Introduction¶

The HPE Alletra Storage MP, Alletra 9000 and Primera and 3PAR Storage Container Storage Provider (CSP) for Kubernetes is part of the HPE CSI Driver for Kubernetes. The CSP abstract the data management capabilities of the array for use by Kubernetes.

Platform Requirements¶

Check the corresponding CSI driver version in the compatibility and support table for the latest updates on supported Kubernetes version, orchestrators and host OS.

Refer to the HPE Single Point of Connectivity Knowledge (SPOCK) for specific platform details (requires an HPE Passport account) of the CSP. The documentation reflected here always corresponds to the latest supported version and may contain references to future features and capabilities.

• HPE Alletra Storage MP
• HPE Alletra 9000
• HPE Primera
• HPE 3PAR

Network Port Requirements¶

The HPE Alletra Storage MP, Alletra 9000, Primera and 3PAR Container Storage Provider requires the following TCP ports to be open inbound to the array from the Kubernetes cluster worker nodes running the HPE CSI Driver for Kubernetes.

User Role Requirements¶

The CSP requires access to a local user with either edit or the super role. It's recommended to use the edit role for security best practices.

StorageClass Parameters¶

All parameters enumerated reflects the current version and may contain unannounced features and capabilities.

Common Provisioning Parameters¶

Restrictions applicable when using the CSI volume mutator:
¹ = Parameters that are editable after provisioning.
² = Volumes with snapshots/clones can't be modified.
³ = HPE 3PAR only parameter
⁴ = HPE Primera/Alletra 9000 only parameter

Please see using the HPE CSI Driver for additional StorageClass examples like CSI snapshots and clones.

Ephemeral Inline Volumes¶

These parameters are applicable only for Pod inline volumes and to be specified within Pod spec.

VLUN Templates¶

A VLUN template enables the export of a virtual volume as a VLUN to hosts. For more information, see the HPE Primera OS Commmand Line Interface - Installation and Reference Guide.

The HPE CSI Driver supports the following types of VLUN templates:

• Matched set - (Default) The VLUN is visible to initiators with the host's WWNs only on the specified port(s).
• Host sees - The VLUN is visible to the initiators with any of the host's WWNs.

Importing Volumes¶

During the import volume process, any legacy (non-container volumes) or existing docker/k8s volume defined in the ImportVol parameter, within a StorageClass, will be renamed to match the PersistentVolumeClaim that leverages the StorageClass. The new volumes will be exposed through the HPE CSI Driver and made available to the Kubernetes cluster. Note: All previous Access Control Records and Initiator Groups will be removed from the volume when it is imported. The hostSeesVLUN parameter improves the performance in clusters where many pods are being migrated or created.

Cloning Persistent Volumes¶

Cloning supports two modes of cloning. Either use cloneOf and reference a PersistentVolumeClaim in the current namespace to clone or use importVolAsClone and reference an array volume name to clone and import into the Kubernetes cluster. Volumes with clones are immutable once created.

Creating Snapshots of Persistent Volumes¶

During the snapshotting process, any existing PersistentVolumeClaim defined in the virtualCopyOf parameter within a StorageClass, will be snapped as PersistentVolumeClaim and exposed through the HPE CSI Driver and made available to the Kubernetes cluster. Volumes with snapshots are immutable once created.

Remote Copy with Peer Persistence Synchronous Replication Parameters¶

To enable replication within the HPE CSI Driver, the following steps must be completed:

• Create Secrets for both primary and target arrays. Refer to Configuring Additional Storage Backends.
• Create replication custom resource.
• Create replication enabled StorageClass.

For a tutorial on how to enable replication, check out the blog Enabling Remote Copy using the HPE CSI Driver for Kubernetes on HPE Primera

A Custom Resource Definition (CRD) of type hpereplicationdeviceinfos.storage.hpe.com must be created to define the target array information. The CRD object name will be used to define the StorageClass parameter replicationDevices. CRD mandatory parameters: targetCpg, targetName, targetSecret and targetSecretNamespace.

apiVersion: storage.hpe.com/v2
kind: HPEReplicationDeviceInfo
metadata:
  name: r1
spec:
  target_array_details:
  - targetCpg: <cpg_name>
    targetSnapCpg: <snapcpg_name> #optional.
    targetName: <target_array_name>
    targetSecret: <target_secret_name>
    targetSecretNamespace: hpe-storage

apiVersion: storage.hpe.com/v1
kind: HPEReplicationDeviceInfo
metadata:
  name: r1
spec:
  target_array_details:
  - targetCpg: <cpg_name>
    targetSnapCpg: <snapcpg_name> #optional.
    targetName: <target_array_name>
    targetSecret: <target_secret_name>
    targetSecretNamespace: hpe-storage

These parameters are applicable only for replication. Both parameters are mandatory. If the Remote Copy volume group (RCG) name, as defined within the StorageClass, does not exist on the array, then a new RCG will be created.

Remote Copy additional details:
¹ = Existing RCG must have CPG and Copy CPG configured.
Link to HPE Primera OS: Configuring data replication using Remote Copy

Add Non-Replicated Volume to Remote Copy group¶

To add a non-replicated volume to an existing Remote Copy group, allowMutations: description at minimum must be defined within the StorageClass. Refer to Remote Copy with Peer Persistence Replication for more details.

Edit the non-replicated PVC and annotate the following parameters:

Specifying iSCSI Target Portal IPs¶

This parameter allows the ability to specify a subset of the array iSCSI ports for iSCSI sessions. By default, the HPE CSI Driver uses all available iSCSI ports.

Creating a VolumeSnapshotClass¶

These parameters are for VolumeSnapshotClass objects when using CSI snapshots. The external snapshotter needs to be deployed on the Kubernetes cluster and is usually performed by the Kubernetes vendor. Check enabling CSI snapshots for more information. Volumes with snapshots are immutable.

How to use VolumeSnapshotClass and VolumeSnapshot objects is elaborated on in using CSI snapshots.

Import a Snapshot¶

During the import snapshot process, any legacy (non-container snapshot) or an existing docker/k8s snapshot defined in the ImportVol parameter, within a VolumeSnapshotClass, will be renamed with the prefix "snapshot-". The new snapshot will be exposed through the HPE CSI Driver and made available to the Kubernetes cluster. Note: All previous Access Control Records and Initiator Groups will be removed from the snapshot when it is imported.

Creating a QoS StorageClass¶

In the array, QoS rules are applied to a volume set. To use an existing volume set with QoS rules on a PersistentVolumeClaim, set the qosName parameter within a StorageClass to the name of the existing array volume set.

Creating a SnapshotGroupClass¶

These parameters are for SnapshotGroupClass objects when using CSI snapshots. The external snapshotter needs to be deployed on the Kubernetes cluster and is usually performed by the Kubernetes vendor. Check enabling CSI snapshots for more information. Volumes with snapshots are immutable.

How to use VolumeSnapshotClass and VolumeSnapshot objects is elaborated on in using CSI snapshots.

Creating a VolumeGroupClass with QoS Settings¶

In the HPE CSI Driver version 1.4.0+, a volume set with QoS settings can be created dynamically using the QoS parameters for the VolumeGroupClass. The following parameters are available for a VolumeGroup on the array. Learn more about VolumeGroups in the provisioning concepts documentation.

Specifying Fibre Channel Ports¶

Use this parameter to specify a subset of Fibre Channel (FC) ports on the array to create vluns. By default, the HPE CSI Driver uses all available FC ports.

Support¶

Please refer to the HPE Alletra Storage MP, Alletra 9000 and Primera and 3PAR Storage CSP support statement.