Installation

The installation process consists of two steps:

1. Install Container Storage Modules (CSM) for Replication Controller
2. Install CSI driver after enabling replication

Before you begin

Please read this document before proceeding with the installation. It provides detailed steps on how to set up communication between multiple clusters which will be required during or after the installation.

Install CSM Replication Controller

You can use one of the following methods to install CSM Replication Controller:

• Using repctl
• Installation script (Helm chart)

We recommend using repctl for the installation, as it simplifies the installation workflow. This process also helps configure repctl for future use during management operations.

Using repctl

Please follow the steps here to install & configure Dell Replication Controller using repctl.

Using the installation script

Please follow the steps here to install & configure Dell Replication Controller using script.

(Optional) FQDN Setup

If CSM Replication is being deployed using two clusters in an environment where the DNS is not configured, and the cluster API endpoints are FQDNs, it is necessary to add the <FQDN>:<IP> mapping in the /etc/hosts file in order to resolve queries to the remote API server. This change will need to be made to the /etc/hosts file on:

• The environment that is performing the installation/management (wherever repctl or the install script is used).
• Both dell-replication-controller-manager deployments.

  • To update the dell-replication-controller-manager deployment, execute the command below, replacing the fields for the remote cluster’s FQDN and IP. Make sure to update the deployment on both the primary and disaster recovery clusters.

    kubectl patch deployment -n dell-replication-controller dell-replication-controller-manager \
    -p '{"spec":{"template":{"spec":{"hostAliases":[{"hostnames":["<remote-FQDN>"],"ip":"<remote-IP>"}]}}}}'
    

Install CSI driver

The following CSI drivers support replication:

1. CSI driver for PowerMax
2. CSI driver for PowerStore
3. CSI driver for PowerScale
4. CSI driver for PowerFlex

Please follow the steps outlined in PowerMax, PowerStore, PowerScale, or PowerFlex pages during the driver installation.

Note: Please ensure that replication CRDs are installed in the clusters where you are installing the CSI drivers. These CRDs are generally installed as part of the CSM Replication controller installation process.

Dynamic Log Level Change

CSM Replication Controller can dynamically change its logs’ verbosity level. To set log level in runtime, you need to edit the controllers ConfigMap:

  
kubectl edit cm dell-replication-controller-config -n dell-replication-controller

And set the CSI_LOG_LEVEL field to the level of your choosing. CSM Replication controller supports following log levels:

• “PANIC”
• “FATAL”
• “ERROR”
• “WARN”
• “INFO”
• “DEBUG”
• “TRACE”

Note: CSI-Replicator sidecar utilizes the same log level as CSI driver. To change the sidecars log level refer to corresponding csi drivers documentation.