Kubernetes Brings Self-service Storage
Tue, 28 Sep 2021 18:49:52 -0000
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There are all sorts of articles and information on various benefits of Kubernetes and container-based applications. When I first started using Kubernetes (K8s) a couple of years ago I noticed that storage, or Persistent Storage as it is known in K8s, has a new and exciting twist to storage management. Using the Container Storage Interface (CSI), storage provisioning is automated, providing real self-service for storage. Once my storage appliance was set up and my Dell EMC CSI driver was deployed, I was entirely managing my storage provisioning from within K8s!
Self-service realized
Earlier in my career as a SQL Server Database Administrator (DBA), I would have to be very planful about my storage requirements, submit a request to the storage team, listen to them moan and groan as if I asked for their first born child, then ultimately provide half of the storage I requested. As my data requirements grew, I would have to repeat this process each time I needed more storage. In their defense, this was several years ago before data reduction and thin provisioning were common.
When running stateful applications and database engines, such as Microsoft SQL Server on K8s, the application owner or database administrator no longer needs to involve the storage administrator when provisioning storage. Volume creation, volume deletion, host mapping, and even volume expansion and snapshots are handled through the CSI driver! All the common functions that you need for day-to-day storage management data are provided by the K8s control plane through common commands.
K8s storage management
When Persistent Storage is required in Kubernetes, using the K8s control plane commands, you create a Persistent Volume Claim (PVC). The PVC contains basic information such as the name, storage type, and the size.
To increase the volume size, you simply modify the size in the PVC definition. Want to manage snapshots? That too can also be done through K8s commands. When it’s time to delete the volume, simply delete the PVC.
Because the CSI storage interface is generic, you don’t need to know the details of the storage appliance. Those details are contained in the CSI driver configuration and a storage class that references it. Therefore, the provisioning commands are the same across different storage appliances.
Rethinking storage provisioning
It’s a whole new approach to managing storage for data hungry applications that not only enables application owners but also challenges how storage management is done and the traditional roles in a classic IT organization. With great power comes great responsibility!
For more information, you can find lots of great material and detailed examples for Dell EMC PowerStore here: Databases and Data Analytics | Dell Technologies Info Hub
You can find complete information on all Dell EMC storage products on Dell Technologies Info Hub.
All Dell EMC CSI drivers and complete documentation can be found on GitHub. Complete information on Kubernetes and CSI is also found on GitHub.
Author: Doug Bernhardt
Twitter: @DougBern
www.linkedin.com/in/doug-bernhardt-data