PowerMax
The Dell CSI Operator is no longer actively maintained or supported. It will be deprecated in CSM 1.9. It is highly recommended that you use CSM Operator going forward.
Installing CSI Driver for PowerMax via Operator
CSI Driver for Dell PowerMax can be installed via the Dell CSI Operator.
To deploy the Operator, follow the instructions available here.
There are sample manifests provided which can be edited to do an easy installation of the driver. Please note that the deployment of the driver using the operator does not use any Helm charts and the installation and configuration parameters will be slightly different from the ones specified via the Helm installer.
Kubernetes Operators make it easy to deploy and manage the entire lifecycle of complex Kubernetes applications. Operators use Custom Resource Definitions (CRD) which represents the application and use custom controllers to manage them.
Prerequisite
Fibre Channel Requirements
CSI Driver for Dell PowerMax supports Fibre Channel communication. Ensure that the following requirements are met before you install CSI Driver:
- Zoning of the Host Bus Adapters (HBAs) to the Fibre Channel port director must be completed.
- Ensure that the HBA WWNs (initiators) appear on the list of initiators that are logged into the array.
- If the number of volumes that will be published to nodes is high, then configure the maximum number of LUNs for your HBAs on each node. See the appropriate HBA document to configure the maximum number of LUNs.
iSCSI Requirements
The CSI Driver for Dell PowerMax supports iSCSI connectivity. These requirements are applicable for the nodes that use iSCSI initiator to connect to the PowerMax arrays.
Set up the iSCSI initiators as follows:
- All Kubernetes nodes must have the iscsi-initiator-utils package installed.
- Ensure that the iSCSI initiators are available on all the nodes where the driver node plugin will be installed.
- Kubernetes nodes should have access (network connectivity) to an iSCSI director on the Dell PowerMax array that has IP interfaces. Manually create IP routes for each node that connects to the Dell PowerMax if required.
- Ensure that the iSCSI initiators on the nodes are not a part of any existing Host (Initiator Group) on the Dell PowerMax array.
- The CSI Driver needs the port group names containing the required iSCSI director ports. These port groups must be set up on each Dell PowerMax array. All the port group names supplied to the driver must exist on each Dell PowerMax with the same name.
For more information about configuring iSCSI, see Dell Host Connectivity guide.
Auto RDM for vSphere over FC requirements
The CSI Driver for Dell PowerMax supports auto RDM for vSphere over FC. These requirements are applicable for the clusters deployed on ESX/ESXi using virtualized environement.
Set up the environment as follows:
-
Requires VMware vCenter management software to manage all ESX/ESXis where the cluster is hosted.
-
Add all FC array ports zoned to the ESX/ESXis to a port group where the cluster is hosted .
-
Add initiators from all ESX/ESXis to a host(initiator group)/host group(cascaded initiator group) where the cluster is hosted.
-
Create a secret which contains vCenter privileges. Follow the steps here to create the same.
Note: Hostgroups support with vSphere environment will be only available on csm-operator.
Linux multipathing requirements
CSI Driver for Dell PowerMax supports Linux multipathing. Configure Linux multipathing before installing the CSI Driver.
Set up Linux multipathing as follows:
- All the nodes must have the Device Mapper Multipathing package installed.
NOTE: When this package is installed it creates a multipath configuration file which is located at/etc/multipath.conf
. Please ensure that this file always exists. - Enable multipathing using
mpathconf --enable --with_multipathd y
- Enable
user_friendly_names
andfind_multipaths
in themultipath.conf
file.
As a best practice, use these options to help the operating system and the mulitpathing software detect path changes efficiently:
path_grouping_policy multibus
path_checker tur
features "1 queue_if_no_path"
path_selector "round-robin 0"
no_path_retry 10
PowerPath for Linux requirements
CSI Driver for Dell PowerMax supports PowerPath for Linux. Configure Linux PowerPath before installing the CSI Driver.
Follow this procedure to set up PowerPath for Linux:
- All the nodes must have the PowerPath package installed . Download the PowerPath archive for the environment from Dell Online Support.
