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Version: 3.1

Install and configure Portworx on VMware Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Service

This page provides instructions for installing Portworx on VMware Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Service (TKGS) environment.

The following diagram demonstrates how Portworx operates the cloud drives:

When Portworx is deployed within Tanzu, the Cloud Drive (CD) module does the following:

  • Initializes a Portworx node which involves joining the Tanzu cluster as a storage capable node, adding to the global capacity of the cluster.

  • The CD module executes a subsequence of calls to check the following points:

    • If there are a set of drives attached to the node, the CD module uses them. If they are not already attached to the node, the CD module attaches them.
    • If there are no drives attached or available for that node, the CD module creates and attaches them.

  • The CSI implementation in cloud drives makes calls to Kubernetes instead of talking to the underlying storage API.

note

Prerequisites​

  • A running Kubernetes cluster TKG or TKGS.
  • If you're using TKGS, ensure all prerequisites are met based on VMware documentation.
  • Enable Workload Management according to VMware Best Practices.
  • Ensure the required ports in the 9001:9020 range are open on all nodes.

Configure your environment​

Follow the instructions in this section to configure your environment before installing Portworx.

(Optional) Install packages for encrypted volumes​

If using encrypted volumes on Tanzu clusters with PhotonOS, install the device-mapper and cryptsetup packages on the cluster nodes using the following commands:

  1. Update the package repositories: 
    yum update -y
  2. Install the device-mapper packages: 
    yum install device-mapper
  3. Install the cryptsetup packages: 
    yum install cryptsetup
note

Any newly added nodes to the cluster will not have these packages pre-installed, which means that volumes attached to those nodes cannot be encrypted.

Create the StorageClass​

In a Kubernetes environment, CSI (Container Storage Interface) is a standardized interface that allows Portworx to be integrated with TKGS clusters. TKGS leverages CSI to interact with Portworx, enabling dynamic provisioning and management of persistent volumes for containerized applications.

Follow the instructions to enable CSI cloud drive configuration. For this you must create a StorageClass with the CSI driver specified as a provisioner and install it in your Kubernetes cluster.

  1. Get a CSI provisioner name by running the following command on your Tanzu Kubernetes cluster for use in the next step:
kubectl get csidriver

  1. Create a StorageClass on your specified datastore with the following configuration. In the provisioner field, enter the CSI driver name you obtained in step 1. Provide the datastore URL in the datastoreurl field from your VSpere client.

    kind: StorageClass
    apiVersion: storage.k8s.io/v1
    metadata:
      name: vsphere-immediate-sc
      annotations:
         storageclass.kubernetes.io/is-default-class: "true"
    provisioner: <csi_driver_name>
    parameters:
      datastoreurl: "<your-datastore-url>" 
    allowVolumeExpansion: true
    reclaimPolicy: Delete
    volumeBindingMode: Immediate
    note

    You can also specify the SPBM policies in the StorageClass with the storagepolicyname parameter.

Install Portworx​

Once you've configured your physical network and ensured that you meet the prerequisites, you're ready to deploy Portworx.

Generate the specs​

To install Portworx with Kubernetes, you must first generate Kubernetes manifests that you will deploy in your cluster:

  1. Navigate to Portworx Central and log in, or create an account.

  2. Select Portworx Enterprise from the product catalog and click Continue.

  3. On the Product Line page, choose any option depending on which license you intend to use, then select Continue to start the spec generator.

  4. For Platform, select VMware Tanzu.

  5. Specify the same StorageClass name that you created in the previous section (vsphere-immediate-sc).

  6. Click Save Spec to generate the specs.

Apply the specs​

Apply the generated specs to your cluster.

kubectl apply -f px-spec.yaml

Verify your Portworx installation​

Once you've installed Portworx, you can perform the following tasks to verify that Portworx has installed correctly.

Verify if all pods are running​

Enter the following kubectl get pods command to list and filter the results for Portworx pods:

