VAST CSI Operator on OpenShift: Install Guide

Running virtual machines and stateful applications on OpenShift requires enterprise-grade persistent storage that is fast to provision, easy to operate, and observable end to end. The VAST CSI OpenShift Operator bridges Red Hat OpenShift and the VAST Data Platform, letting clusters dynamically provision block volumes, upload VM images, clone workloads, and surface storage metrics—all from familiar Kubernetes and OpenShift workflows.

This post explains what OpenShift Operators are, what the VAST CSI Operator does, why teams adopt it, and how to install and configure it step by step. Screenshots are taken from our full demo walkthrough.

Official resources

Red Hat Ecosystem Catalog — VAST CSI Operator Certified

VAST Knowledge Base — Deploying VAST CSI Driver on OpenShift with VAST CSI Operator

The operator is listed on the Red Hat Ecosystem Catalog as a certified containerized application with CSI and OpenShift Virtualization support. The VAST KB article documents the three required custom resources (VastCSIDriver, VastCluster, VastStorage), PVC usage, and Security Context Constraints (SCC) assignment for the driver service accounts.

What is an OpenShift Operator?

In Kubernetes and OpenShift, an Operator is a method of packaging, deploying, and managing a complex application using the same APIs and patterns the platform already uses for workloads. Instead of installing software manually and babysitting upgrades, you declare what you want—install this CSI driver, connect to this storage cluster, expose this StorageClass—and the Operator reconciles reality to match your intent.

OpenShift builds on the Operator Lifecycle Manager (OLM). Certified operators appear in the Software Catalog (OperatorHub). When you install one, OpenShift deploys the controller, CRDs (Custom Resource Definitions), and RBAC needed to manage the application lifecycle.

Declarative configuration via custom resources instead of hand-edited YAML
Lifecycle management including installs, upgrades, and health monitoring
Day-2 operations such as creating StorageClasses, snapshot classes, and driver instances

What is the VAST CSI OpenShift Operator?

The VAST CSI driver operator (provided by VASTData, certified on OpenShift) installs and manages the VAST Data CSI plugin. The Container Storage Interface (CSI) is the standard Kubernetes API for attaching storage to pods and virtual machines. The operator wraps that driver so OpenShift administrators can configure everything through first-class resources:

Custom resource	Purpose
VastCSIDriver	Defines the CSI driver instance and protocol (block or NFS)
VastCluster	Stores VMS endpoint and credentials for a VAST cluster
VastStorage	Maps a subsystem/export to a dynamically provisioned StorageClass

Once configured, PVCs that reference the StorageClass are provisioned on VAST automatically. With OpenShift Virtualization (KubeVirt), those volumes back VM disks, golden images, clones, and snapshots. In the demo, we use block mode (csi.vastdata.com) with an NVMe subsystem for VM workloads.

Figure 1 — Search for the certified VAST CSI Operator in the Software Catalog.

Key benefits

Native OpenShift experience

Install from OperatorHub or the Red Hat catalog, configure via the web console, and manage VastCSIDriver, VastCluster, and VastStorage resources like any other OpenShift workload.

Dynamic block provisioning for VMs and apps

Define a StorageClass once; developers and virtualization admins create PVCs on demand.

Fast, space-efficient clones and snapshots

VAST snapshot-based cloning means new VMs spin up quickly with copy-on-write efficiency.

End-to-end observability

VM I/O flows through CSI to VAST; Analytics reflects bandwidth, IOPS, and latency.

Multi-cluster, multi-tenant ready

VastCluster resources encapsulate connection details per VAST system.

Figure 2 — The vastdata-block StorageClass uses provisioner csi.vastdata.com.

Figure 3 — Volume snapshots under /openshift-block in VAST Data Protection.

Figure 4 — VAST Analytics during a VM workload.

Prerequisites

Before installing the operator, ensure the VAST cluster is configured for CSI use (per the VAST KB). Prepare:

VIP pool for NVMe/client access (e.g. vippool-1)
View policy for block workloads
Block-enabled view (demo: /openshift-block with Block protocol and subsystem-10)

Figure 5 — Block view openshift-block in VAST Element Store.