Untar
the PowerPath archive, Copy the RPM package into a temporary folder and Install PowerPath usingrpm -ivh DellEMCPower.LINUX-<version>-<build>.<platform>.x86_64.rpm
- Start the PowerPath service using
systemctl start PowerPath
Create secret for client-side TLS verification (Optional)
Create a secret named powermax-certs in the namespace where the CSI PowerMax driver will be installed. This is an optional step and is only required if you are setting the env variable X_CSI_POWERMAX_SKIP_CERTIFICATE_VALIDATION to false. See the detailed documentation on how to create this secret here.
Install Driver
-
Create namespace: Run
kubectl create namespace <driver-namespace>
using the desired name to create the namespace. -
Create PowerMax credentials: Create a file called powermax-creds.yaml with the following content:
apiVersion: v1 kind: Secret metadata: name: powermax-creds # Replace driver-namespace with the namespace where driver is being deployed namespace: <driver-namespace> type: Opaque data: # set username to the base64 encoded username username: <base64 username> # set password to the base64 encoded password password: <base64 password> # Uncomment the following key if you wish to use ISCSI CHAP authentication (v1.3.0 onwards) # chapsecret: <base64 CHAP secret>
Replace the values for the username and password parameters. These values can be obtained using base64 encoding as described in the following example:
echo -n "myusername" | base64 echo -n "mypassword" | base64 # If mychapsecret is the ISCSI CHAP secret echo -n "mychapsecret" | base64
Run the
kubectl create -f powermax-creds.yaml
command to create the secret. -
Create a Custom Resource (CR) for PowerMax using the sample files provided here.
-
Users should configure the parameters in CR. The following table lists the primary configurable parameters of the PowerMax driver and their default values:
Parameter Description Required Default replicas Controls the number of controller Pods you deploy. If controller Pods are greater than the number of available nodes, excess Pods will become stuck in pending. The default is 2 which allows for Controller high availability. Yes 2 fsGroupPolicy Defines which FS Group policy mode to be used, Supported modes None, File and ReadWriteOnceWithFSType
No “ReadWriteOnceWithFSType” Common parameters for node and controller X_CSI_K8S_CLUSTER_PREFIX Define a prefix that is appended to all resources created in the array; unique per K8s/CSI deployment; max length - 3 characters Yes XYZ X_CSI_POWERMAX_ENDPOINT IP address of the Unisphere for PowerMax Yes https://0.0.0.0:8443 X_CSI_TRANSPORT_PROTOCOL Choose which transport protocol to use (ISCSI, FC, auto or None) Yes auto X_CSI_POWERMAX_PORTGROUPS List of comma-separated port groups (ISCSI only). Example: “PortGroup1,PortGroup2” No - X_CSI_MANAGED_ARRAYS List of comma-separated array ID(s) which will be managed by the driver Yes - X_CSI_POWERMAX_PROXY_SERVICE_NAME Name of CSI PowerMax ReverseProxy service. Yes powermax-reverseproxy X_CSI_GRPC_MAX_THREADS Number of concurrent grpc requests allowed per client No 4 X_CSI_IG_MODIFY_HOSTNAME Change any existing host names. When nodenametemplate is set, it changes the name to the specified format else it uses driver default host name format. No false X_CSI_IG_NODENAME_TEMPLATE Provide a template for the CSI driver to use while creating the Host/IG on the array for the nodes in the cluster. It is of the format a-b-c-%foo%-xyz where foo will be replaced by host name of each node in the cluster. No - X_CSI_POWERMAX_DRIVER_NAME Set custom CSI driver name. For more details on this feature see the related documentation No - X_CSI_HEALTH_MONITOR_ENABLED Enable/Disable health monitor of CSI volumes from Controller and Node plugin. Provides details of volume status, usage and volume condition. As a prerequisite, external-health-monitor sidecar section should be uncommented in samples which would install the sidecar No false X_CSI_VSPHERE_ENABLED Enable VMware virtualized environment support via RDM No false X_CSI_VSPHERE_PORTGROUP Existing portGroup that driver will use for vSphere Yes "" X_CSI_VSPHERE_HOSTNAME Existing host(initiator group)/host group(cascaded initiator group) that driver will use for vSphere Yes "" X_CSI_VCenter_HOST URL/endpoint of the vCenter where all the ESX are present Yes "" Node parameters X_CSI_POWERMAX_ISCSI_ENABLE_CHAP Enable ISCSI CHAP authentication. For more details on this feature see the related documentation No false X_CSI_TOPOLOGY_CONTROL_ENABLED Enable/Disabe topology control. It filters out arrays, associated transport protocol available to each node and creates topology keys based on any such user input. No false -
Execute the following command to create the PowerMax custom resource:
kubectl create -f <input_sample_file.yaml>
. The above command will deploy the CSI-PowerMax driver.
