CSI Driver Rclone

Overview

The Rclone CSI Driver enables Kubernetes to mount 50+ cloud storage backends as persistent volumes using rclone as a Go library. It provides seamless integration between Kubernetes storage and cloud providers without requiring external rclone binaries.

Key Features

• 50+ Storage Providers: Supports Amazon S3, Google Cloud Storage, Azure Blob, Dropbox, SFTP, and many more
• No External Dependencies: Uses rclone as a Go library directly - no rclone binary installation required
• No Process Overhead: Direct library integration means no subprocess spawning or external process management
• Dynamic Volume Provisioning: Create persistent volumes via StorageClass
• Secret-based Configuration: Secure credential management using Kubernetes secrets
• Inline Configuration: Direct configuration in StorageClass parameters
• Template Variable Support: Dynamic path substitution using PVC/PV metadata
• VFS Caching: High-performance caching with configurable options
• No Staging Required: Direct mount without volume staging
• Flexible Backend Support: Choose between minimal or full backend support for smaller images

Architecture

The driver implements the CSI specification with three main components:

• Identity Server: Plugin metadata and health checks
• Controller Server: Volume lifecycle management (create/delete)
• Node Server: Volume mounting/unmounting on nodes

Key Design Decisions:

1. No Staging: Rclone volumes don't require staging
2. Direct Rclone Integration: Uses rclone's Go library directly
3. Remote Creation: Creates temporary remotes for each mount
4. VFS Caching: Leverages rclone's VFS for improved performance
5. Template Variable Support: Dynamic path substitution using PVC/PV metadata

Supported Kubernetes Versions

Requirements

• Kubernetes 1.20 or later
• CSI node driver registrar
• FUSE support on nodes (for mounting)
• No rclone installation required - uses rclone as Go library