HPE Storage Drivers for Kubernetes and related Ecosystem

HPE offers a comprehensive suite of drivers to integrate its advanced storage solutions with Kubernetes and the related native ecosystem. These drivers ensure seamless, scalable, and reliable storage management for containerized applications. Each driver is tailored to optimize specific storage needs, providing flexibility across various use cases.

The HPE Storage Container Orchestrator Documentation (SCOD) is a reference guide for the HPE CSI, COSI, and GreenLake for File Storage drivers. This documentation outlines the integration with HPE’s primary storage solutions, including HPE Alletra Storage MP B10000 and X10000, HPE GreenLake for File Storage, Alletra 5000/6000/9000, Nimble Storage, Primera, and 3PAR storage systems.

HPE CSI (Container Storage Interface) Driver

The HPE CSI Driver for Kubernetes enables seamless integration of Container Storage Providers (CSPs), allowing you to perform efficient data management operations on storage resources. Its architecture provides block storage vendors to implement a CSP that meets the HPE specification.

The CSP is a REST API specification that outlines the processes for provisioning, mounting, and deallocating storage resources. It defines how a host client interacts with a storage provider, ensuring smooth workflows for Kubernetes environments. Any storage vendor looking to leverage the HPE CSI Driver must implement this specification to ensure compatibility and functionality.

The HPE CSI Driver for Kubernetes seamlessly integrates with a wide range of partner solutions tailored to fit specific target cloud-native environments, including:

• HPE Morpheus Kubernetes Service. You can deploy and manage Kubernetes clusters through the Morpheus hybrid cloud management platform. Since Morpheus is built on a standard Linux distribution and uses upstream Kubernetes, it is fully compatible with and supported by the HPE CSI Driver for Kubernetes.

• HPE Ezmeral Runtime Enterprise allows for seamless deployment and management of open-source upstream Kubernetes clusters via its intuitive management console. Additionally, it supports the importation and integration of external Kubernetes clusters, providing enhanced flexibility.

• Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS) Anywhere allows customers to deploy Amazon EKS-D (Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service Distro) on their private infrastructure or non-AWS cloud environments, providing greater flexibility and control.

• Canonical Kubernetes is a thoroughly upstream solution that seamlessly operates across any cloud environment, including bare metal, public, and edge infrastructure. It enables the deployment of single-node and multi-node clusters using Charmed Kubernetes and MicroK8s, providing robust container orchestration capabilities for everything from testing to production workloads.

• Cohesity and HPE Alletra, powered by the HPE CSI Driver for Kubernetes, deliver comprehensive data protection solutions that help organizations effectively manage the complexities of containerized environments. This integration enables businesses to ensure data security, reliability, and scalability across their Kubernetes workloads.

• Commvault Intelligent Data Management Platform. It delivers Kubernetes-native protection, application mobility, and disaster recovery for containerized applications. Paired with the Commvault Command Center, it offers IT operations and DevOps teams a user-friendly, self-service dashboard to streamline the management and protection of Kubernetes environments.

• Veeam Kasten (K10) is a data management platform designed to run natively on Kubernetes, providing comprehensive protection for containerized applications. It seamlessly integrates with the HPE CSI Driver for Kubernetes, ensuring smooth and reliable data management across Kubernetes environments.

• Mirantis Kubernetes Engine (MKE) is the next-generation solution that succeeds the Universal Control Plane from Docker Enterprise Edition (Docker EE). With the HPE CSI Driver integration for Kubernetes, users can efficiently provision persistent storage for Kubernetes workloads running on MKE, ensuring robust and scalable storage solutions.

• Red Hat OpenShift integration enables the seamless provisioning and management of storage resources for HPE Alletra Storage MP Block, Alletra 5000/6000/9000, Nimble Storage, Primera, and 3PAR, ensuring optimal performance and streamlined storage management across environments.

• SUSE Harvester is a hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI) solution optimized for bare metal servers. It leverages cutting-edge, enterprise-grade open-source technologies, including Linux, KVM, Kubernetes, KubeVirt, and Longhorn, to provide a highly scalable and efficient infrastructure platform.

• SUSE Rancher delivers a unified platform for deploying Kubernetes as a service across any environment. Through its partnership with SUSE Rancher, HPE simplifies the management of the CSI driver on managed Kubernetes clusters, ensuring smooth and efficient storage orchestration.

• VMware Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Integrated (TKGI) is a powerful, standalone container orchestration platform based on Kubernetes, designed to streamline the deployment, management, and scaling of Kubernetes clusters with ease.

• The VMware vSphere Container Storage Plug-in enables Kubernetes users to access vSphere storage and its features. Introduced in vSphere 6.7 U3, it leverages Cloud Native Storage (CNS)—a vCenter abstraction consisting of two key components: the CSI driver for provisioning storage on vSphere and the CNS Control Plane within vCenter, which provides visibility into persistent volumes via the CNS UI.

The HPE CSI Driver architecture clearly separates responsibilities between the upstream Kubernetes core, SIG Storage (CSI maintainers), the CSI driver author (HPE), and the backend CSP developer, ensuring streamlined collaboration and efficient storage resource management.

The HPE CSI Driver for Kubernetes 2.5.2 release introduces significant enhancements, such as support for Morpheus Data Services, improved integration with Kubernetes and OpenShift, strengthened platform reliability, and streamlined backup workflows.