Note - If CSI driver is getting installed using OCP UI , create these two configmaps manually using the command oc create -f <configfilename>
- Configmap name powermax-config-params
apiVersion: v1 kind: ConfigMap metadata: name: powermax-config-params namespace: test-powermax data: driver-config-params.yaml: | CSI_LOG_LEVEL: "debug" CSI_LOG_FORMAT: "JSON"
- Configmap name node-topology-config
apiVersion: v1 kind: ConfigMap metadata: name: node-topology-config namespace: test-powermax data: topologyConfig.yaml: | allowedConnections: - nodeName: "node1" rules: - "000000000001:FC" - "000000000002:FC" - nodeName: "*" rules: - "000000000002:FC" deniedConnections: - nodeName: "node2" rules: - "000000000002:*" - nodeName: "node3" rules: - "*:*"
CSI PowerMax ReverseProxy
CSI PowerMax ReverseProxy is component that will be installed along with the CSI PowerMax driver. For more details on this feature see the related documentation.
Deployment and ClusterIP service will be created by dell-csi-operator.
Pre-requisites
Create a TLS secret that holds an SSL certificate and a private key which is required by the reverse proxy server.
Use a tool such as openssl
to generate this secret using the example below:
openssl genrsa -out tls.key 2048
openssl req -new -x509 -sha256 -key tls.key -out tls.crt -days 3650
kubectl create secret -n <namespace> tls revproxy-certs --cert=tls.crt --key=tls.key
kubectl create secret -n <namespace> tls csirevproxy-tls-secret --cert=tls.crt --
key=tls.key
Set the following parameters in the CSI PowerMaxReverseProxy Spec
- tlsSecret : Provide the name of the TLS secret. If using the above example, it should be set to
revproxy-certs
- config : This section contains the details of the Reverse Proxy configuration
- mode : This value is set to
Linked
by default. Do not change this value - linkConfig : This section contains the configuration of the
Linked
mode - primary : This section holds details for the primary Unisphere which the Reverse Proxy will connect to
- backup : This optional section holds details for a backup Unisphere which the Reverse Proxy can connect to if the primary Unisphere is unreachable
- url : URL of the Unisphere server
- skipCertificateValidation: This setting determines if the client-side Unisphere certificate validation is required
- certSecret: Secret name which holds the CA certificates which was used to sign Unisphere SSL certificates. Mandatory if skipCertificateValidation is set to
false
- standAloneConfig : This section contains the configuration of the
StandAlone
mode. Refer to the sample below for the detailed config
Note: Only one of the
Linked
orStandAlone
configurations needs to be supplied. The appropriatemode
needs to be set in the spec as well.
