Deploying Ceph-CSI

There are several ways to deploy the Ceph-CSI drivers into a Kubernetes cluster. The Ceph-CSI-Operator is the recommended method for new deployments. Helm charts and raw manifests remain available but are gradually being phased out in favor of the operator, and Rook deployments get Ceph-CSI automatically.

Note

If you deploy Ceph with Rook, Rook installs and manages Ceph-CSI for you. Current Rook releases do this through the Ceph-CSI-Operator. Do not deploy Ceph-CSI by hand in a Rook cluster.

Gather Ceph Cluster Information

Whichever method you choose, the drivers need to know how to reach the Ceph cluster. Collect the cluster fsid and the Monitor addresses:

ceph mon dump

The Monitor addresses are listed in the driver’s cluster connection configuration. The clusterID parameter that StorageClasses use to select a cluster must match the name of the corresponding ClientProfile resource when deploying with the operator. Helm and raw manifest deployments conventionally use the cluster fsid as the clusterID. Each back end page in this chapter describes the CephX user that the drivers authenticate with.

Ceph-CSI-Operator (Recommended)

The Ceph-CSI-Operator manages the deployment, configuration, and lifecycle of Ceph-CSI drivers through Kubernetes custom resources. For complete documentation, see the Ceph-CSI Operator documentation. To install the operator:

kubectl create -f https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ceph/ceph-csi-operator/main/deploy/all-in-one/install.yaml

Then deploy a driver by creating a Driver resource. For example, to deploy the RBD driver:

apiVersion: csi.ceph.io/v1
kind: Driver
metadata:
  name: rbd.csi.ceph.com
  namespace: ceph-csi-operator-system

The CephFS, NFS, and NVMe-oF drivers are deployed the same way, using the names cephfs.csi.ceph.com, nfs.csi.ceph.com, and nvmeof.csi.ceph.com. Connection details for the Ceph cluster are supplied through the operator’s CephConnection and ClientProfile resources; CephX credentials are stored in Kubernetes Secrets referenced from the StorageClass. See the operator quick start and operator installation guide pages for complete walkthroughs, supported Kubernetes versions, and Helm-based installation of the operator itself.

Helm Charts (Deprecated)

Note

For new deployments, the Ceph-CSI-Operator is recommended over Helm charts. See the Ceph-CSI Operator documentation for details.

The Ceph-CSI project publishes per-driver Helm charts:

helm repo add ceph-csi https://ceph.github.io/csi-charts
helm install --namespace ceph-csi-rbd ceph-csi-rbd ceph-csi/ceph-csi-rbd \
    --create-namespace

A ceph-csi-cephfs chart is available for the CephFS driver. Chart values are documented in the Ceph-CSI charts directory.

Raw Manifests (Deprecated)

Note

For new deployments, the Ceph-CSI-Operator is recommended over Raw Manifests. See the Ceph-CSI Operator documentation for details.

Per-driver Kubernetes manifests are maintained in the deploy/ directory of the Ceph-CSI repository, together with deployment instructions in the Ceph-CSI documentation. This method offers the most control but requires you to track and apply manifest changes on every upgrade.

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