--- title: "Install" description: "Install simplyblock on Kubernetes: Helm installs the operator, then custom resources drive the control plane, CSI driver, and storage cluster." source: "https://docs.simplyblock.io/latest/kubernetes/installation/" --- # Install Simplyblock on Kubernetes is installed and managed by the Simplyblock Operator. The operator is installed with a single Helm chart, and every further step is driven by custom resources of the API group `storage.simplyblock.io/v1alpha2`: the control plane, the CSI driver, the storage cluster, its storage nodes, and its storage pools. For Kubernetes environments, a simplyblock deployment can be either hyper-converged or disaggregated. In the hyper-converged model, simplyblock storage services run on selected Kubernetes worker nodes, sharing resources with other workloads in the same Kubernetes cluster. In a disaggregated deployment, storage services run on dedicated worker nodes, by default within the same Kubernetes cluster, or optionally in a separate storage cluster. ## Installation Flow A typical installation follows these steps: 1. **[Install the operator](k8s-control-plane.md):** `helm install` deploys the operator, all CRDs, and two custom resources, `ControlPlane/simplyblock` and `SimplyblockDriver/simplyblock`. 2. **Control plane becomes `Available`:** The operator installs FoundationDB, the object store, and the management API from the `ControlPlane` resource. Nothing else is reconciled until the control plane reports the phase `Available`. 3. **CSI driver becomes `Ready`:** The operator deploys the CSI node and controller plugins from the `SimplyblockDriver` resource. 4. **[Discovery](k8s-storage-plane.md#discover-workers-and-devices):** On a fresh installation, the operator raises the `OperatorOps` run `initial-discovery`, which probes the workers and writes a draft `ClusterDeploymentConfig`. Additional discovery runs can be requested manually. 5. **[Review and approve](k8s-storage-plane.md#review-the-draft):** The administrator reviews the draft, adjusts workers, devices, erasure coding, and failure domains, and sets `spec.approved: true`. 6. **[Expansion](k8s-storage-plane.md#approve-the-deployment):** The operator creates the `StorageCluster`, one `StorageNode` per worker and socket, the default `StoragePool` `-default`, and the StorageClass `simplyblock--`. 7. **Activation:** Once all storage nodes are online, the operator activates the cluster, and volumes can be provisioned. For a breakdown of the components the operator installs for the control plane, see [Control Plane Cluster Architecture](management-cluster-architecture.md). To consume storage from a control plane that runs elsewhere, see [Connecting to an External Control Plane](install-csi.md). ## Custom Resources The operator manages the following resources. All of them use the API version `storage.simplyblock.io/v1alpha2`. | Kind | Short name | Category | Description | |---------------------------|------------|----------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | `ControlPlane` | `cp` | Entity | The control plane, either installed locally by the operator or managed elsewhere. Created by the Helm chart. | | `SimplyblockDriver` | `sbd` | Entity | The CSI driver deployment. Created by the Helm chart. | | `ClusterDeploymentConfig` | `cdc` | Entity | A complete deployment in one document. Once approved, it is expanded into a storage cluster and its nodes. | | `StorageCluster` | `stc` | Entity | One simplyblock storage cluster, at most one per namespace. Owns its nodes and pools. | | `StorageNode` | `sn` | Entity | One storage node on a worker and socket. Normally generated from a `ClusterDeploymentConfig`. | | `StoragePool` | `sp` | Entity | A tenancy unit with capacity and QoS limits. StorageClasses attach to it by label. | | `StorageBackupPolicy` | `sbp` | Entity | Backup schedule and retention for the claims its selector matches. | | `StorageDevice` | `sd` | Observed | Mirrors one device of a storage node. Never written by users. | | `StorageBackup` | `sb` | Observed | One backup found in the backup store. Never written by users. | | `OperatorOps` | `oops` | Ops | Discovers workers and devices and writes a draft `ClusterDeploymentConfig`. | | `ControlPlaneOps` | `cpops` | Ops | Restarts, upgrades, or backs up a local control plane. | | `StorageClusterOps` | `scops` | Ops | Activates, expands, shuts down, starts, restarts, or rolling-restarts a cluster, or cancels a task. | | `StorageNodeOps` | `snops` | Ops | Shuts down, restarts, suspends, resumes, removes, or migrates a storage node. | | `StorageDeviceOps` | `sdops` | Ops | Restarts a storage device. | | `PersistentVolumeOps` | `pvops` | Ops | Moves a persistent volume to another storage node. Cluster-scoped. | | `StorageBackupOps` | `sbops` | Ops | Restores a backup into a new PersistentVolumeClaim. | | `VolumeGroupSnapshotOps` | `vgsops` | Ops | Restores every member of a VolumeGroupSnapshot. | Every `*Ops` resource shares one shape: an immutable `spec.action`, a mutable `spec.abort`, and a `status.phase` of `Pending`, `Running`, `Succeeded`, `Failed`, or `Aborted`. Only one operation runs at a time per entity. Further operations wait in `Pending`. In addition, the operator serves the read-only metrics API `metrics.simplyblock.io/v1alpha2` through an aggregated API server. It provides `StorageClusterMetrics` (`scm`), `StorageNodeMetrics` (`snm`), `StoragePoolMetrics` (`spm`), `StorageDeviceMetrics` (`sdm`), and `LogicalVolumeMetrics` (`lvm`), which report capacity figures for the respective objects. For detailed CRD documentation, see [Simplyblock Operator](../../reference/operator/index.md). ## Pages in This Section - [Control Plane Cluster Architecture](management-cluster-architecture.md): The components of a local control plane. - [Securing the Control Plane](security.md): TLS, mutual TLS, and an external KMS. - [Install Simplyblock Operator](k8s-control-plane.md): The Helm installation and its key values. - [Create a Storage Cluster](k8s-storage-plane.md): Discovery, review, approval, and the first volume. - [Connecting to an External Control Plane](install-csi.md): The managed profile for clusters without a local control plane. - [OpenShift](openshift.md): Security context constraints and TLS on OpenShift. - [SUSE Rancher and RKE2](rancher.md): Permissions and CPU topology on RKE2 and K3s clusters. - [Talos](talos.md): Kernel modules, huge pages, and permissions on Talos.