinereadable")
    lines = vm_info.split("\n")
    lines.each do |line|
      if line.start_with?("CfgFile")
        vm_folder = line.split("=")[1].gsub('"','')
        vm_folder = File.expand_path("..", vm_folder)
        ui.info "VM Folder is: #{vm_folder}"
      end
    end

    size = 10240
    disk_file = vm_folder + "/disk1.vmdk"

    ui.info "Adding disk to VM"
    if File.exist?(disk_file)
      ui.info "Disk already exists"
    else
      ui.info "Creating new disk"
      driver.execute("createmedium", "disk", "--filename", disk_file, "--size", "#{size}", "--format", "VMDK")
      ui.info "Attaching disk to VM"
      driver.execute('storageattach', uuid, '--storagectl', "SATA Controller", '--port', "1", '--type', 'hdd', '--medium', disk_file)
    end

    original_call(env)
  end
end

Hi could any one tell how can i use an existing hard disk on the host machine to be used as a hard disk of a vagrant VM .
when a vagrant spins up a Vm i want that VM to have the hard disk which is attached to my host VM ,say of 1TB.
and i want to bring one more VM with second hard disk which is also attached to my host VM say of 100gb. how can i do this in VagrantFile.

Adding this to you Vagrantfile might be enough to more thoroughly meet your needs, but will not handling the formatting phase like the plugin can (maybe ideal). The reason I wrote this is that things were going haywire for me if I ran certain vagrant operations after the controller already existed and it tried to create it again.

def sata_controller_exists?(controller_name="SATA Controller")
  `vboxmanage showvminfo storage-host-vm-dev | grep " #{controller_name}" | wc -l`.to_i == 1
end

def port_in_use?(controller_name, port)
  `vboxmanage showvminfo storage-host-vm-dev | grep "SATA Controller (#{port}, " | wc -l`.to_i == 1
end

def attach_hdd(v, controller_name, port, hdd_path)
  unless port_in_use?(controller_name, port)
    v.customize ['storageattach', :id, '--storagectl', 'SATA Controller', '--port', port, '--device', 0, '--type', 'hdd', '--medium', hdd_path]
  end
end

.
.
.
# Note that I have a multi-VM Vagrantfile so run this based on which VM is being iterated over...
if vm[:name] == 'storage-host-vm'
  controller_name = 'SATA Controller'
  v.customize ['storagectl', :id, '--name', controller_name, '--add', 'sata', '--portcount', 4] unless sata_controller_exists?(controller_name)

  file_to_disk = "./packer_cache/#{vm[:name]}_vault_1.vdi"
  v.customize ['createhd', '--filename', file_to_disk, '--size', 1 * 1024] unless File.exist?(file_to_disk)
  attach_hdd(v, controller_name, 0, file_to_disk)
end
.
.
.

In Vagrant 2.1.4, I'm getting:

`instance_eval': stack level too deep (SystemStackError)

It's probably because of the

uuid = driver.instance_eval { @uuid }

Any idea how to fix it?

Trying to run 3 Ubuntu nodes with 3 disks in vagrant.
Has anyone managed to do this?
Below is a WORKING vagrantfile with 3 centos7 nodes with 3 disks.
But it DOESN'T WORK for ubuntu.

$sdb1 = <<-SCRIPT
parted /dev/sdb mklabel msdos
parted /dev/sdb mkpart primary 0% 100%
mkfs.xfs /dev/sdb1
mkdir /mnt/data1
if grep -Fxq "sdb1" /etc/fstab
then
  echo 'sdb1 exist in fstab'
else
  echo `blkid /dev/sdb1 | awk '{print$2}' | sed -e 's/"//g'` /mnt/data1   xfs   noatime,nobarrier   0   0 >> /etc/fstab
fi
if mount | grep /mnt/data1 > /dev/null; then
  echo "/dev/sdb1 mounted /mnt/data1"
  umount /mnt/data1
  mount /mnt/data1
else
  mount /mnt/data1
fi
SCRIPT

$sdc1 = <<-SCRIPT
parted /dev/sdc mklabel msdos
parted /dev/sdc mkpart primary 0% 100%
mkfs.xfs /dev/sdc1
mkdir /mnt/data2
if grep -Fxq "sdc1" /etc/fstab
then
  echo 'sdc1 exist in fstab'
else
  echo `blkid /dev/sdc1 | awk '{print$2}' | sed -e 's/"//g'` /mnt/data2   xfs   noatime,nobarrier   0   0 >> /etc/fstab
fi
if mount | grep /mnt/data2 > /dev/null; then
  echo "/dev/sdc1 mounted /mnt/data2"
  umount /mnt/data2
  mount /mnt/data2
else
  mount /mnt/data2
fi
SCRIPT

