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SUSE Rancher and RKE2 Kubernetes cluster using CSI Driver on Dell PowerFlex
Executive Summary Introduction PowerFlex product overview SUSE Rancher for Kubernetes How SUSE Rancher delivers production-grade Kubernetes at scale Solution architecture Installation of SUSE Rancher and RKE2 Kubernetes cluster PowerFlex Container Storage Interface driver
Overview
Prerequisites
Rancher Kubernetes cluster data protection using PowerProtect Data Manager Conclusion Configuration details References

Prerequisites

Prerequisites

  • Before you install the CSI Driver for PowerFlex, verify that the following requirements are met:

    • Install Kubernetes. 
    • Install Helm 3.
    • Enable Zero Padding on PowerFlex.
    • Install PowerFlex SDC on all Kubernetes nodes.
    • Create a Kubernetes secret for PowerFlex credentials.
    • Obtain the Helm values for options like PowerFlex system name or ID, default gateway, and MDM IP addresses, and default storage pool.
    • Ensure that the volume snapshot requirements are met.

    For more information, see Prerequisites section of PowerFlex CSI Documentation.

    Steps to install CSI driver for PowerFlex using manual method

    1. Download the installation source files from GitHub.
    $ git clone https://github.com/dell/csi-vxflexos
    1. Create the namespace called vxflexos.
    $ kubectl create namespace vxflexos
    1. Collect information from the PowerFlex SDC by running the get_vxflexos_info.sh script.
    2. Copy the csi-vxflexos/values.yaml into a file called myvalues.yaml in the same directory as the csi-install.sh script.
    3. Edit myvalues.yaml to set the parameters like file system types, volume name prefix, and controller count, for the installation.
    4. Create a config.yaml file for driver configuration. This file contains information like the PowerFlex system IP details and credentials.
    5. Run the sh csi-install.sh command to proceed with the installation.
    $ sh csi-install.sh --namespace vxflexos –values myvalues.yaml
    1. Check the vxflexos namespace for running pods to verify it is deployed correctly.

    $ kubectl get pods -n vxflexos

    NAME                                   READY   STATUS     RESTARTS   AGE

    vxflexos-controller-5855b6969f-jbbpq   5/5      Running   0          15d

    vxflexos-node-6gnlc                    2/2     Running    0          15d

    vxflexos-node-vswl2                    2/2     Running    0          15d

    vxflexos-node-zr2r4                    2/2     Running    0          15d

    $

    For more information about CSI driver installation, see GitHub.

    1. Storage classes can be created through the Rancher graphical UI. For more information regarding storage class creation, see Storage Classes.
    2. Ensure that the PowerFlex CSI driver is running on the Rancher Kubernetes cluster and the PowerFlex Storage classes are listed in the SUSE Rancher menu for any application that is launched in the SUSE Rancher Kubernetes cluster.

    Figure 7.   Storage Class in Rancher UI

    1. Test the deployment workflow of a simple pod on PowerFlex storage. For more information, see Test PowerFlex CSI Driver.
    2. Verify that the persistent volume is created in PowerFlex cluster using PowerFlex graphical user interface.

    Figure 8.   PowerFlex graphical user interface

    1. Verify the following output from SUSE Rancher UI and confirm that PowerFlex Persistent Volumes are used by the Kubernetes pods running under the test namespace.

    Figure 9.   Kubernetes pods running under the test namespace

    Steps to install CSI driver for PowerFlex using SUSE Rancher Marketplace

    PowerFlex CSI driver is now integrated with SUSE Rancher Marketplace. This integration enables installing CSI driver on RKE2 cluster with just few clicks. 

    1. Log in to the Rancher Server from the browser.
    2. Click on the RKE2 cluster to view the Cluster Dashboard.
    3. Click Apps & Marketplace.
    4. Select All to view the apps from all the vendors and filter for CSI.

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    1. Click Dell CSI PowerFlex. The Chart for Dell CSI PowerFlex is displayed.

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    1. Click Install. 
    2. Select the desired namespace, configure the helm options if required and click Next.

    Graphical user interface, text, application, emailDescription automatically generated

    1. Configure the different values to be used by Helm and click Install.

    Graphical user interface, applicationDescription automatically generated

    1. A console displays the install progress and a SUCCESS message appears once the CSI driver is installed on the RKE2 cluster.