# Directory Pools Overview

Directory Pools allow designation of a directory on the local host filesystem as a datastore. By default on creation of the HVM cluster, three Directory Pools are automatically created which helps ensure HVM can work straight out of the box even without other integrated storage. The default Directory Pools are:

- `local` at `/var/morpheus/kvm/local` for storage of virtual disks for VMs
- `morpheus-cloud-init` at `/var/morpheus/kvm/cloud-init` for storage of ephemeral clout-init ISOs
- `morpheus-images` at `/var/morpheus/kvm/images` for storage of virtual images

TIP

Of these default Directory Pools, only the `local` pool is selectable as a provisioning target for storing virtual disks. Using this Directory Pool runs the risk of filling up the HVM Host filesystem and bringing down the host. For this reason, it may be advisable to edit this datastore and make it inactive. Use an alternative datastore, such as an NFS Pool or GFS Pool (discussed in the upcoming sections) to avoid filling up the local filesystem. The other two default Directory Pools can remain active as they are created for specific purposes and will not be selectable for users as a datastore at provision time.
