A Modern Architecture for Scalable Storage
This guide explores a provider-consumer model using Rook and Ceph to deliver a centralized, scalable, and resilient storage fabric for multiple Kubernetes clusters.
Centralized Management
Consolidate storage into a single cluster, allowing a specialized team to manage its lifecycle, performance, and security, reducing operational overhead.
Resource Isolation
Isolate the intense resource demands of the storage system from application workloads, preventing "noisy neighbor" problems and ensuring predictable performance.
Consistent Experience
Provide a uniform set of storage services (block, file, object) to all consumer clusters via the standard Kubernetes CSI, simplifying development.
Independent Scalability
Scale compute and storage clusters independently based on unique demands, leading to greater capital and operational efficiency.
Understanding the Core Components
Ceph provides the powerful distributed storage engine, while Rook acts as the cloud-native orchestrator within Kubernetes. Click on the components below to learn their roles.
Select a component on the left to see its details.
The Provider-Consumer Model
This architecture decouples storage from workloads. A central "Provider" cluster hosts Ceph, serving storage to "Consumer" clusters via the Ceph-CSI driver.
Consumer Cluster(s)
Application Workloads
App Pod (e.g., Database)
Requests storage via `PVC`
Rook Operator (External Mode)
Manages CSI driver configuration
Secure network connection. CSI provisions and mounts volumes.
Provider Cluster
Dedicated Storage Infrastructure
Full Rook/Ceph Stack
MON, MGR, OSD daemons manage disks
Data Durability & Availability
Handles replication and recovery
Implementation Walkthrough
Follow this guided process to build the storage fabric. Expand each step to view detailed commands and configurations.
Production Operations Dashboard
Operating a production storage fabric requires careful consideration of networking, security, and performance. Explore these interactive tools.
Network Architecture Designer
OSD CPU Recommendations
Faster media requires more CPU threads to avoid bottlenecks. This chart shows starting recommendations.
Upgrade Strategy
Upgrading a multi-cluster environment must be performed in a specific sequence to ensure stability. An unhealthy cluster should never be upgraded.
Upgrade Rook
Operator & CRDs in ALL clusters.
Upgrade Ceph
Image in PROVIDER only.
Upgrade CSI
Drivers in ALL CONSUMERS.
Update Permissions
CRITICAL: Re-export & import.
Troubleshooting Assistant
This tool helps you diagnose common problems based on symptoms observed in your clusters. Select a symptom to get started.
Your diagnostic steps will appear here.