How to install the VAST CSI Operator

Follow OpenShift Operator guidelines and the VAST KB deployment article. Steps below mirror the demo (~0:00–2:27).

Step 1 — Install the operator

Log in to the Red Hat OpenShift web console as a cluster administrator.
Create or select a project (e.g. vast-csi).
Go to Operators → Software Catalog (OperatorHub).
Search for VAST and select the VAST CSI driver operator (certified, VASTData).
Choose the stable channel and version (demo uses 2.6.4).
Install into vast-csi and wait until the operator reports Succeeded.

Figure 6 — Operator installing into the vast-csi namespace.

Step 2 — Create a VastCSIDriver

Open Operators → Installed Operators → VAST CSI driver operator.
Select the VastCSIDriver tab and click Create VastCSIDriver.
Set Name to csi.vastdata.com.
Set Driver type to block for NVMe block volumes (nfs for file-based access).

Figure 7 — VastCSIDriver for block storage.

Step 3 — Create a VastCluster

Open the VastCluster tab and click Create VastCluster.
Provide a logical name (e.g. vast6).
Enter the VMS endpoint for your VAST management service.
Supply username and password (or VMS token per VAST KB).

Figure 8 — VastCluster connection details.

Step 4 — Create VastStorage (StorageClass)

Open the VastStorage tab and click Create VastStorage.
Name: vastdata-block (or your preferred StorageClass name).
VastCluster: select the cluster created above.
Secret name / namespace: reference the generated secret.
Subsystem: block subsystem from your VAST view (demo: subsystem-10).
FsType: xfs (recommended) or ext4.
VIP pool: e.g. vippool-1.
Enable Create SnapshotClass if you plan to use volume snapshots.

Figure 9 — VastStorage maps backend settings to a StorageClass.

Verify Storage → StorageClasses shows vastdata-block with provisioner csi.vastdata.com.

Step 5 — Assign Security Context Constraints (SCC)

Per the VAST KB, assign privileged SCC to VAST CSI Driver service accounts so the driver can create mount points on host nodes:

oc adm policy add-scc-to-user privileged -z <release>-vast-controller-sa -n <namespace>
oc adm policy add-scc-to-user privileged -z <release>-vast-node-sa -n <namespace>

What you can do after installation

Create a block PVC and upload a VM image

Create a PVC on vastdata-block, then use virtctl image-upload to stream a raw or qcow2 image. In the demo, PVC rocky8 (42 GiB, block mode) reaches Bound before upload.

Figure 10 — Bound PVC ready for VM image upload.

virtctl image-upload pvc rocky8 \
–no-create \
–storage-class=vastdata-block \
–image-path=/path/to/rocky8.raw \
–insecure \
–uploadproxy-url https://<upload-proxy-host>

Run and clone virtual machines

Golden VMs boot from VAST-backed disks. Clone from the Virtualization view; VAST global snapshot clones sync while OpenShift provisions the new instance.

Figure 11 — Multiple golden VMs on VAST storage.

Take snapshots and monitor performance

Use OpenShift VolumeSnapshots for point-in-time protection. Note: the VAST KB states that snapshot CRDs must be installed manually if you use VAST snapshots. Validate clones and snapshots in VAST Data Protection and VAST Analytics.

Summary

Topic	Takeaway
OpenShift Operator	Lifecycle manager using Kubernetes APIs
VAST CSI Operator	Certified operator deploying VastCSIDriver, VastCluster, VastStorage
Primary benefit	Enterprise block storage for VMs—with fast clones and analytics
Install path	Catalog → driver, cluster, storage → SCC → PVCs

Watch the full demo

For a narrated end-to-end walkthrough—VAST view setup, operator install, PVC and image upload, VM clones, snapshots, and metrics—watch the complete demo video:

OpenShift Virtualization with VAST Block CSI — Full Demo

Integrating VAST Block Storage with Red Hat OpenShift: A Guide to the VAST CSI Operator