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Configure NFS client provisioner

To use persistent volumes in a cluster, storage and PersistentVolume objects typically need to be manually configured. In Kubernetes Engine, you can use the NFS client provisioner to mount KakaoCloud File Storage as a persistent volume. Once the NFS client provisioner is installed in the cluster, you can dynamically create persistent volumes simply by creating PersistentVolumeClaims.
The steps to configure the NFS client provisioner are as follows.

Step 1. Complete prerequisites​

Before configuring the NFS client provisioner, complete the following prerequisites. These steps only need to be done once per cluster.

Configure kubectl control​

Before deployment, configure kubectl access to the cluster.

info

If kubectl is not yet configured, refer to Configure kubectl control.

Create file storage​

Create File Storage for use with your Kubernetes Engine cluster.

  1. Go to KakaoCloud Console > Beyond Storage Service > File Storage.

  2. In the Instance menu, click [Create instance].

    • The file storage’s VPC must match the VPC of the cluster where NFS is to be used.
    • For Kubernetes Engine nodes to access it, set Access Control Settings to Allow access from all private IPs in the specified VPC.

    Console: Create File Storage instance File Storage > Create instance

  3. After creation, check the Mount information and VPC info on the instance detail page.

    Console: File Storage details File Storage details page

Step 2. Configure NFS client provisioner​

Install the NFS client provisioner to dynamically create persistent volumes using the file storage and PVCs. You can install it using a YAML file or Helm.

Deploy NFS client provisioner with a YAML file​

  1. Run the following command to install the NFS client provisioner:

    Deployment command
    kubectl --kubeconfig=$KUBE_CONFIG apply -f https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kakaoenterprise/kakaocloud-tutorials/refs/heads/k8se-public-guides/NFSclientprovisioner/nfs-subdir-external-provisioner.yml

  2. Download the Deployment YAML and modify it by entering the File Storage IP and File Storage Mount Path from the File Storage details page under spec > template > spec > containers > env and volumes.

    Deployment configuration YAML
    apiVersion: apps/v1
    kind: Deployment
    metadata:
      name: nfs-subdir-external-provisioner
      labels:
        chart: nfs-subdir-external-provisioner-4.0.18
        heritage: Helm
        app: nfs-subdir-external-provisioner
        release: nfs-subdir-external-provisioner
    spec:
      replicas: 1
      strategy:
        type: Recreate
      selector:
        matchLabels:
          app: nfs-subdir-external-provisioner
          release: nfs-subdir-external-provisioner
      template:
        metadata:
          annotations:
          labels:
            app: nfs-subdir-external-provisioner
            release: nfs-subdir-external-provisioner
        spec:
          serviceAccountName: nfs-subdir-external-provisioner
          containers:
            - name: nfs-subdir-external-provisioner
              image: "registry.k8s.io/sig-storage/nfs-subdir-external-provisioner:v4.0.2"
              imagePullPolicy: IfNotPresent
              volumeMounts:
                - name: nfs-subdir-external-provisioner-root
                  mountPath: /persistentvolumes
              env:
                - name: PROVISIONER_NAME
                  value: cluster.local/nfs-subdir-external-provisioner
                - name: NFS_SERVER
                  value: [File Storage IP]
                - name: NFS_PATH
                  value: [File Storage Mount Path]
          volumes:
            - name: nfs-subdir-external-provisioner-root
              nfs:
                server: [File Storage IP]
                path: [File Storage Mount Path]

  3. Apply the modified YAML using the actual filename:

    kubectl --kubeconfig=$KUBE_CONFIG apply -f {your-yaml-file}.yaml

Deploy NFS client provisioner using Helm​

You can also install the NFS client provisioner using Helm.

  1. Install the Helm client.

  2. Add the official Helm chart repository:

    Add Helm chart repo
    helm repo add nfs-subdir-external-provisioner https://kubernetes-sigs.github.io/nfs-subdir-external-provisioner/

  3. Use the following command to install, replacing placeholders with your File Storage information:

    Install NFS client provisioner
    helm install --kubeconfig=$KUBE_CONFIG nfs-subdir-external-provisioner nfs-subdir-external-provisioner/nfs-subdir-external-provisioner --set nfs.server=[File Storage IP] --set nfs.path=[File Storage Mount Path]
    ItemDescription
    File Storage IPNetwork address of the file storage
    File Storage Mount PathMount path for the file storage

Step 3. Verify StorageClass and test automatic provisioning​

Verify StorageClass​

Run the following command to verify the StorageClass after installing the NFS client provisioner:

Verify StorageClass
kubectl --kubeconfig=$KUBE_CONFIG get sc
Expected output
NAME         PROVISIONER                                     RECLAIMPOLICY   VOLUMEBINDINGMODE   ALLOWVOLUMEEXPANSION   AGE
nfs-client   cluster.local/nfs-subdir-external-provisioner   Delete          Immediate           true                   12m

Create PersistentVolumeClaim and test automatic provisioning​

Create a PVC to test automatic provisioning. A pod can declare the PVC and mount it, which will dynamically create the file storage volume and corresponding PV.

info

For details on using PVCs, refer to the Kubernetes official documentation.

PVC creation example
kind: PersistentVolumeClaim
apiVersion: v1
metadata:
  name: test-claim
spec:
  storageClassName: nfs-client
  accessModes:
    - ReadWriteMany
  resources:
    requests:
      storage: 1Mi

Step 4. Allocate file storage​

After installing the NFS client provisioner, confirm that the PVC and corresponding file storage volume have been successfully created.

Check PVC and PV
kubectl --kubeconfig=$KUBE_CONFIG get pvc
kubectl --kubeconfig=$KUBE_CONFIG get pv
Expected output
NAME         STATUS   VOLUME                                     CAPACITY   ACCESS MODES   STORAGECLASS   AGE
test-claim   Bound    pvc-4724b46a-557d-46f9-97a9-dc94225c2d49   1Mi        RWX            nfs-client     13h

NAME                                       CAPACITY   ACCESS MODES   RECLAIM POLICY   STATUS   CLAIM                STORAGECLASS   REASON   AGE
pvc-4724b46a-557d-46f9-97a9-dc94225c2d49   1Mi        RWX            Delete           Bound    default/test-claim   nfs-client              13h