kubectl get pods -n <px-namespace> -o wide | grep -e portworx -e px
portworx-api-774c2                                      1/1     Running   0                2m55s   192.168.121.196   username-k8s1-node0    <none>           <none>
portworx-api-t4lf9                                      1/1     Running   0                2m55s   192.168.121.99    username-k8s1-node1    <none>           <none>
portworx-api-dvw64                                      1/1     Running   0                2m55s   192.168.121.99    username-k8s1-node2    <none>           <none>
portworx-kvdb-94bpk                                     1/1     Running   0                4s      192.168.121.196   username-k8s1-node0    <none>           <none>
portworx-kvdb-8b67l                                     1/1     Running   0                10s     192.168.121.196   username-k8s1-node1    <none>           <none>
portworx-kvdb-fj72p                                     1/1     Running   0                30s     192.168.121.196   username-k8s1-node2    <none>           <none>
portworx-operator-58967ddd6d-kmz6c                      1/1     Running   0                4m1s    10.244.1.99       username-k8s1-node0    <none>           <none>
prometheus-px-prometheus-0                              2/2     Running   0                2m41s   10.244.1.105      username-k8s1-node0    <none>           <none>
px-cluster-xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-3e9bf3cd834d-9gs79   2/2     Running   0                2m55s   192.168.121.196   username-k8s1-node0    <none>           <none>
px-cluster-xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-3e9bf3cd834d-vpptx   2/2     Running   0                2m55s   192.168.121.99    username-k8s1-node1    <none>           <none>
px-cluster-xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-3e9bf3cd834d-bxmpn   2/2     Running   0                2m55s   192.168.121.191   username-k8s1-node2    <none>           <none>
px-csi-ext-868fcb9fc6-54bmc                             4/4     Running   0                3m5s    10.244.1.103      username-k8s1-node0    <none>           <none>
px-csi-ext-868fcb9fc6-8tk79                             4/4     Running   0                3m5s    10.244.1.102      username-k8s1-node2    <none>           <none>
px-csi-ext-868fcb9fc6-vbqzk                             4/4     Running   0                3m5s    10.244.3.107      username-k8s1-node1    <none>           <none>
px-prometheus-operator-59b98b5897-9nwfv                 1/1     Running   0                3m3s    10.244.1.104      username-k8s1-node0    <none>           <none>

Note the name of one of your px-cluster pods. You'll run pxctl commands from these pods in following steps.

Verify Portworx cluster status​

You can find the status of the Portworx cluster by running pxctl status commands from a pod. Enter the following kubectl exec command, specifying the pod name you retrieved in the previous section:

kubectl exec <pod-name> -n <px-namespace> -- /opt/pwx/bin/pxctl status
Defaulted container "portworx" out of: portworx, csi-node-driver-registrar
Status: PX is operational
Telemetry: Disabled or Unhealthy
Metering: Disabled or Unhealthy
License: Trial (expires in 31 days)
Node ID: xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-70c31d0f478e
        IP: 192.168.121.99 
        Local Storage Pool: 1 pool
        POOL    IO_PRIORITY     RAID_LEVEL      USABLE  USED    STATUS  ZONE    REGION
        0       HIGH            raid0           3.0 TiB 10 GiB  Online  default default
        Local Storage Devices: 3 devices
        Device  Path            Media Type              Size            Last-Scan
        0:1     /dev/vdb        STORAGE_MEDIUM_MAGNETIC 1.0 TiB         14 Jul 22 22:03 UTC
        0:2     /dev/vdc        STORAGE_MEDIUM_MAGNETIC 1.0 TiB         14 Jul 22 22:03 UTC
        0:3     /dev/vdd        STORAGE_MEDIUM_MAGNETIC 1.0 TiB         14 Jul 22 22:03 UTC
        * Internal kvdb on this node is sharing this storage device /dev/vdc  to store its data.
        total           -       3.0 TiB
        Cache Devices:
         * No cache devices
Cluster Summary
        Cluster ID: px-cluster-xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-3e9bf3cd834d
        Cluster UUID: xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-6f3fd5522eae
        Scheduler: kubernetes
        Nodes: 3 node(s) with storage (3 online)
        IP              ID                                      SchedulerNodeName       Auth            StorageNode     Used    Capacity        Status  StorageStatus       Version         Kernel                  OS
        192.168.121.196 xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-fad8c65b8edc    username-k8s1-node0      Disabled        Yes             10 GiB  3.0 TiB         Online  Up 2.11.0-81faacc   3.10.0-1127.el7.x86_64  CentOS Linux 7 (Core)
        192.168.121.99  xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-70c31d0f478e    username-k8s1-node1      Disabled        Yes             10 GiB  3.0 TiB         Online  Up (This node)      2.11.0-81faacc  3.10.0-1127.el7.x86_64  CentOS Linux 7 (Core)
        192.168.121.191 xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-19d45b4c541a    username-k8s1-node2      Disabled        Yes             10 GiB  3.0 TiB         Online  Up  2.11.0-81faacc  3.10.0-1127.el7.x86_64  CentOS Linux 7 (Core)
Global Storage Pool        
        Total Used      :  30 GiB
        Total Capacity  :  9.0 TiB

The Portworx status will display PX is operational if your cluster is running as intended.

