If you've added an additional virtual hard drive to an Ubuntu VM, you'll need to do the following to be able to use it effectively for a web server: Partition the drive (MBR) Create a sub-partition (EXT3 or EXT4, depending on need) Modify fstab to be able to mount the drive on boot On the other hand, if you're mounting a network storage location, it's better to use Autofs (or AutoMount, as it's called) because it'll be less drain on your network and improve access times when shared.