Integrating SUSE® Virtualization with NetApp® Storage #

SUSE® Virtualization is a cloud-native virtualization platform that unifies virtual machine (VM) and container management, streamlining operations, and boosting efficiency with a single, cohesive platform for hybrid cloud infrastructure. NetApp® ONTAP® delivers unified data management, allowing you to manage, protect, and move data across your hybrid environment. By leveraging NetApp® Trident™, you can deliver high-performance storage for virtual machines (VMs) hosted in your SUSE® Virtualization environment.

The diagram below illustrates the basic architecture for SUSE Virtualization integrated with NetApp ONTAP storage.

Figure 1: Architecture: SUSE Virtualization with NetApp ONTAP and Trident #

 

The key components of the solution are:

When deployed together in the illustrated configuration, SUSE Virtualization nodes connect over the iSCSI protocol to NetApp ONTAP storage using the Trident CSI. High availability storage access is available when the cluster environment is configured with multipath support.

This section provides practical guidance for deploying a functional, proof-of-concept implementation of the solution with additional considerations for scaling to production.

For deployment purposes, the solution can be illustrated as a layered stack. The deployment process consists of installing and configuring each layer of this stack, typically from bottom (compute platform) to top (software applications). Guidance for deploying each layer of the solution are provided in the following sections.

Verify that you can create a virtual machine configured with the NetApp StorageClass and which is backed by NetApp ONTAP iSCSI storage.

Organizations are accelerating their digital transformation by modernizing applications and infrastructure, transitioning from traditional, virtual machine environments to modern, cloud-native platforms powered by Kubernetes. SUSE Virtualization delivers a unified and flexible platform that allows organizations to seamlessly run both virtual machine (VM) and container workloads side-by-side on the same infrastructure.

NetApp Trident extends this capability by providing enterprise-grade, dynamic storage provisioning for Kubernetes and SUSE Virtualization clusters. Through its integration with NetApp ONTAP, Trident enables resilient, scalable, and efficient iSCSI-based storage for mission-critical workloads, ensuring consistent performance, automation, and data protection across hybrid environments.

This guide details the steps to configure and validate the integration of SUSE Virtualization with NetApp Trident and NetApp ONTAP, showcasing how enterprises can build a consistent, automated, and production-ready virtualization environment.

Dive into the product documentation to continue your learning journey:

For further guidance on how to modernize and optimize your IT infrastructure, contact your SUSE or NetApp representative or e-mail SUSE at isv-cosell@suse.com.

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