Integrating HPE CSI Driver, HPE Morpheus, HPE Kubernetes Services and Veeam Kasten
Continuing from my previous post on “HPE Storage Drivers for Kubernetes and Related Ecosystem”, let’s focus on the integration between the HPE CSI Driver, HPE Kubernetes Service, and Veeam Kasten.
Reference: https://cloudnroll.com/2025/04/06/hpe-storage-drivers-for-kubernetes-and-its-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.
SCOD link: https://scod.hpedev.io/
HPE Alletra MP B10000 and Persistent Storage
HPE Alletra Storage MP B10000 delivers mission-critical storage at mid-range economics with the industry’s first disaggregated, scale-out block and file storage with 100% data availability.
Built on the new HPE Alletra Storage MP modular, disaggregated platform and managed via HPE GreenLake, this enhanced storage delivers a cloud-like experience with efficient scaling, extreme resilience, and top-tier performance for mission-critical applications.
It combines HPE’s best-in-class technologies: high-performance hardware from the Alletra Storage MP platform, all-flash and NVMe, proven enterprise SDS capabilities, and built-in AI for automation and self-healing, into an all-in-one, resilient data solution.
Why choose HPE Alletra Storage for Kubernetes? Data persistence is crucial in Kubernetes environments, ensuring that stateful applications retain their data despite the ephemeral nature of PODs.
Applications deployed in a Kubernetes cluster lack guarantees of execution on any specific node, preventing data from being stored in arbitrary file system locations. Should an application write data to a file for subsequent use and subsequently be rescheduled to a different node, that file would no longer reside at the expected path.
Persistent Volumes (PVs), paired with Persistent Volume Claims (PVCs), provide an abstraction layer over storage solutions, ensuring data accessibility regardless of POD relocation across nodes.
Persistent Volume (PV) is a storage resource provisioned in Kubernetes, often backed by external storage systems.
Persistent Volume Claim (PVC) is a request for storage by a Kubernetes application, like a “contract” between an application and the storage layer. PVCs abstract away the underlying storage details, allowing developers to declare how much storage they need and what type. Kubernetes then binds the PVC to a suitable PV.
Application use cases for persistent storage span from databases and analytics to enterprise workloads.
HPE CSI Driver for Kubernetes
The HPE CSI Driver for Kubernetes is the critical, standards-based interface between the Kubernetes orchestration layer and storage systems, such as the HPE Alletra MP B10000.
It is a Container Storage Interface (CSI) driver that enables the use of Container Storage Providers (CSPs) to manage data operations on storage resources, supporting block (iSCSI/FC, file (NFS), and NVME protocols. It’s a multi-protocol and multi-vendor architecture that enables storage vendors to implement a CSP that meets the HPE specification.
The CSI driver architecture allows a complete separation of concerns between:
- Kubernetes Core: Manages high-level workload orchestration, including pod lifecycle management, node scheduling, and volume attachment requests via the kubelet. It interacts with CSI through standardized APIs without storage-specific logic.
- SIG Storage (CSI Owners): Owns the CSI specification, which defines RESTful gRPC protocols, feature maturity (e.g., dynamic provisioning), and sidecar containers such as external-provisioner for claim handling.
- HPE (Driver Author): Implements the CSI driver, translating Kubernetes requests into CSI calls and coordinating node/controller plugins for operations across protocols like iSCSI/FC/NFS.
- CSPs (Backend Developers): Handle storage array-specific tasks such as provisioning volumes, snapshots, and topology on platforms. Any storage vendor can implement a CSP in accordance with HPE specifications.
Integration with Veeam Kasten
The HPE CSI Driver is installed at the Kubernetes layer and communicates with storage systems using REST APIs and Data Paths.