$sdd1 = <<-SCRIPT
parted /dev/sdd mklabel msdos
parted /dev/sdd mkpart primary 0% 100%
mkfs.xfs /dev/sdd1
mkdir /mnt/metadata1
if grep -Fxq "sdd1" /etc/fstab
then
  echo 'sdd1 exist in fstab'
else
  echo `blkid /dev/sdd1 | awk '{print$2}' | sed -e 's/"//g'` /mnt/metadata1   xfs   noatime,nobarrier   0   0 >> /etc/fstab
fi
if mount | grep /mnt/metadata1 > /dev/null; then
  echo "/dev/sdd1 mounted /mnt/metadata1"
  umount /mnt/metadata1
  mount /mnt/metadata1
else
  mount /mnt/metadata1
fi
SCRIPT

node1disk1 = "./tmp/node1disk1.vdi";
node1disk2 = "./tmp/node1disk2.vdi";
node1disk3 = "./tmp/node1disk3.vdi";

ip_node1 = "192.168.33.31";

Vagrant.configure("2") do |config|

  config.vm.define "node1" do |node1|
    node1.vm.network "private_network", ip: ip_node1
    node1.vm.hostname = "node1"
    node1.vm.define "node1"
    node1.vm.box_download_insecure = true
    node1.vm.box = "centos/7"
    node1.vm.provider "virtualbox" do |vb|
      vb.memory = "2048"
      if not File.exists?(node1disk1)
        vb.customize ['createhd', '--filename', node1disk1, '--variant', 'Fixed', '--size', 1 * 1024]
        vb.customize ['storageattach', :id,  '--storagectl', 'IDE', '--port', 0, '--device', 1, '--type', 'hdd', '--medium', node1disk1]
      end
      if not File.exists?(node1disk2)
        vb.customize ['createhd', '--filename', node1disk2, '--variant', 'Fixed', '--size', 1 * 1024]
        vb.customize ['storageattach', :id,  '--storagectl', 'IDE', '--port', 1, '--device', 0, '--type', 'hdd', '--medium', node1disk2]
      end
      if not File.exists?(node1disk3)
        vb.customize ['createhd', '--filename', node1disk3, '--variant', 'Fixed', '--size', 1 * 1024]
        vb.customize ['storageattach', :id,  '--storagectl', 'IDE', '--port', 1, '--device', 1, '--type', 'hdd', '--medium', node1disk3]
      end
    end
    node1.vm.provision "shell", inline: $sdb1
    node1.vm.provision "shell", inline: $sdc1
    node1.vm.provision "shell", inline: $sdd1
  end

end

In the process of experimenting had to come to this Vagrantfile.
But the system cannot boot

$sdb1 = <<-SCRIPT
parted /dev/sdb mklabel msdos
parted /dev/sdb mkpart primary 0% 100%
mkfs.xfs /dev/sdb1
mkdir /mnt/data1
if grep -Fxq "sdb1" /etc/fstab
then
  echo 'sdb1 exist in fstab'
else
  echo `blkid /dev/sdb1 | awk '{print$2}' | sed -e 's/"//g'` /mnt/data1   xfs   noatime,nobarrier   0   0 >> /etc/fstab
fi
if mount | grep /mnt/data1 > /dev/null; then
  echo "/dev/sdb1 mounted /mnt/data1"
  umount /mnt/data1
  mount /mnt/data1
else
  mount /mnt/data1
fi
SCRIPT

$sdc1 = <<-SCRIPT
parted /dev/sdc mklabel msdos
parted /dev/sdc mkpart primary 0% 100%
mkfs.xfs /dev/sdc1
mkdir /mnt/data2
if grep -Fxq "sdc1" /etc/fstab
then
  echo 'sdc1 exist in fstab'
else
  echo `blkid /dev/sdc1 | awk '{print$2}' | sed -e 's/"//g'` /mnt/data2   xfs   noatime,nobarrier   0   0 >> /etc/fstab
fi
if mount | grep /mnt/data2 > /dev/null; then
  echo "/dev/sdc1 mounted /mnt/data2"
  umount /mnt/data2
  mount /mnt/data2
else
  mount /mnt/data2
fi
SCRIPT

