BetterStorage:Storage Network
A storage network is a group of Better Storage blocks joined by Connection Pipes. Everything stored in the network's Storage Units and Storage Cells shows up together in every terminal of that network.
Network blocks
| Block | Role |
|---|---|
| Connection Pipe | Connector. The only block that links others together. |
| Storage Core | Required, exactly one. Holds the crafting benches and the Loading Mechanism. |
| Storage Unit | Storage: 27 stack slots. |
| Storage Drive | Storage: every Storage Cell inside adds its slots. |
| Storage Accessor | Opens the terminal. |
| Storage Observer | Shows the network status. |
The Storage Assembler and other benches are not network blocks. To use a bench from the network, put it into the Storage Core.
Vanilla chests do not join a network.
How blocks connect
- Pipes connect on all six sides: to other pipes and to any network block they touch.
- Two devices side by side do not connect. A Storage Unit placed directly against the Storage Core is a separate block until a pipe touches both.
- Every block that is linked through pipes belongs to the same network, no matter how long the pipe line is.
- Networks are remembered across server restarts. This is handled by Utility Connect.
The core rule
Every network needs exactly one Storage Core.
- No core: the terminal shows "This network has no Storage Core. Place one to make it work."
- Two or more cores: the terminal shows "This network has more than one Storage Core. Remove all but one."
In both cases you cannot store, take out or craft anything until there is exactly one core. Nothing stored is lost; it is just not reachable.
If you connect two working networks with a pipe, they become one network with two cores. Remove one core to make it work again.
Capacity
A network's capacity is counted in stack slots:
- each Storage Unit adds 27 slots,
- each Storage Cell in a Storage Drive adds 5 to 500 slots, depending on its tier.
Each slot holds one full stack of an item. Used slots are counted as if the items were packed tightly: 250 items of something that stacks to 100 use three slots. Items that do not stack use one slot each.
When you store items, Storage Cells in the drives are filled first, then the Storage Units.
When every slot is used, the terminal shows "No stack space left - add Storage Cells or Units." If the network holds more stacks than it has room for, it shows "Over capacity - nothing new is accepted." You can still take things out.
The Storage Observer shows the used and total stack slots.
Unloaded chunks
Blocks in chunks that are not loaded are skipped: their items do not show up in the terminal and cannot be used for crafting. A Loading Mechanism in the Storage Core keeps the network's chunks loaded, so you can use a terminal far away from the core.