Accessing Fileshares from Google Kubernetes Engine Clusters

Use this topic to learn how to access a Cloud Filestore fileshare from a GKE cluster by creating a persistent volume and persistent volume claim.

The cluster must be in the same Google Cloud Platform project and VPC network as the Cloud Filestore instance.

Note: You can also use the Cloud Filestore CSI driver to enable Google Kubernetes Engine workloads to dynamically create and mount Cloud Filestore volumes. The CSI driver is not a supported Google product.

Create a Persistent Volume

1. Install the kubectl command-line tool by running the following commands:

   gcloud components install kubectl
   gcloud container clusters get-credentials [CLUSTER_NAME]

   where [CLUSTER_NAME] is the name of the cluster.

2. Create a Kubernetes Persistent Volume specification. This is a .yaml file that provides information about how to access the Cloud Filestore fileshare. The specification looks similar to the following example:

   apiVersion: v1
   kind: PersistentVolume
   metadata:
     name: fileserver
   spec:
     capacity:
       storage: [STORAGE]
     accessModes:
     - ReadWriteMany
     nfs:
       path: /[FILESHARE]
       server: [IP_ADDRESS]
   

   where:

   • [STORAGE] is the size of the fileshare on the Cloud Filestore instance. You must specify the [STORAGE] value in one of the supported units described in Resource quantities, for example 2T.
   • [FILESHARE] is the name of the fileshare on the Cloud Filestore instance. You can get the fileshare name of an instance from any of following sources:
     • The Cloud Filestore instances page.
     • The FILESHARE_NAME field in the results from the instances list command.
     • The name field in the fileShares section of the results from the instances describe command.
   • [IP_ADDRESS] is the IP address for the Cloud Filestore instance. You can get an instance's IP address from any of following sources:
     • The Cloud Filestore instances page.
     • The IP_ADDRESS field in the results from the instances list command.
     • The ipaddresses section in the results from the instances describe command.

   For more information on the other settings, see Persistent Volumes.

3. Deploy the persistent volume specification by running the following command:

   kubectl create -f /path/to/[PERSISTENT_VOLUME_FILE_NAME].yaml

Create a Persistent Volume Claim

1. Create a Kubernetes Persistent Volume Claim specification. This is a .yaml file that allows a Kubernetes pod to access the storage resources of a Persistent Volume. The specification looks similar to the following example:

   apiVersion: v1
   kind: PersistentVolumeClaim
   metadata:
     name: fileserver-claim
   spec:
     accessModes:
     - ReadWriteMany
     storageClassName: ""
     resources:
       requests:
         storage: [STORAGE]
   

   Where [STORAGE] is the size of the Persistent Volume Claim you want to make available to Kubernetes objects. You must specify the [STORAGE] value in one of the supported units described in Resource quantities. The value you specify must be equal to or less than the storage you specified for the Persistent Volume.

   For more information on the other settings, see Persistent Volume Claims.

2. Deploy the persistent volume claim specification by running the following command:

   kubectl create -f /path/to/[PERSISTENT_VOLUME_CLAIM_FILE_NAME].yaml

Consume the Persistent Volume Claim

1. Create a specification for a Kubernetes object that consumes a Persistent Volume Claim, for example a Kubernetes pod. This specification is a .yaml file that describes the object, including information about any storage resources available to it. A pod specification looks similar to the following example:

   apiVersion: v1
   kind: Pod
   metadata:
     name: my-pod
   spec:
     containers:
     - name: [CONTAINER_NAME]
       image: [IMAGE_NAME]
       volumeMounts:
       - mountPath: [MOUNT_PATH]
         name: mypvc
     volumes:
     - name: mypvc
       persistentVolumeClaim:
         claimName: [CLAIM_NAME]
         readOnly: false
   

   where:

   • [CONTAINER_NAME] is the name of a container, as described in containers.
   • [IMAGE_NAME] is the Docker image name, as described in containers.
   • [MOUNT_PATH] is the path to mount the Persistent Volume Claim to, for example /mnt/fileserver.
   • [CLAIM_NAME] is the name of a deployed Persistent Value Claim. In this example, this is fileserver-claim.

   For more information on the other settings, see Pods.

2. Deploy the pod specification by running the following command:

   kubectl create -f /path/to/[POD_FILE_NAME].yaml

What's next

Get information about the Cloud Filestore instance.