• Support for Morpheus Kubernetes Service
• New Kubernetes Support: Added support for Kubernetes v1.31 to v1.32 and OpenShift v4.17 to v4.18
• Name Change: The HPE CSI Operator for Kubernetes is now renamed to HPE CSI Operator for OpenShift in the Red Hat Ecosystem Catalog
• LDAP Account Support: Now available for HPE Alletra Storage MP B10000 CSP
• Removed SSH Requirement: SSH is no longer required for HPE Primera and newer HPE Alletra Storage MP B10000 CSP platforms (see Deployment section for details)
• Platform Improvements: Several reliability, availability, and serviceability enhancements for the HPE Alletra Storage MP B10000 CSP
• NFS Server Provisioner: Added PersistentVolumeClaim expansion support
• Backup Support: Support for “volumeMode: Block” backup for Veeam Kasten

The HPE CSI Driver supports multiple installation methods, including industry-standard approaches like a Helm chart or an Operator. An advanced installation using object configuration files is available as a reference for partners, OEMs, and users requiring customizations or specific deployment strategies.

You’ll need the Helm chart to work with a vanilla upstream Kubernetes cluster on a supported host OS. The certified OpenShift 4.x cluster CSI operator is required for a Red Hat OpenShift.

In environments with multiple backends, the Helm chart should be used alongside additional Secrets and StorageClasses. For HPE Ezmeral Runtime Enterprise, the Helm chart is also necessary. You’ll need the CSI operator in an Operator Lifecycle Manager (OLM) environment.

The advanced install is ideal if you’re working with an unsupported host OS or Kubernetes cluster and prefer a more hands-on approach. Lastly, use the Helm chart with the air-gapped procedure for a supported platform in an air-gapped environment.

HPE COSI (Container Object Storage Interface) Driver

The HPE COSI Driver for Kubernetes supports bucket lifecycle operations on object storage resources via the HPE Object Storage Provider (OSP). It implements the Container Object Storage Interface (COSI) specification, enabling HPE Alletra Storage MP X10000 Object Storage integration with COSI-compliant containerized workloads within a Kubernetes cluster.

The driver conforms to the gRPC API contract defined by the Kubernetes COSI spec, ensuring compatibility with the COSI controller and ecosystem components.

HPE COSI Driver for Kubernetes v1.0.0 introduces support for Kubernetes versions v1.25 through v1.31, enabling seamless integration with HPE Alletra Storage MP Object Storage. This release delivers core COSI functionality, including bucket provisioning, configuration (e.g., bucket tagging), lifecycle policy management, and access control.

A log collector script is included to streamline operational visibility. It supports efficient retrieval of driver and provider logs from any node within the cluster.

This release enhances Kubernetes-native object storage management by leveraging HPE’s enterprise-grade storage capabilities, delivering a robust, scalable, and cloud-native data infrastructure. 

• Compatible with Kubernetes v1.25 to v1.31
• Bucket Management: Supports bucket creation, tagging, lifecycle, and access management
• Log Collection: Includes a log collector script for gathering logs from any node
• Helm Chart: Available in version v1.0.0 on ArtifactHub
• Supported Platform: HPE Alletra Storage MP X10000
• Operating System: HPE Alletra Storage MP X10000 OS R1
• Protocol: Supports S3
• Release Notes: Version v1.0.0 is available on GitHub for further details

The HPE COSI Driver for Kubernetes is deployed using a Helm chart, adhering to industry-standard Kubernetes packaging practices for declarative, version-controlled installation and configuration.

HPE GreenLake for File Storage CSI Driver

The HPE GreenLake for File Storage CSI Driver is currently designated as beta and is not covered under HPE support agreements. It is intended for non-production use and has undergone targeted validation in the following functional areas:

• Kubernetes: 1.28-1.321
• Helm Chart: v1.0.0-beta3 on ArtifactHub
• Operators: v1.0.0-beta3 via OpenShift console
• Worker OS: Red Hat Enterprise Linux2 7.x, 8.x, 9.x, Red Hat CoreOS 4.14-4.17
• Ubuntu 16.04, 18.04, 20.04, 22.04, 24.04
• SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP4, SP5, SP6 and SLE Micro4 equivalents
• Platforms: HPE GreenLake for File Storage MP OS 1.3 or later
• Data Protocols: NFSv3 and NFSv4.1

Conclusion

The HPE CSI Driver and HPE COSI Driver are foundational to HPE’s Kubernetes and data protection strategy. They enable seamless integration of HPE storage platforms into modern cloud-native ecosystems. While the CSI Driver addresses block and file storage provisioning, the COSI Driver facilitates object storage integration. Together, they support a broad spectrum of workload requirements.

On the other hand, the HPE GreenLake for File Storage CSI Driver is critical for enabling persistent file storage in containerized Kubernetes environments that leverage HPE’s enterprise-grade file storage capabilities.

These drivers are purpose-built to meet the demands of hybrid and multi-cloud architectures, serving as key enablers of scalable, resilient, and policy-driven storage orchestration in Kubernetes environments.

References

https://scod.hpedev.io

https://scod.hpedev.io/csi_driver/index.html#features_and_capabilities

https://scod.hpedev.io/cosi_driver/index.html

https://scod.hpedev.io/filex_csi_driver/index.html

https://www.hpe.com/emea_europe/en/solutions/cloud/containers.html

https://www.hpe.com/br/en/morpheus.html

GitHub – hpe-storage/scod: HPE Storage Container Orchestrator Documentation

https://github.com/hpe-storage/container-storage-provider