Service type, storage classes, and PV size for GKE clusters
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Astra Control Service supports NetApp Cloud Volumes Service for Google Cloud, Google Persistent Disk, or NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP as the storage backend options for persistent volumes.
Cloud Volumes Service for Google Cloud
Astra Control Service can use Cloud Volumes Service for Google Cloud as the storage backend for persistent volumes. You should understand how choosing a service type, storage class, and persistent volume size can help you meet your performance objectives.
Overview
Cloud Volumes Service for Google Cloud provides two service types: CVS and CVS-Performance. These service types are supported in specific Google Cloud regions. Go to NetApp BlueXP Global Regions Maps to identify the service type that's supported in the Google Cloud region where your clusters reside.
If your Kubernetes clusters must reside in a specific region, then you'll be using the service type supported in that region.
But if you have the flexibility to choose between Google Cloud regions, then we recommend the following based on your performance requirements:
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For K8s applications that have medium-to-high performance storage needs, choose a Google Cloud region that supports CVS-Performance and use the Premium or Extreme storage class. Such workloads include AI/ML pipelines, CI/CD pipelines, media processing, and databases including relational, noSQL, time series, etc.
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For K8s applications that have low-to-medium storage performance needs (web apps, general purpose file storage, etc.), choose a Google Cloud region that supports either CVS or CVS-Performance, with the Standard storage class.
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If you use the CVS service type with Astra Control Provisioner, you need to configure storage pools before you can provision volumes. If you provision volumes with no storage pools configured, volume provisioning will fail. Refer to the Cloud Volumes Service documentation for more information about creating volumes. |
The following table provides a quick comparison of the information described on this page.
| Service type | Use case | Supported regions | Storage classes | Min volume size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
CVS-Performance |
Apps with medium-to-high storage performance needs |
|
100 GiB |
|
CVS |
Apps with low-to-medium storage performance needs |
netapp-cvs-standard |
300 GiB |
CVS-Performance service type
Learn more about the CVS-Performance service type before you choose a storage class and create persistent volumes.
Storage classes
Three service levels are supported with the CVS-Performance service type: Standard, Premium, and Extreme. When you add a cluster to Astra Control Service, you're prompted to choose either Standard, Premium, or Extreme as the default storage class for persistent volumes. Each of these service levels are designed for different capacity and bandwidth needs.
The names of the storage classes are netapp-cvs-perf-standard, netapp-cvs-perf-premium, and netapp-cvs-perf-extreme.
Persistent volume size and performance
As the Google Cloud docs explain, the allowed bandwidth for each service level is per GiB of provisioned capacity. That means larger volumes will provide better performance.
Be sure to read through the Google Cloud page linked to above. It includes cost comparisons and examples that can help you better understand how to couple a service level with volume size to meet your performance objectives.
Minimum volume size
Astra Control Service provisions persistent volumes using a minimum volume size of 100 GiB with the CVS-Performance service type, even if the PVC requests a smaller volume size. For example, if the PVC in a Helm chart asks for 6 GiB, Astra Control Service automatically provisions a 100 GiB volume.
CVS service type
Learn more about the CVS service type before you choose a storage class and create persistent volumes.
Storage class
One service level is supported with the CVS service type: Standard. When you manage clusters in regions where the CVS service type is supported, Astra Control Service uses the Standard service level as the default storage class for persistent volumes. The storage class is named netapp-cvs-standard.
Persistent volume size and performance
The allowed bandwidth for the CVS service type is per GiB of provisioned capacity. That means larger volumes will provide better performance.
Minimum volume size
Astra Control Service provisions persistent volumes using a minimum volume size of 300 GiB with the CVS service type, even if the PVC asks for a smaller volume size. For example, if 20 GiB is requested, Astra Control Service automatically provisions a 300 GiB volume.
Due to a limitation, if a PVC requests a volume between 700-999 GiB, Astra Control Service automatically provisions a volume size of 1000 GiB.
Google Persistent Disk
Astra Control Service can use Container Storage Interface (CSI) drivers to interface with Google Persistent Disk as a storage backend. This service provides block-level storage that is managed by Google.
NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP
For specific information on configuring NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP, including performance recommendations, visit the NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP documentation.