CSI storage driver support on Azure Kubernetes Service
Tags: azure, aks, kubernetes, container
Published: 2022-05-27 00:09:59


The `Container Storage Interface` (CSI) is a widespread for exposing arbitrary block and file storage structures to containerized workloads on Kubernetes. By adopting and the use of CSI, Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) can write, deploy, and iterate plug-ins to expose new or enhance existing storage systems in Kubernetes besides having to touch the core Kubernetes code and wait for its release cycles.

The CSI storage driver support on AKS permits us to natively use:

**Azure disks** can be used to create a Kubernetes DataDisk resource. Disks can use `Azure Premium Storage`, backed through high-performance SSDs, or `Azure Standard Storage`, backed by using regular HDDs or Standard SSDs.





For most production and development workloads, we need to use Premium Storage. Azure disks are mounted as _ReadWriteOnce_ and are solely accessible to a single pod. For storage volumes that can be accessed by multiple pods simultaneously, we want to use Azure Files.


**Azure Files** can be used to mount an `SMB 3.0/3.1 share` backed with the aid of an Azure storage account to pods. With Azure Files, we can share data across a couple of nodes and pods. Azure Files can use Azure Standard storage backed by regular HDDs or Azure Premium storage backed with the aid of high-performance SSDs.



## Azure disk CSI drivers

The Azure disk Container Storage Interface (CSI) driver is a CSI specification-compliant driver used by Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) to manage the `lifecycle of Azure disks`.


## Azure Disk CSI driver features

Azure Disk CSI driver affords following features:

- Performance enhancement when attach or detach disks in parallel
- ZRS disk support
- Premium_ZRS, StandardSSD_ZRS disk kinds are supported, check greater details about [Zone-redundant storage for managed disks](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-machines/disks-redundancy)
- [Snapshot](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/azure-disk-csi#volume-snapshots)
- [Volume clone](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/azure-disk-csi#clone-volumes)
- [Resize disk PV without downtime](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/azure-disk-csi#resize-a-persistent-volume-without-downtime)

## Azure Files CSI drivers

The Azure Files Container Storage Interface (CSI) driver is a CSI specification-compliant driver used with the aid of Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) to manage the lifecycle of Azure Files shares.

## Azure File CSI driver features

Azure File CSI driver provides following features:

- NFS 4.1
- Private endpoint
- support creating large mount of file shares in parallel

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