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Version: 3.1

Common Prerequisites

This page lists common prerequisites for Portworx Enterprise. For prerequisites specific to your platform, visit the Before you begin page of your platform guide.

Installation Prerequisites​

The minimum supported size for a Portworx cluster is three nodes. Each node must meet the following hardware and software requirements:

Hardware
CPU4 cores minimum, 8 cores recommended
RAM4GB minimum, 8GB recommended
Disk
  • /var
  • /opt
  • 2GB free
  • 3GB free
Backing drive8GB (minimum required)
128 GB (minimum recommended)
Operating system root partition64 GB is the minimum required size for the root filesystem which contains the operating system
128 GB minimum recommended
Storage drivesStorage drives must be unmounted block storage: raw disks, drive partitions, LVM, or cloud block storage.
Network connectivityBandwidth:
  • 10 Gbps recommended
  • 1 Gbps minimum

Latency requirements for synchronous replication: less than 10ms between nodes in the cluster
Node typeBare metal and virtual machine (VM)
Software
Linux kernel and distroKernel version 3.10 or greater.
To check if your Linux distro and kernel are supported, see Supported Kernels.
DockerVersion 1.13.1 or greater.
Key-value storePortworx needs a key-value store to perform its operations. As such, install a clustered key-value database (kvdb) with a three node cluster.

You can also use Internal KVDB during installation. In this mode, Portworx will create and manage an internal key-value store (KVDB) cluster.

If you plan of using your own KVDB, refer to KVDB for Portworx for details on recommendations for installing and configuring a KVDB cluster.
Disable swapPlease disable swap on all nodes that will run the Portworx software. Ensure that the swap device is not automatically mounted on server reboot.
Hypervisor
VMware vSphere
  • Version 7.0
  • Version 8.0

Portworx network requirements​

note
  • Portworx also requires the following ports:
    • An open KVDB port. For example, if you're using etcd externally, open port 2379.
    • An open UDP port at 9002 for Kubernetes and 17002 for OpenShift 4+
  • Telemetry components require the following open ports: 9024, 12001, and 12002. Ensure you are running Portworx Operator version 23.7.0 and higher to configure this port for Telemetry.
    • If you are on Portworx version 2.13.7 and older, open port 9024 for telemetry.
    • If you are on Portworx version 2.13.8 and newer, use port 9029 for telemetry.

Portworx ports for east to west traffic

Supported Kubernetes versions​

Before you install Portworx on Kubernetes, ensure that you're using a supported Kubernetes version:

Portworx Enterprise supported Kubernetes versions

note

K3s users: You must use CSI integration to generate/use PVCs.

TypeSupported Kubernetes Version
On-prem Kubernetes
  • 1.24
  • 1.25
  • 1.26
  • 1.27
  • 1.28
  • 1.29
Managed Kubernetes
  • GKE: 1.25.16 , 1.26.11, 1.27.7, 1.28.5, 1.29.1
  • AKS: 1.26.10, 1.27.7, 1.28.3, 1.29
  • EKS: 1.23 , 1.24 , 1.25, 1.26.10, 1.27.7, 1.28.3, 1.29
  • IKS: 1.26.15, 1.27.15, 1.28.11, 1.29.6, 1.30.2 (For IKS version 1.29.5 and above, Operator 23.10.4 or newer is required.)
  • OKE: 1.25.12, 1.26, 1.27.2, 1.28.2
  • KOPS: 1.28.0
  • RKE2: 1.28.6, 1.29.3
  • Mirantis: 23.0.8
  • Charmed Kubernetes: Juju version: 3.3
Distribution KubernetesRed Hat OpenShift:
  • OpenShift 4.12: Kubernetes version 1.25 (OpenShift version verified up to 4.12.44)
  • OpenShift 4.13: Kubernetes version 1.26 (OpenShift version verified up to 4.13.35)
  • OpenShift 4.14: Kubernetes version 1.27 (OpenShift version verified up to 4.14.16)
  • OpenShift 4.15: Kubernetes version 1.28 (OpenShift version verified up to 4.15.3)
Red Hat OpenShift on IBM Cloud:
  • ROKS 4.13: (Verified up to 4.13.43)
  • ROKS 4.14: (Verified up to 4.14.27)
  • ROKS 4.15: (Verified up to 4.15.18)
Red Hat OpenShift Service on AWS:
  • ROSA 4.12: (Verified up to 4.12.51)
  • ROSA 4.13: (Verified up to 4.13.36)
  • ROSA 4.14: (Verified up to 4.14.15)
  • ROSA 4.15: (Verified up to 4.15.3)
Azure Red Hat OpenShift:
  • ARO 4.12: (Verified up to 4.12.25)
  • ARO 4.13: (Verified up to 4.13.23)
NOTE:
  • Supports both bare metal and VM
  • For OpenShift 4.14 and ROKS 4.14, Operator 23.10.4 or newer is required
.
vSphere with Tanzu (TKGs)
  • v1.22.6+vmware.1-vsc0.0.19-20336138
  • v1.23.8+vmware.3
  • v1.24.11---vmware.1-fips.1-tkg.1
Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Integrated (TKGI)
  • PKS version: 1.18.2-build.18; Kubernetes version: 1.27.11
  • PKS version: 1.16.3-build.11; Kubernetes version: 1.25.15
  • PKS version: 1.17.2-build.15; Kubernetes version: 1.26.10
  • PKS version: 1.18.0-build.46; Kubernetes version: 1.27.5
Anthos
  • Bare metal
    • Anthos version: 1.14; Kubernetes version: 1.25
    • Anthos versions: 1.15; Kubernetes version: 1.26
    • Anthos versions: 1.16; Kubernetes version: 1.27
    • Anthos versions: 1.28.200-gke.118; Kubernetes version: 1.27
    • Anthos versions: 1.29.0-gke.1449; Kubernetes version: 1.29.3
  • VMware
    • Anthos version: 1.14; vSphere version: 7.0.3; Kubernetes version: 1.25.5-gke.100
    • Anthos versions: 1.15, vSphere version: 7.0.3; Kubernetes version: 1.26.2-gke.1001
    • Anthos version: 1.16; vSphere version: 8.0; Kubernetes version: v1.27.4-gke.1600
    • Anthos version: 1.28.200-gke.111; vSphere version: 8.0; Kubernetes version: v1.28.4-gke.1400
    • Anthos version: 1.29.100-gke.248; vSphere version: 7.0.3 & 8.0; Kubernetes version: v1.29.4-gke.200

    • Air-gapped prerequisites​

    If you intend to use the sharedv4 feature, your host systems must be running the NFS service. For more information on options for installing the NFS service, refer to the installation article for air-gapped clusters.

    Installation​

    Whether you're using or Essentials, you can install Portworx on the cloud or on-premises. Proceed to one of the following sections for Kubernetes and OpenShift install instructions.

    For all other environments, continue to the following section:

    Portworx on other orchestrators

    Post-installation​

    If you have an existing Portworx cluster, continue to below sections for using and managing Portworx.

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