Install Portworx on Rancher Kubernetes Engine 2 (RKE2)
This guide provides instructions for installing Portworx on RKE2 using either PX-StoreV1 or PX-StoreV2.
PX-StoreV1 is the traditional storage backend for Portworx Enterprise. PX-StoreV2 focuses on volume management with optimized metadata handling and performance metrics, making it suitable for high-performance environments. For more information about these backends, refer to the PX-StoreV2 concept topic.
- Currently, Portworx does not support the
RancherOSdistro. - For PX-StoreV2, the
add-drivemethod is not supported for horizontally expanding the storage pool by adding drives. - PX-Fast functionality is not supported on SUSE Linux Micro 6.x distro.
Prerequisites
- Ensure that your RKE2 cluster is deployed on infrastructure that meets the Portworx installation requirements.
- Additionally, the cluster must use one of the following storage backends:
- vSphere cloud drives
- FlashArray cloud drives (supported only on Ubuntu)
- Local drives (pre-provisioned disks)
- Disable kernel auto-updates on your cluster.
Install Portworx on a Rancher
Perform the following steps to install Portworx.
Get your Kubernetes version
Run this command to get the Kubernetes version installed on your Rancher cluster for use in the later section:
(kubectl version --short 2>&1 || kubectl version) | awk -Fv '/Server Version: / {print $3}'
1.30.9+rke2r1
Generate the specs
- PX-StoreV1
- PX-StoreV2
-
Sign in to the Portworx Central console.
The system displays the Welcome to Portworx Central! page. -
In the Portworx Enterprise section, select Generate Cluster Spec.
The system displays the Generate Spec page. -
From the Portworx Version dropdown menu, select the Portworx version to install.
-
For Platform, select your CLOUD or ON-PREMISE environment.
-
For Distribution Name, select None.
-
In the K8s Version field, enter the complete Kubernetes version that you retrieved in the previous section and click Save Spec to generate the specs.
- Sign in to the Portworx Central console.
The system displays the Welcome to Portworx Central! page. - In the Portworx Enterprise section, select Generate Cluster Spec.
The system displays the Generate Spec page. - From the Portworx Version dropdown menu, select the Portworx version to install.
- For Platform, select DAS/SAN from the dropdown.
- For Distribution Name, select None.
- In the K8s Version field, enter the complete Kubernetes version that you retrieved in the previous section and click Customize button at the bottom of this section.
- Navigate to the Storage window, select PX-StoreV2 checkbox, and provide the path for the Metadata Path , and click Next
- Follow the specgen wizard to generate the specs.
Apply the specs
Apply the Operator and StorageCluster specs you generated in the section above using the kubectl apply command:
- Deploy the Operator:
kubectl apply -f 'https://install.portworx.com/<px-version>?comp=pxoperator&kbver=<k8s-version>&ns=portworx'
serviceaccount/portworx-operator created
podsecuritypolicy.policy/px-operator created
clusterrole.rbac.authorization.k8s.io/portworx-operator created
clusterrolebinding.rbac.authorization.k8s.io/portworx-operator created
deployment.apps/portworx-operator created
- Deploy the StorageCluster:
kubectl apply -f 'https://install.portworx.com/<px-version>?operator=true&mc=false&kbver=<k8s-version>&ns=portworx&b=true&iop=6&c=px-cluster-xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-0751d312ccfa&stork=true&csi=true&mon=true&tel=true&st=k8s&promop=true'
storagecluster.core.libopenstorage.org/px-cluster-xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-0751d312ccfa created
Verify your Portworx installation
Once you've installed Portworx, you can perform the following tasks to verify that Portworx has installed correctly.
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-xxxxxxxxxxxx-9gs79 2/2 Running 0 2m55s 192.168.121.196 username-k8s1-node0 <none> <none>
px-cluster-xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx-vpptx 2/2 Running 0 2m55s 192.168.121.99 username-k8s1-node1 <none> <none>
px-cluster-xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx-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 execcommand, 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:
- Create a PVC referencing the
px-csi-dbdefault 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
- Run the
kubectl applycommand to create a PVC:
kubectl apply -f <your-pvc-name>.yaml
persistentvolumeclaim/example-pvc created
Verify your StorageClass and PVC
- Enter the
kubectl get storageclasscommand:
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.
- Enter the
kubectl get pvccommand. 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
example-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.