Storage architecture for IBM Cloud Pak for Data

IBM Cloud Pak® for Data supports numerous types of persistent storage. The way that you choose to deploy storage in relation to your cluster depends on which type of persistent storage you're using.

Cloud Pak for Data supports the following types of persistent storage:
  • Red Hat® OpenShift® Data Foundation storage
  • IBM® Storage Fusion Data Foundation storage
  • IBM Storage Fusion Global Data Platform storage
  • IBM Storage Scale Container Native storage
  • Portworx storage
  • NFS storage
  • AWS with EFS storage only
  • AWS with EFS and EBS storage
  • NetApp Trident storage

If possible, choose a storage provider that is supported by all of the services that you plan to install. If that is not possible, your cluster can contain a mix of storage types. However, each service can target only one type of storage.

For specific storage considerations and requirements, see the following information:
  • Storage considerations

    You must have a supported persistent storage solution that is accessible to your Red Hat OpenShift cluster and meets the stated requirements. For example, if your network speeds are too slow or if the disks do not have sufficient I/O performance, services can experience poor performance or cluster instability.

  • Storage requirements

    Ensure that you install the software on persistent storage that works with the services that you plan to install.

Red Hat OpenShift Data Foundation storage

If you are using OpenShift Data Foundation, you can use either of the following configurations:

  • You can use dedicated storage nodes.
  • Your storage nodes can co-exist with your worker nodes.

Because OpenShift Data Foundation uses 3 replicas, it is recommended that you deploy OpenShift Data Foundation on nodes in multiples of three. This makes it easier to set up the initial storage cluster and scale up your storage capacity.

IBM Storage Fusion Data Foundation storage

If you are using IBM Storage Fusion Data Foundation, you can use either of the following configurations:

  • You can use dedicated storage nodes.
  • Your storage nodes can co-exist with your worker nodes.

Because OpenShift Data Foundation uses 3 replicas, it is recommended that you deploy OpenShift Data Foundation on nodes in multiples of three. This makes it easier to set up the initial storage cluster and scale up your storage capacity.

IBM Storage Fusion Global Data Platform storage
IBM Storage Fusion

IBM Storage Fusion Global Data Platform connects to your IBM Storage Scale Storage Cluster through a remote network mount to provide access to the high-performance General Parallel File System (GPFS). IBM Storage Fusion Global Data Platform provides persistent data storage through the IBM Storage Scale Container Storage Interface Driver.

Both IBM Storage Fusion Global Data Platform and IBM Storage Scale Container Storage Interface Driver are deployed on the worker nodes of your OpenShift cluster.

IBM Storage Fusion HCI System

If you're using IBM Storage Fusion HCI System, IBM Storage Fusion Global Data Platform connects to your IBM Storage Scale Storage Cluster through Erasure Code Edition (ECE) disks to provide access to the General Parallel File System (GPFS). IBM Storage Fusion Global Data Platform provides persistent data storage through the IBM Storage Scale Container Storage Interface Driver.

Both IBM Storage Fusion Global Data Platform and IBM Storage Scale Container Storage Interface Driver are deployed on the worker nodes of your OpenShift cluster.

IBM Storage Scale Container Native storage

IBM Storage Scale Container Native connects to your IBM Storage Scale Storage Cluster through a remote network mount to provide access to the high-performance General Parallel File System (GPFS). IBM Storage Scale Container Native provides persistent data storage through the IBM Storage Scale Container Storage Interface Driver.

Both IBM Storage Scale Container Native and IBM Storage Scale Container Storage Interface Driver are deployed on the worker nodes of your OpenShift cluster.

Portworx storage

If you are using Portworx storage, you must add raw disks on the OpenShift worker nodes that you intend to use for storage. (These can be the same nodes as the worker nodes where you run services.) When you install Portworx on your cluster, the Portworx service will take over those disks automatically and use them for dynamic storage provisioning.

NFS storage

If you are using NFS storage, you can use either of the following configurations:

  • You can use an external NFS server. In this configuration, you must have a sufficiently fast network connection to reduce latency and ensure performance.
  • You can install NFS on a dedicated node in the same VLAN as the cluster.
AWS with EFS storage only

Amazon Elastic File System storage is external to the Cloud Pak for Data cluster. With this storage option, you must use the EFS provisioner to connect to your AWS environment that has the Amazon Elastic File System storage.

AWS with EFS and EBS storage

Amazon Elastic File System storage is external to the Cloud Pak for Data cluster. With this storage option, you must use the EFS provisioner to connect to your AWS environment that has the Amazon Elastic File System storage.

If you're also using Amazon Elastic Block Store storage, use the EBS CSI driver that is automatically provisioned as part of your AWS cluster to connect to your AWS environment.

NetApp Trident storage
Self-managed NetApp Trident
NetApp Trident storage is external to the Cloud Pak for Data cluster. With this storage option, the NetApp Trident operator is installed on the Cloud Pak for Data cluster. This operator connects to a remote server that has the NetApp Trident storage.
Managed NetApp Trident (Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP)
NetApp Trident storage is external to the Cloud Pak for Data cluster. With this storage option, the NetApp Trident operator is installed on the Cloud Pak for Data cluster. This operator connects to the Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP file system.