It provides access to storage objects on top of Kubernetes, including StorageClass, PersistentVolume, PersistentVolumeClaim, VolumeSnapshot, and more. HPE CSI Driver supports standard Kubernetes storage objects and other CSI extensions, as outlined in its official feature matrix: https://scod.hpedev.io/csi_driver/index.html
Veeam Kasten installs in its own namespace and continuously scans other Kubernetes namespaces to discover Kubernetes application objects, which represent the workloads to be protected. These are cataloged as application resources in Kasten, which define the backup scope and orchestration logic.
Backup process
When a backup policy runs, Veeam Kasten identifies Persistent Volume Claims (the “contract” between an application and the storage layer) associated with application objects and issues a VolumeSnapshot request via the HPE CSI Driver for Kubernetes.
The HPE CSI Driver receives the snapshot request and translates it into storage-specific API calls. It communicates with the Cloud Storage Provider (CSP), which manages HPE storage arrays, including HPE Alletra MP B10000.
The CSP, in the backend, instructs the storage system to create a point-in-time snapshot of the associated volume.
Veeam Kasten receives confirmation of snapshot operation success via the HPE CSI Driver for Kubernetes, which returns status information once the VolumeSnapshot request completes.
Veeam Kasten catalogs these successful snapshots under its App Sessions, which represent the full application context and ensure application-consistent backups.
It´s a way of encapsulating everything about an application at the time of backup. It includes the namespace where the app lives, deployments or StatefulSets that define the workloads, ConfigMaps and Secrets for configuration and credentials, and Persistent Volume Claims (PVCs).
Restore process
Veeam Kasten restores applications in Kubernetes by rehydrating persistent volumes and redeploying the workloads.
When a user initiates a restore and selects a restore point created during the backup, Kasten reads application-related backup metadata and uses the Kubernetes VolumeSnapshot API to reference the existing snapshots created during backup.
After that, Veeam Kasten requests new Persistent Volume Claims (PVCs) for the restored application. The HPE CSI driver communicates with the CSP to provision cloned volumes (PVs) from the snapshots using the instant-clone capability (metadata‑based). This step is near‑instant regardless of volume size.
These cloned volumes created in HPE Storage (PVs) are then bound to the new PVCs. Veeam Kasten replays the backup manifests, recreates Deployments and StatefulSets, and binds cloned HPE‑provisioned PVs to new PVCs while restoring ConfigMaps, Secrets, and Services to ensure the application’s configuration and networking are consistent.
PODs mount the cloned volumes delivered by the HPE CSI driver, applications restart with restored data, and Kasten continuously monitors readiness/liveness probes, retrying only failed components to guarantee reliable recovery.
In addition, the following HPE solutions can be used as backup repositories for Veeam Kasten:
- HPE Alletra Storage MP X10000 can serve as an object-storage backup repository, making data available via the S3‑compatible interface. This enables low latency and high performance for both backup and restore operations.
- HPE StoreOnce is an industry‑leading, purpose‑built backup appliance that delivers rapid data backup and recovery, along with cost‑efficient long‑term retention either on‑premises or in the cloud for all workloads.
HPE CSI Driver Deployment
The HPE CSI Driver for Kubernetes can be deployed via three primary methods: Helm charts, an Operator (particularly suited to OpenShift environments), or an advanced/manual installation using YAML manifests.
Deployment via Helm is generally recommended, as it represents the industry‑standard package manager for Kubernetes. Helm streamlines installation and upgrade processes, facilitates configuration through parameters such as Secrets and StorageClasses, and provides reliable support for deployments in air‑gapped environments.
The official Helm chart for the HPE CSI Driver for Kubernetes is hosted on Artifact Hub.
Link: https://artifacthub.io/packages/helm/hpe-storage/hpe-csi-driver
Example of installing the HPE CSI driver with Helm:
Step 1: Add the HPE CSI Driver for Kubernetes Helm repository.
Step 2: Update the Helm repository.
Step 3: Create a namespace for the HPE CSI Driver.
Step 4: Install the HPE CSI Driver for Kubernetes.
