> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.siderolabs.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Dell PowerStore CSI

> Configure and install the Dell PowerStore CSI driver on a Talos Linux cluster

export const release = 'v1.13.6';

export const version = 'v1.13';

[Dell PowerStore CSI](https://github.com/dell/csi-powerstore) is a container storage interface (CSI) driver for Kubernetes that provisions persistent volumes from Dell PowerStore storage arrays. This guide covers installing the driver on a Talos Linux cluster and connecting to the array over NVMe/TCP.

## Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure that you have the following:

* `talosctl` installed
* `kubectl` installed (v1.25 or higher)
* Helm installed (v3.7 or higher)
* Access to a Dell PowerStore array with the **Storage Operator** role or higher
* Network connectivity from your nodes to the PowerStore array

Dell PowerStore CSI requires four Talos system extensions on every node:

* `siderolabs/nvme-cli` — provides the `nvme` CLI used for NVMe/TCP connections
* `siderolabs/multipath-tools` — provides `multipathd` for device multipathing
* `siderolabs/iscsi-tools` — provides iscsid and iscsiadm for persistent volume operations
* `siderolabs/util-linux-tools` — provides Linux utilities such as `fstrim`

<Note> Use Talos Linux v1.13.3 or higher.</Note>

<Info> The schematic ID <a href={`https://factory.talos.dev/?arch=amd64&platform=metal&schematic-id=4f50d1375e1c91b2bcac34a8a99ccc83ab9220f7f1ab65172ccff510bb926b4b&target=metal&version=${release}`}><code>4f50d1375e1c91b2bcac34a8a99ccc83ab9220f7f1ab65172ccff510bb926b4b</code></a> corresponds to exactly the four extensions listed above.</Info>

**If your nodes are already running** without these extensions, upgrade each node to a schematic that includes all four. You can generate an updated schematic using the [Talos Image Factory](https://factory.talos.dev/), then follow the <a href={`../../talos/${version}/platform-specific-installations/boot-assets`}>Boot Assets guide</a> to apply it to your existing nodes.

## Step 1: Download the CSI driver chart

Add the Dell Helm repository and pull the chart locally so you can customize it before installing:

```bash theme={null}
helm repo add dell https://dell.github.io/helm-charts --force-update
helm pull dell/csi-powerstore --untar --version 2.17.0
```

## Step 2: Create a privileged namespace

Talos enables the [Pod Security Admission Policies](https://docs.siderolabs.com/kubernetes-guides/security/pod-security#override-the-pod-security-admission-configuration) by default, which blocks the privileged containers the CSI driver requires.

Create the `csi-powerstore` namespace and label it to allow privileged workloads:

```bash theme={null}
kubectl create namespace csi-powerstore
kubectl label namespace csi-powerstore pod-security.kubernetes.io/enforce=privileged
```

## Step 3: Configure the PowerStore connection secret

Download Dell's example secret and edit it to match your array:

```bash theme={null}
curl -sL -o config.yaml https://raw.githubusercontent.com/dell/csi-powerstore/main/samples/secret/secret.yaml
```

In `config.yaml`, set `blockProtocol` to `NVMeTCP`. The `username` must belong to a PowerStore authentication provider and have the correct role to perform the required actions — the minimum is **Storage Operator**.

Create a Kubernetes secret from the edited file:

```bash theme={null}
kubectl create secret generic powerstore-config -n csi-powerstore --from-file=config=config.yaml
```

## Step 4: Create a StorageClass

Create a StorageClass based on one of the [Dell samples](https://github.com/dell/csi-powerstore/tree/main/samples/storageclass/). A minimal NVMe/TCP example:

```bash theme={null}
kubectl apply -f - <<EOF
apiVersion: storage.k8s.io/v1
kind: StorageClass
metadata:
  name: "powerstore-ext4"
provisioner: "csi-powerstore.dellemc.com"
parameters:
  # arrayID: id of array to be used for volumes
  # Allowed values: arrayID corresponding to array's globalID specified in secret.yaml
  # Optional: false
  # Default value: None
  arrayID: ""
  csi.storage.k8s.io/fstype: "ext4"
reclaimPolicy: Delete
# Default value: false
allowVolumeExpansion: true
volumeBindingMode: Immediate
EOF
```

<Info> If you do not specify the `arrayID` parameter in the StorageClass, the array marked as the default in your secret is used for provisioning volumes.</Info>

## Step 5: Configure the Helm values

Create a copy of the chart's values file and edit it to match your configuration:

```bash theme={null}
cp csi-powerstore/values.yaml my-powerstore-values.yaml
```

### Work around the multipath.conf mount on Talos

<Warning> On Talos Linux v1.13 and earlier, `multipath.conf` is not mounted correctly, so the multipath host mounts must be disabled in the chart's node template before installing.</Warning>

Edit `csi-powerstore/templates/node.yaml`. In the `volumeMounts` section, comment out the `mpath` mount:

```yaml theme={null}
            # - name: mpath
            #   mountPath: /etc/multipath.conf
```

Then in the `volumes` section, comment out the matching `mpath` volume:

```yaml theme={null}
        # - name: mpath
        #   hostPath:
        #     path: /etc/multipath.conf
        #     type: FileOrCreate
```

### Volume Health Monitoring (optional)

Volume Health Monitoring is disabled by default. To enable it, add the configuration below to your `my-powerstore-values.yaml` file before installing the driver. Set `enabled: true` under `controller.healthMonitor` to check the health condition of CSI volumes, and under `node.healthMonitor` to enable volume stats monitoring.

```yaml theme={null}
controller:
  healthMonitor:
    # enabled: Enable/Disable health monitor of CSI volumes
    enabled: true
    # interval: Interval of monitoring volume health condition (e.g. 60s, 5m, 1h)
    interval: 60s

node:
  healthMonitor:
    # enabled: Enable/Disable health monitor of CSI volumes - volume usage, volume condition
    enabled: true
```

## Step 6: Install the driver

Once you have configured your `my-powerstore-values.yaml` file, install the driver from the local chart:

```bash theme={null}
helm install csi-powerstore ./csi-powerstore -n csi-powerstore --values my-powerstore-values.yaml
```

## Step 7: Verify the installation

Check that the controller and node pods are running:

```bash theme={null}
kubectl get pods -n csi-powerstore
```

The `csi-powerstore-controller` deployment and a `csi-powerstore-node` pod on each node should reach the **Running** state.

## Step 8: Create a test persistent volume

Create a test PersistentVolumeClaim using the StorageClass from **Step 4**:

```bash theme={null}
kubectl apply -f - <<EOF
apiVersion: v1
kind: PersistentVolumeClaim
metadata:
  name: powerstore-test-pvc
spec:
  accessModes:
    - ReadWriteOnce
  storageClassName: powerstore-ext4
  resources:
    requests:
      storage: 5Gi
EOF
```

Check its status:

```bash theme={null}
kubectl get pvc powerstore-test-pvc
```

The PVC should reach the **Bound** state within a few seconds, confirming that the driver can provision volumes on the PowerStore array.

Once you have confirmed it works, remove the test claim:

```bash theme={null}
kubectl delete pvc powerstore-test-pvc
```

## Enable replication (optional)

The following applies only if you enable the replication feature in `my-powerstore-values.yaml`:

```yaml theme={null}
replication:
  enabled: true
```

The replication CRDs are obtained from the [csm-replication](https://github.com/dell/csm-replication) project. Use `csm-replication/deploy/replicationcrds.all.yaml` from the repository to install them.

CRDs should be configured during the replication prepare stage with `repctl`, as described in the Dell [install-repctl](https://github.com/dell/csm-replication) documentation.