Here is a sample manifest with each field annotated. A copy of this manifest is provided in the samples
folder
apiVersion: storage.dell.com/v1
kind: CSIPowerMaxRevProxy
metadata:
name: powermax-reverseproxy # <- Name of the CSIPowerMaxRevProxy object
namespace: test-powermax # <- Set the namespace to where you will install the CSI PowerMax driver
spec:
# Image for CSI PowerMax ReverseProxy
image: dellemc/csipowermax-reverseproxy:v2.3.0 # <- CSI PowerMax Reverse Proxy image
imagePullPolicy: Always
# TLS secret which contains SSL certificate and private key for the Reverse Proxy server
tlsSecret: csirevproxy-tls-secret
config:
mode: Linked
linkConfig:
primary:
url: https://0.0.0.0:8443 #Unisphere URL
skipCertificateValidation: true # This setting determines if client side Unisphere certificate validation is to be skipped
certSecret: "" # Provide this value if skipCertificateValidation is set to false
backup: # This is an optional field and lets you configure a backup unisphere which can be used by proxy server
url: https://0.0.0.0:8443 #Unisphere URL
skipCertificateValidation: true
standAloneConfig: # Set mode to "StandAlone" in order to use this config
storageArrays:
- storageArrayId: "000000000001"
# Unisphere server managing the PowerMax array
primaryURL: https://unisphere-1-addr:8443
# proxyCredentialSecrets are used by the clients of the proxy to connect to it
# If using proxy in the stand alone mode, then the driver must be provided the same secret.
# The format of the proxy credential secret are exactly the same as the unisphere credential secret
# For using the proxy with the driver, use the same proxy credential secrets for
# all the managed storage arrays
proxyCredentialSecrets:
- proxy-creds
- storageArrayId: "000000000002"
primaryURL: https://unisphere-2-addr:8443
# An optional backup Unisphere server managing the same array
# This can be used by the proxy to fall back to in case the primary
# Unisphere is inaccessible temporarily
backupURL: unisphere-3-addr:8443
proxyCredentialSecrets:
- proxy-creds
managementServers:
- url: https://unisphere-1-addr:8443
# Secret containing the credentials of the Unisphere server
arrayCredentialSecret: unsiphere-1-creds
skipCertificateValidation: true
- url: https://unisphere-2-addr:8443
arrayCredentialSecret: unsiphere-2-creds
skipCertificateValidation: true
- url: https://unisphere-3-addr:8443
arrayCredentialSecret: unsiphere-3-creds
skipCertificateValidation: true
Installation
Copy the sample file - powermax_reverseproxy.yaml
from the samples
folder or use the sample available in the OperatorHub
UI
Edit and input all required parameters and then use the OperatorHub
UI or run the following command to install the CSI PowerMax Reverse Proxy service:
kubectl create -f powermax_reverseproxy.yaml
You can query for the deployment and service created as part of the installation using the following commands:
kubectl get deployment -n <namespace>
kubectl get svc -n <namespace>
There is a new sample file - powermax_revproxy_standalone_with_driver.yaml
in the samples
folder which enables installation of
CSI PowerMax ReverseProxy in StandAlone
mode along with the CSI PowerMax driver. This mode enables the CSI PowerMax driver to connect
to multiple Unisphere servers for managing multiple PowerMax arrays. Please follow the same steps described above to install ReverseProxy
with this new sample file.
Dynamic Logging Configuration
This feature is introduced in CSI Driver for powermax version 2.0.0.
Operator based installation
As part of driver installation, a ConfigMap with the name powermax-config-params
is created using the manifest located in the sample file. This ConfigMap contains an attribute CSI_LOG_LEVEL
which specifies the current log level of the CSI driver. To set the default/initial log level user can set this field during driver installation.
To update the log level dynamically user has to edit the ConfigMap powermax-config-params
and update CSI_LOG_LEVEL
to the desired log level.
kubectl edit configmap -n powermax powermax-config-params
Sample CRD file for powermax
You can find the sample CRD file here
Note:
Kubelet config dir path
is not yet configurable in case of Operator based driver installation.- Also, snapshotter and resizer sidecars are not optional to choose, it comes default with Driver installation.
Volume Health Monitoring
This feature is introduced in CSI Driver for PowerMax version 2.2.0.
Operator based installation
Volume Health Monitoring feature is optional and by default this feature is disabled for drivers when installed via operator.
To enable this feature, set X_CSI_HEALTH_MONITOR_ENABLED
to true
in the driver manifest under controller and node section. Also, install the external-health-monitor
from sideCars
section for controller plugin.
To get the volume health state value
under controller should be set to true as seen below. To get the volume stats value
under node should be set to true.