Verify pxctl cluster provision status​

  • Find the storage cluster, the status should show as Online:

    kubectl -n <px-namespace> get storagecluster
    NAME                                              CLUSTER UUID                           STATUS   VERSION   AGE
    px-cluster-xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-3e9bf3cd834d   xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-6f3fd5522eae   Online   2.11.0    10m

  • Find the storage nodes, the statuses should show as Online:

    kubectl -n <px-namespace> get storagenodes
    NAME                  ID                                     STATUS   VERSION          AGE
    username-k8s1-node0   xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-fad8c65b8edc   Online   2.11.0-81faacc   11m
    username-k8s1-node1   xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-70c31d0f478e   Online   2.11.0-81faacc   11m
    username-k8s1-node2   xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-19d45b4c541a   Online   2.11.0-81faacc   11m

  • Verify the Portworx cluster provision status. Enter the following kubectl exec command, specifying the pod name you retrieved in the previous section:

    kubectl exec <pod-name> -n <px-namespace> -- /opt/pwx/bin/pxctl cluster provision-status
    Defaulted container "portworx" out of: portworx, csi-node-driver-registrar
    NODE                                    NODE STATUS     POOL                                            POOL STATUS     IO_PRIORITY     SIZE    AVAILABLE  USED     PROVISIONED     ZONE    REGION  RACK
    xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-70c31d0f478e    Up              0 ( xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-4d74ecc7e159 )      Online          HIGH            3.0 TiB 3.0 TiB    10 GiB   0 B             default default default
    xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-fad8c65b8edc    Up              0 ( xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-97e4359e57c0 )      Online          HIGH            3.0 TiB 3.0 TiB    10 GiB   0 B             default default default
    xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-19d45b4c541a    Up              0 ( xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-8904cab0e019 )      Online          HIGH            3.0 TiB 3.0 TiB    10 GiB   0 B             default default default

Create your first PVC​

For your apps to use persistent volumes powered by Portworx, you must use a StorageClass that references Portworx as the provisioner. Portworx includes a number of default StorageClasses, which you can reference with PersistentVolumeClaims (PVCs) you create. For a more general overview of how storage works within Kubernetes, refer to the Persistent Volumes section of the Kubernetes documentation.

Perform the following steps to create a PVC:

  1. Create a PVC referencing the px-csi-db default StorageClass and save the file:

    kind: PersistentVolumeClaim
    apiVersion: v1
    metadata:
        name: px-check-pvc
    spec:
        storageClassName: px-csi-db
        accessModes:
            - ReadWriteOnce
        resources:
            requests:
                storage: 2Gi

  2. Run the kubectl apply command to create a PVC:

    kubectl apply -f <your-pvc-name>.yaml
    persistentvolumeclaim/px-check-pvc created

Verify your StorageClass and PVC​

  1. Enter the kubectl get storageclass command:

    kubectl get storageclass
    NAME                                 PROVISIONER                     RECLAIMPOLICY   VOLUMEBINDINGMODE   ALLOWVOLUMEEXPANSION   AGE
    px-csi-db                            pxd.portworx.com                Delete          Immediate           true                   43d
    px-csi-db-cloud-snapshot             pxd.portworx.com                Delete          Immediate           true                   43d
    px-csi-db-cloud-snapshot-encrypted   pxd.portworx.com                Delete          Immediate           true                   43d
    px-csi-db-encrypted                  pxd.portworx.com                Delete          Immediate           true                   43d
    px-csi-db-local-snapshot             pxd.portworx.com                Delete          Immediate           true                   43d
    px-csi-db-local-snapshot-encrypted   pxd.portworx.com                Delete          Immediate           true                   43d
    px-csi-replicated                    pxd.portworx.com                Delete          Immediate           true                   43d
    px-csi-replicated-encrypted          pxd.portworx.com                Delete          Immediate           true                   43d
    px-db                                kubernetes.io/portworx-volume   Delete          Immediate           true                   43d
    px-db-cloud-snapshot                 kubernetes.io/portworx-volume   Delete          Immediate           true                   43d
    px-db-cloud-snapshot-encrypted       kubernetes.io/portworx-volume   Delete          Immediate           true                   43d
    px-db-encrypted                      kubernetes.io/portworx-volume   Delete          Immediate           true                   43d
    px-db-local-snapshot                 kubernetes.io/portworx-volume   Delete          Immediate           true                   43d
    px-db-local-snapshot-encrypted       kubernetes.io/portworx-volume   Delete          Immediate           true                   43d
    px-replicated                        kubernetes.io/portworx-volume   Delete          Immediate           true                   43d
    px-replicated-encrypted              kubernetes.io/portworx-volume   Delete          Immediate           true                   43d
    stork-snapshot-sc                    stork-snapshot                  Delete          Immediate           true                   43d

    kubectl returns details about the StorageClasses available to you. Verify that px-csi-db appears in the list.

  2. Enter the kubectl get pvc command. If this is the only StorageClass and PVC that you've created, you should see only one entry in the output:

    kubectl get pvc <your-pvc-name>
    NAME          STATUS   VOLUME                                     CAPACITY   ACCESS MODES   STORAGECLASS           AGE
    px-check-pvc  Bound    pvc-xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-2377767c8ce0   2Gi        RWO            example-storageclass   3m7s

    kubectl returns details about your PVC if it was created correctly. Verify that the configuration details appear as you intended.

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