Migrate standalone CSI to WEKA Operator-embedded

Migrate the CSI plugin to the WEKA Operator to centralize cluster management and streamline future updates.

Unified CSI management

The legacy WEKA CSI plugin functions as a standalone Helm chart deployment. In this model, the plugin lifecycle, including updates and configuration changes, requires independent management of the Helm release.

Transitioning to an Operator-embedded deployment provides a unified management model. The WEKA Operator assumes control of the CSI lifecycle, which simplifies maintenance. During this transition, the Operator takes over the CSI plugin management without affecting existing PersistentVolumes (PVs) or PersistentVolumeClaims (PVCs).

Operational impact

The migration process affects cluster operations as follows:

• Volume integrity: Existing PVCs and PVs remain intact. Uninstalling the standalone plugin only prevents new volume provisioning and mounting until the migration completes.

• Management availability: CSI operations, such as creating or deleting PVCs and gathering metrics, are blocked until the embedded CSI is active.

Migration limitations

Identify specific environment constraints that affect the migration process.

• Mixed mount environments: Kubernetes clusters that combine stateless client mounts outside CSI with CSI mounts and Operator-managed clients do not support non-disruptive upgrades. Use reboot-based upgrades, or manually unmount and remount volumes during the client provisioning cycle.

• Agent removal: The WEKA agent cannot be removed from a server while active mounts are present. Plan agent removal only after unmounting all volumes or during a coordinated maintenance window.

Avoid direct mounts on Kubernetes servers outside the CSI plugin. Direct mounts can cause issues during upgrades and server reboots.

Migrate the CSI plugin

Back up existing Helm values for both the Operator and the CSI plugin.

Before you begin

Before starting the migration, ensure the environment meets these criteria:

• Operator version: The WEKA Operator version is 1.7.0 or later.

• Original installation: The standalone CSI plugin was installed using the csi-wekafs Helm chart.

• Maintenance window: A maintenance window is scheduled to account for a potential IO stall during CSI cutover.

• Backups: Back up existing Helm values for both the Operator and the CSI plugin.

Procedure

1. Upgrade the Operator: Upgrade the WEKA Operator to version 1.7.0 or later. The embedded CSI plugin remains disabled by default after the upgrade to prevent interference with the standalone installation.

2. Uninstall the standalone CSI: Remove the Helm-based CSI installation.

   helm uninstall csi-wekafs -n <namespace>

3. Configure the CSI group name: Set the csiGroup parameter in the WekaClient specification. This maintains compatibility with the csi.weka.io driver name and ensures existing StorageClasses and PVs function without modification.

   spec:
     csiConfig:
       csiGroup: csi

4. Enable the embedded CSI: Update the Operator configuration to enable the embedded CSI plugin.

   1. Retrieve existing flags:

      helm get values weka-operator

   2. Run the helm upgrade with the retrieved flags:

      helm upgrade weka-operator <chart> --set csi.installationEnabled=true [other existing flags]

5. Verify the deployment: Validate the status of the migration and all components.

Component	Validation command
Deployment status	kubectl get wekaclient <client-name> -n <namespace> -o jsonpath='{.status.csiDeployed}'
Storage classes	kubectl get storageclass
Controller status	kubectl get deployment -n
Node pods	kubectl get pods -n <csi-namespace> -l component=csi-weka-csi-node

Related topic

WEKA CSI Plugin