Install Portworx on Spectro Cloud

To install Portworx on Spectro Cloud, you need to prepare the Cluster Profile template to customize the Operating System Layer. After configuration, the cluster profile layers will look similar to the following.

Note: The Network, System App, and other layers, can differ based on your configuration. For more information on Cluster profiles, refer to the Spectro Cloud documentation.

Before you begin

• Ensure your cluster meets the Portworx prerequisites for Spectro Cloud.

• This guide assume your infrastructure provider is Canonical Metal as a Service (MAAS) on Spectro Cloud and specifies using a Storage array like Pure Storage FlashArray with pre-provisioned volumes attached as LUNs over iSCSI to Portworx nodes.

  However, other storage options are also supported:

  • Using a Pure Storage FlashArray is not required. Other external storage arrays with pre-provisioned volumes or local disks within the servers can also be used.
  • When using an external storage array (such as FlashArray or others), iSCSI is not mandatory—Fibre Channel (FC) can also be used for connectivity.
  • When using FlashArrays specifically, cloud disks are used instead of pre-provisioned volumes.

  For a list of infrastructure providers supported by Spectro Cloud, refer Creating clusters on Palette.

• To prepare Bare-Metal Cluster API (CAPI) clusters, refer to the Reliable Distributed Storage for Bare-Metal CAPI Clusters blog post. It covers essential prerequisites:

  • Configure static IPs on all nodes.
  • Remove all disks from the MAAS configuration to prevent data loss during repaving.
  • Disabling the “Erase nodes disks prior to releasing” option.

  Follow the blog for additional preparation steps.

note

These installation steps target a specific use case. If they don't match your requirements, follow the Bare Metal Install Guide or the FlashArray Direct Access guide for a more generic installation approach.

Prepare your Cluster Profile

To configure your new cluster profile:

1. Select the MAAS infrastructure provider in cloud type of the new cluster profile.
2. Choose Ubuntu Base OS Pack as the base OS pack. This pack requires the following additional customizations:

important

These steps are essential only if your Portworx nodes use iSCSI to connect to a backend storage array. If the nodes rely solely on locally attached drives, this configuration is not necessary. For more details about repaving behavior and configuration, refer to the Repave Behavior and Configuration documentation.

Configuring OS Pack: Edit values under pack details for Portworx to work.

1. Unique iSCSI initiator name that doesn't change.

   To ensure the iSCSI Initiator name remains consistent across reboots or node repaving, you need to implement a script that generates a unique iSCSI initiator name. This script can utilize the MAC address of the node’s active network interface, as shown in the example screenshot, or any other method such as the hostname or a different MAC address. The key requirement is that the method ensures a unique and persistent initiator name for the node.

   

2. Ensure node undergoes iSCSI discovery and login process before Portworx comes up on node.

   Once the iSCSI initiator names are generated, each node must discover and log in to the iSCSI targets. To configure this, provide the FlashArray Portal IP using the variable FLASHARRAY_PORTALS=XX.XX.XX.XX, as shown in the image. This step ensures that iSCSI discovery and login to iSCSI paths are re-established after a node repave, allowing Portworx to connect to the storage backend before starting.

   

3. Ensure to keep only one NFS mount port.

   To ensure NFS operates on a consistent port, configure it to prevent mounts on random or varying ports, which can occur in some OS distributions or if using NFSv3. This configuration is essential because Portworx SharedV4 volumes rely on NFS ports for communication, regardless of whether a storage array backend is used. For more details, see the Portworx documentation on opening NFS ports.

   

4. Configure Kubernetes and CNI layers in the profile. For more information, refer Create Infrastructure Profile.

Install Portworx

In the Storage layer, select Portworx as the base storage pack.

Configure Portworx Pack.

The Portworx /w Operator pack provides you with options to choose the Pack Version from the left sidebar. You can configure the version of Portworx by changing the image tag associated with the image below in the values under Pack Details in the left sidebar:

Allowed Pack and Image Updates

When overriding the image version, you should only change .z versions (patch versions) within the same .y release. For example, if you are using the 3.2.0 pack, you can deploy 3.2.1 or 3.2.2, but you should not use it to deploy 3.3.0 or any other .y version upgrade.

You should be able to find those image names under the Values.

info

• Generate the StorageCluster from the PX Central UI. For additional configuration, refer to the Storage Specification section and the StorageCluster CRD.
• For detailed instructions on configuring Secrets and StorageClass parameters, refer to the operations section.
• If you need to configure IAM permissions for example for AWS refer to the Storage specification section on Spectro Cloud docs
• To configure Prometheus URL for Autopilot, follow Install and Setup page.

Add Pure Secrets Manifest

Create a secrets manifest to enable access to Pure FlashArray and attach it to the Portworx pack.

Refer Create a JSON configuration file to enable Portworx to integrate with FlashArray.

Once complete, select the next layer and finish up the cluster profile creation.

Deploy Cluster Profile​

During deployment, configure the worker pool: Set Node Repave interval to a minimum of 10 min i.e., 600 seconds at least, and select Rolling Update to Contract First.

[Optional] Create an add-on Pack for Virtual Machine Orchestrator (VMO)​

Palette Virtual Machine Orchestrator (VMO) provides a unified platform for deploying, managing, and scaling Virtual Machines (VMs) and containerized applications within Kubernetes clusters. To create an add-on pack, refer Add Pack to Add-on Profile.

For more information on VMO, refer the Virtual Machine Orchestrator page on the Spectro Cloud documentation.

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/example-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
   example-pvc   Bound    pvc-xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-2377767c8ce0   2Gi        RWO            example-storageclass   3m7s

kubectl displays details about your PVC if it was created correctly. Verify that the configuration details match your expectations.

3. After verifying, delete the PVC created in the earlier steps.

   kubectl delete pvc <your-pvc-name>

   persistentvolumeclaim "px-check-pvc" deleted