$sdd1 = <<-SCRIPT
parted /dev/sdd mklabel msdos
parted /dev/sdd mkpart primary 0% 100%
mkfs.xfs /dev/sdd1
mkdir /mnt/metadata1
if grep -Fxq "sdd1" /etc/fstab
then
  echo 'sdd1 exist in fstab'
else
  echo `blkid /dev/sdd1 | awk '{print$2}' | sed -e 's/"//g'` /mnt/metadata1   xfs   noatime,nobarrier   0   0 >> /etc/fstab
fi
if mount | grep /mnt/metadata1 > /dev/null; then
  echo "/dev/sdd1 mounted /mnt/metadata1"
  umount /mnt/metadata1
  mount /mnt/metadata1
else
  mount /mnt/metadata1
fi
SCRIPT

node1disk1 = "./tmp/node1disk1.vdi";
node1disk2 = "./tmp/node1disk2.vdi";
node1disk3 = "./tmp/node1disk3.vdi";

ip_node1 = "192.168.33.31";

Vagrant.configure("2") do |config|

  config.vm.define "node1" do |node1|
    node1.vm.network "private_network", ip: ip_node1
    node1.vm.hostname = "node1"
    node1.vm.define "node1"
    node1.vm.box_download_insecure = true
    node1.vm.box = "ubuntu/bionic64"
    node1.vm.provider "virtualbox" do |vb|
      vb.gui = true
      vb.memory = "1024"
      vb.customize ["storagectl", :id, "--name", "IDE", "--remove"]
      vb.customize ["storagectl", :id, "--name", "IDE", "--add", "ide", "--controller", "ICH6"]
      if not File.exists?(node1disk1)
        vb.customize ['createhd', '--filename', node1disk1, '--variant', 'Fixed', '--size', 1 * 1024]
        vb.customize ['storageattach', :id,  '--storagectl', 'IDE', '--port', 0, '--device', 1, '--type', 'hdd', '--medium', node1disk1]
      end
      if not File.exists?(node1disk2)
        vb.customize ['createhd', '--filename', node1disk2, '--variant', 'Fixed', '--size', 1 * 1024]
        vb.customize ['storageattach', :id,  '--storagectl', 'IDE', '--port', 1, '--device', 0, '--type', 'hdd', '--medium', node1disk2]
      end
      if not File.exists?(node1disk3)
        vb.customize ['createhd', '--filename', node1disk3, '--variant', 'Fixed', '--size', 1 * 1024]
        vb.customize ['storageattach', :id,  '--storagectl', 'IDE', '--port', 1, '--device', 1, '--type', 'hdd', '--medium', node1disk3]
      end
    end
    node1.vm.provision "shell", inline: $sdb1
    node1.vm.provision "shell", inline: $sdc1
    node1.vm.provision "shell", inline: $sdd1
  end

end

VBoxManage showvminfo says:

Storage Controller Name (0):            SCSI
Storage Controller Type (0):            LsiLogic
Storage Controller Instance Number (0): 0
Storage Controller Max Port Count (0):  16
Storage Controller Port Count (0):      16
Storage Controller Bootable (0):        on
Storage Controller Name (1):            IDE
Storage Controller Type (1):            ICH6
Storage Controller Instance Number (1): 0
Storage Controller Max Port Count (1):  2
Storage Controller Port Count (1):      2
Storage Controller Bootable (1):        on
SCSI (0, 0): /home/user/VirtualBox VMs/vagrant-openio-multi-nodes_node1_1565541256124_28246/ubuntu-bionic-18.04-cloudimg.vmdk (UUID: 9b9b05cc-d359-428e-a4c5-91391eb7e0e3)
SCSI (1, 0): /home/user/VirtualBox VMs/vagrant-openio-multi-nodes_node1_1565541256124_28246/ubuntu-bionic-18.04-cloudimg-configdrive.vmdk (UUID: 5e47924d-2ad2-4096-9a58-7b97d2ffcbd8)
IDE (0, 1): /home/user/github/vagrant-openio-multi-nodes/tmp/node1disk1.vdi (UUID: d2ef2936-f296-483c-9336-04b5bbd417e9)
IDE (1, 0): /home/user/github/vagrant-openio-multi-nodes/tmp/node1disk2.vdi (UUID: 2673732a-edf3-48f2-8ecb-50af82b1d2e5)
IDE (1, 1): /home/user/github/vagrant-openio-multi-nodes/tmp/node1disk3.vdi (UUID: f2243189-ebba-496a-aab8-cb97f68b4038)