Once the HPE CSI Driver has been deployed, a Secret must be created for the CSI driver to communicate with HPE Nimble Storage. This Secret, which contains the storage system IP and credentials, is used by the CSI driver sidecars within the StorageClass to authenticate to a specific backend for various CSI operations.
Example of a secret.yaml for HPE Alletra MP B10000.
Step 5: Create the Secret using kubectl: kubectl create -f custom-secret.yaml
StorageClass (SC) specifies the HPE CSI Driver and the volume parameters (e.g., Protection Templates, Performance Policies, Folders) for the volumes to be created. These parameters are used to differentiate between storage levels and usages.
To use the new Secret “custom-secret”, create a new StorageClass using the Secret and the necessary StorageClass parameters.
Step 6: Create the StorageClass using kubectl: kubectl create -f hpe-custom.yaml
With the HPE CSI Driver for Kubernetes deployed and a StorageClass available, we can now create a PersistentVolumeClaim from the StorageClass. For more information, refer to the link below:
HPE Morpheus and HPE Kubernetes Service (HKS)
HPE Morpheus Enterprise is a market leader and a full-featured Cloud Management Platform (CMP) that unifies hybrid cloud operations, integrates seamlessly with existing enterprise tools, and provides lifecycle automation for both virtualization and Kubernetes environments
Within this context, Morpheus integrates directly with HPE Kubernetes Service (HKS), a CNCF‑certified Kubernetes distribution that delivers enterprise‑grade reliability for containerized workloads.
Morpheus Enterprise not only provisions and manages HKS clusters but also imports and centrally manages external Kubernetes clusters from Amazon EKS, Azure AKS, and Google GKE, enabling organizations to pursue a proper multi‑cloud strategy while maintaining centralized visibility, governance, and compliance.
Morpheus also includes an enterprise-grade KVM-based hypervisor (HVM) that supports diverse workloads and streamlines IT operations. Built on the proven Kernel-based Virtual Machine technology, this hypervisor provides full hardware-assisted virtualization, enabling unmodified guest operating systems to run efficiently across a wide range of environments.
Complementing this orchestration, Veeam Kasten integration ensures enterprise‑grade data protection by leveraging HPE storage snapshots and CSI‑based workflows to deliver application‑consistent backup and recovery using the HPE Alletra MP B10000.
Additionally, HPE Morpheus VM Essentials is an enterprise-grade KVM-based hypervisor (HVM) that supports diverse workloads and integrates seamlessly with VMware to enable centralized management of VMware and KVM workloads, and with the Veeam Data Platform to provide enterprise-grade backup, recovery, and data protection.
HPE is positioned as a Leader and Fast Mover in the Innovation/Platform Play quadrant of the GigaOm for Cloud Management Platforms Radar Chart:
Conclusion
The integration between HPE and Veeam establishes a resilient and unified ecosystem in which containerized workloads are orchestrated through HPE Morpheus Enterprise, executed on HPE Kubernetes Service (HKS), seamlessly connected to the high‑performance storage of HPE Alletra MP B10000, comprehensively protected by Veeam Kasten and by HPE backup repositories like HPE Alletra MP X10000 and HPE StoreOnce.
By combining orchestration, execution, storage, and data protection, organizations can accelerate application delivery, enforce centralized governance across hybrid and multi‑cloud environments, and safeguard critical data for Kubernetes clusters and business‑critical applications.
References
https://scod.hpedev.io/csi_driver/index.html
https://scod.hpedev.io/csi_driver/deployment.html
https://scod.hpedev.io/csi_driver/partners/kasten/index.html
https://docs.kasten.io/latest/api/k10apps
https://docs.kasten.io/latest/usage/protect
Video Gallery – SCOD.HPEDEV.IO
https://artifacthub.io/packages/helm/hpe-storage/hpe-csi-driver
https://www.hpe.com/us/en/morpheus-enterprise-software/integrations.html
https://portal.gigaom.com/report/gigaom-radar-for-cloud-management-platforms-cmps-4
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