Kubernetes Storage Management

Overview

The Storage tab on a Kubernetes Cluster detail page provides management of persistent storage resources within the cluster. HPE Morpheus Software syncs and manages StorageClasses, Persistent Volumes (PVs), Persistent Volume Claims (PVCs), ConfigMaps, and Secrets.

Navigate to the Storage tab via Infrastructure > Clusters > [cluster name] > Storage.

Note

Storage management requires Infrastructure: Clusters > Full Role permission.

Storage Classes

StorageClasses define the types of storage available in the cluster. They map to provisioners (e.g., OpenEBS, Rook/Ceph, AWS EBS, vSphere volumes) and define parameters for dynamically provisioned volumes.

Viewing Storage Classes

The Storage Classes subtab displays all StorageClasses synced from the cluster, including:

  • NAME — StorageClass name

  • PROVISIONER — The storage provisioner (e.g., kubernetes.io/no-provisioner, openebs.io/local, rook-ceph.rbd.csi.ceph.com)

  • RECLAIM POLICY — What happens to PVs when released (Retain, Delete, Recycle)

  • VOLUME BINDING MODE — When volume binding occurs (Immediate, WaitForFirstConsumer)

  • DEFAULT — Whether this is the cluster’s default StorageClass

Important

When using HPE Morpheus Software Kubernetes clusters with OpenEBS, ensure a default StorageClass is available so that Kubernetes specs or Helm templates using a default StorageClass for PVCs can be utilized.

Persistent Volumes (PVs)

Persistent Volumes represent physical storage resources in the cluster that have been provisioned by an administrator or dynamically provisioned using a StorageClass.

Viewing Persistent Volumes

The Volumes subtab shows:

  • NAME — PV name

  • CAPACITY — Storage size (e.g., 10Gi)

  • ACCESS MODES — ReadWriteOnce, ReadOnlyMany, or ReadWriteMany

  • RECLAIM POLICY — Retain, Delete, or Recycle

  • STATUS — Available, Bound, Released, or Failed

  • CLAIM — The PVC bound to this volume (if any)

  • STORAGE CLASS — Associated StorageClass

  • NAMESPACE — Namespace (if applicable)

Creating Persistent Volumes

To create a PV through HPE Morpheus Software:

  1. Navigate to the Storage tab on the cluster detail page

  2. Select the Volumes subtab

  3. Click + ADD

  4. Configure:

    NAME

    Name for the Persistent Volume

    NAMESPACE

    Target namespace (optional for cluster-scoped PVs)

    STORAGE CLASS

    Select from available StorageClasses

    ACCESS MODE

    Select the access mode:

    • ReadWriteOnce (RWO) — Single node read-write

    • ReadOnlyMany (ROX) — Multi-node read-only

    • ReadWriteMany (RWX) — Multi-node read-write

    CAPACITY

    Storage size (e.g., 10Gi, 100Gi)

  5. Select SAVE

Deleting Persistent Volumes

Deleting a PV from HPE Morpheus Software:

  1. Select the PV from the Volumes list

  2. Click DELETE

  3. Confirm deletion

Warning

Deleting a PV that is bound to a PVC will first delete the associated claim. Use the Orphan propagation policy to retain the underlying storage data.

Persistent Volume Claims (PVCs)

PVCs are requests for storage by a user. They consume PV resources and are namespace-scoped.

Viewing Volume Claims

The Volume Claims subtab displays:

  • NAME — Claim name

  • NAMESPACE — Namespace containing the claim

  • STATUS — Pending, Bound, or Lost

  • VOLUME — The PV bound to this claim

  • CAPACITY — Allocated storage size

  • ACCESS MODES — Requested access modes

  • STORAGE CLASS — Requested StorageClass

Creating Volume Claims

To create a PVC:

  1. Navigate to the Storage tab > Volume Claims subtab

  2. Click + ADD

  3. Configure:

    NAME

    Claim name

    NAMESPACE

    Target namespace for the claim

    STORAGE CLASS

    Select a StorageClass (or leave blank for default)

    ACCESS MODE

    Requested access mode

    CAPACITY

    Requested storage size

  4. Select SAVE

HPE Morpheus Software creates the PVC in the cluster. If dynamic provisioning is configured for the selected StorageClass, a PV will be automatically created and bound.

Deleting Volume Claims

When deleting a PVC from HPE Morpheus Software:

  • The PVC is removed from the cluster

  • Behavior for the associated PV depends on the propagationPolicy:

    • Foreground (default) — Both PVC and PV are deleted

    • Orphan — Only the PVC is deleted; the PV is retained with a Released status

ConfigMaps

ConfigMaps store non-confidential configuration data as key-value pairs. They are synced and viewable on the Storage tab.

  • View existing ConfigMaps per namespace

  • Inspect key-value contents

  • Create new ConfigMaps with arbitrary key-value data

Secrets

Secrets store sensitive data such as passwords, tokens, and keys. They are synced from the cluster and displayed (values are masked by default).

  • View existing Secrets per namespace

  • Secret types include Opaque, kubernetes.io/tls, kubernetes.io/dockerconfigjson, etc.

  • Create new Secrets with encoded data

Storage Runtime Options

When provisioning a HPE Morpheus Software Kubernetes cluster, the storage runtime is configured via the Cluster Layout:

  • OpenEBS — Default for many MKS layouts. Provides local and replicated storage.

  • Rook/Ceph — Available on VMware Fusion and VMware layouts. Provides distributed block storage.

  • None — External clusters or layouts that rely on cloud-native storage (EBS, Azure Disk, etc.)

The chosen storage runtime determines which StorageClasses are automatically configured on the cluster.