Deploying VAST Block CSI Driver with VAST CSI Operator for Kubernetes

VAST CSI Operator for Kubernetes helps deploy, configure and upgrade VAST CSI drivers in Kubernetes environments.

To deploy VAST Block CSI Driver using VAST CSI Operator for Kubernetes:

Note
Before you start, ensure that the VAST cluster on which you are going to provision storage is configured for CSI use.

Follow VAST CSI Operator installation guidelines to install VAST CSI Operator.
The VAST CSI Operator will be installed into the my-vast-csi-operator namespace. Follow these guidelines to handle namespaces.
Use VAST CSI Operator to deploy the VAST Block CSI Driver custom resources: VastCSIDriver, VastCluster and VastStorage.
Each of the three resources is required.
Use the storage class generated by the VastStorage custom resource instance in your PVCs to provision storage.

Note
VAST CSI Operator does not provide a CRD for VAST snapshots. If you are going to use VAST snapshots with VAST Block CSI Driver, install the snapshot CRDs manually.

Specifying the Namespace

By default, VAST CSI Operator for Kubernetes is installed into the my-vast-csi-operator namespace and can be run from that namespace only. To ensure that VAST CSI Driver runs in the same namespace as the VAST CSI Operat, do either of the following:

Remove my-vast-csi-operator from the targetNamespaces specification in the manifest produced during the installation, or
Install VAST CSI Driver to the my-vast-csi-operator namespace.

Custom Resource Definitions in VAST CSI Operator

VAST CSI Operator introduces the following Custom Resource Definitions (CRD):

VastCSIDriver is a common specification for the VAST CSI Controller and VAST CSI Node, for example:
```
apiVersion: storage.vastdata.com/v1
kind: VastCSIDriver
metadata:
  name: block.csi.vastdata.com
  namespace: vast-csi
spec:
  driverType: "block"
  image:
    csiVastPlugin:
      repository: docker.io/vastdataorg/csi:v2.6.3
```
Ensure that the specification includes the correct driver type for VAST Block CSI Driver: driverType: "block". (If not specified, the parameter defaults to nfs.)
VastCluster specifies the VAST endpoint, username and password to connect to the VAST cluster where volumes will be provisioned. These settings are stored in a VAST Block CSI Driver's Kubernetes secret.
The specification can include either a VMS authentication token, or a username and a password.
For example:
- With a VMS authentication token:
```
apiVersion: storage.vastdata.com/v1
kind: VastCluster
metadata:
  name: cluster
  namespace: vast-csi
spec:
  endpoint: 198.151.100.12
  token: "<token>"
```
- With a username and password:
```
apiVersion: storage.vastdata.com/v1
kind: VastCluster
metadata:
  name: cluster
  namespace: vast-csi
spec:
  endpoint: 198.151.100.12
  username: admin
  password: "<password>"
```
You can create multiple VastCluster instances to access different VAST clusters, or to access the same VAST cluster using different credentials.

VastStorage defines VAST storage options to be used when provisioning volumes on the VAST cluster. This resource generates a storage class (and optionally a snapshot class) that you can use in your PVCs.

For example:

apiVersion: storage.vastdata.com/v1
kind: VastStorage
metadata:
  name: vastdata-block
  namespace: vast-csi
spec:
  driverType: "block"
  provisioner: "block.csi.vastdata.com"
  clusterName: vastcluster
  subsystem: "myblock"
  vipPool: "vippool-1"
  createSnapshotClass: false

Using VastStorage-generated Storage Class in PVCs

In your PVC, specify the name of the storage class generated based on the VastStorage CRD as the storageClassName, for example:

For example:

apiVersion: v1
kind: PersistentVolumeClaim
metadata:
  name: csi-block-pvc
spec:
  volumeMode: Block
  accessModes:
  - ReadWriteOnce
  resources:
    requests:
      storage: 1Gi
  storageClassName: vastdata-block