Concepts

This section explains the core concepts behind DirectPV, the CSI driver for direct-attached storage in Kubernetes. Understanding these concepts helps you effectively deploy, configure, and troubleshoot DirectPV in your environment.

The Architecture page explains how DirectPV implements the Container Storage Interface (CSI) specification.

DirectPV runs the following components as pods in your Kubernetes cluster:

• Controller - A Deployment that handles volume creation, deletion, and expansion requests.
• Node server - A DaemonSet that manages drives and publishes volumes on each node.

The architecture page details how these components interact with Kubernetes resources like PersistentVolumeClaims and how DirectPV schedules volumes across available drives.

The Metrics and Monitoring page documents the Prometheus-compatible metrics that DirectPV exports.

DirectPV node servers export metrics on port 10443, including:

• directpv_stats_bytes_used - Storage consumed by each volume.
• directpv_stats_bytes_total - Total storage capacity per volume.

Use these metrics to monitor storage utilization across your cluster and set up alerts for capacity planning.

For detailed specifications of DirectPV Kubernetes resources, see the Kubernetes Reference section, which includes:

• Helm Chart Reference - Configurable values for installation.
• Storage Class Reference - Default and custom storage classes.
• CRD Reference - Custom Resource Definitions.
• RBAC Reference - Required permissions.