# Install the 'external-health-monitor' sidecar accordingly.
# Allowed values:
# true: enable checking of health condition of CSI volumes
# false: disable checking of health condition of CSI volumes
# Default value: false
controller:
envs:
- name: X_CSI_HEALTH_MONITOR_ENABLED
value: "true"
node:
envs:
# X_CSI_HEALTH_MONITOR_ENABLED: Enable/Disable health monitor of CSI volumes from node plugin - volume usage
# Allowed values:
# true: enable checking of health condition of CSI volumes
# false: disable checking of health condition of CSI volumes
# Default value: false
- name: X_CSI_HEALTH_MONITOR_ENABLED
value: "true"
Support for custom topology keys
This feature is introduced in CSI Driver for PowerMax version 2.3.0.
Operator based installation
Support for custom topology keys is optional and by default this feature is disabled for drivers when installed via operator.
X_CSI_TOPOLOGY_CONTROL_ENABLED provides a way to filter topology keys on a node based on array and transport protocol. If enabled, user can create custom topology keys by editing node-topology-config configmap.
- To enable this feature, set
X_CSI_TOPOLOGY_CONTROL_ENABLED
totrue
in the driver manifest under node section.
# X_CSI_TOPOLOGY_CONTROL_ENABLED provides a way to filter topology keys on a node based on array and transport protocol
# if enabled, user can create custom topology keys by editing node-topology-config configmap.
# Allowed values:
# true: enable the filtration based on config map
# false: disable the filtration based on config map
# Default value: false
- name: X_CSI_TOPOLOGY_CONTROL_ENABLED
value: "false"
- Edit the sample config map “node-topology-config” present in sample CRD with appropriate values:
Parameter Description allowedConnections List of node, array and protocol info for user allowed configuration allowedConnections.nodeName Name of the node on which user wants to apply given rules allowedConnections.rules List of StorageArrayID:TransportProtocol pair deniedConnections List of node, array and protocol info for user denied configuration deniedConnections.nodeName Name of the node on which user wants to apply given rules deniedConnections.rules List of StorageArrayID:TransportProtocol pair
Note: Name of the configmap should always be
node-topology-config
.
Support for auto RDM for vSphere over FC
This feature is introduced in CSI Driver for PowerMax version 2.5.0.
Operator based installation
Support for auto RDM for vSphere over FC feature is optional and by default this feature is disabled for drivers when installed via operator.
To enable this feature, set X_CSI_VSPHERE_ENABLED
to true
in the driver manifest under controller and node section.
# VMware/vSphere virtualization support
# set X_CSI_VSPHERE_ENABLED to true, if you to enable VMware virtualized environment support via RDM
# Allowed values:
# "true" - vSphere volumes are enabled
# "false" - vSphere volumes are disabled
# Default value: "false"
- name: "X_CSI_VSPHERE_ENABLED"
value: "false"
# X_CSI_VSPHERE_PORTGROUP: An existing portGroup that driver will use for vSphere
# recommended format: csi-x-VC-PG, x can be anything of user choice
# Allowed value: valid existing port group on the array
# Default value: "" <empty>
- name: "X_CSI_VSPHERE_PORTGROUP"
value: ""
# X_CSI_VSPHERE_HOSTNAME: An existing host(initiator group)/ host group(cascaded intiator group) that driver will use for vSphere
# this host/host group should contain initiators from all the ESXs/ESXi host where the cluster is deployed
# recommended format: csi-x-VC-HN, x can be anything of user choice
# Allowed value: valid existing host(initiator group)/ host group(cascaded intiator group) on the array
# Default value: "" <empty>
- name: "X_CSI_VSPHERE_HOSTNAME"
value: ""
Edit the section in the driver manifest having the sample for the following Secret
with required values.
apiVersion: v1
kind: Secret
metadata:
name: vcenter-creds
# Set driver namespace
namespace: test-powermax
type: Opaque
data:
# set username to the base64 encoded username
username: YWRtaW4=
# set password to the base64 encoded password
password: YWRtaW4=
These values can be obtained using base64 encoding as described in the following example:
echo -n "myusername" | base64
echo -n "mypassword" | base64
where myusername and mypassword are credentials for a user with vCenter privileges.