Openshift FC on Everpure FlashArray Quick Start Guide

This guide is a quick-start walkthrough for connecting OpenShift 4.x to Everpure FlashArray over Fibre Channel using Portworx. It covers prerequisite checks, FC host and multipath validation, worker-node MachineConfig setup, Portworx operator and StorageCluster deployment, FlashArray API integration, and end-to-end validation with a StorageClass, PVC, and test workload to confirm the storage path is working properly.

# The below command check overall cluster operators & all operators should show Available=True, Degraded=False


oc get co


# The below command check overall and their status & all participating worker nodes should show Ready


oc get nodes

# Enter a node through debug mode to check connectivity
oc get nodes
oc debug node/<worker-node-name>


# enter host binaries
chroot /host


# Basic reachability (if ICMP is permitted)
ping <flasharray-mgmt-ip>


# TCP reachability on management port 443
socat connects and hangs on success; errors indicate unreachable


socat - TCP:<flasharray-mgmt-ip>:443

# Enter a node through debug mode to check connectivity
oc get nodes
oc debug node/<worker-node-name>


# enter host binaries
chroot /host


## Confirm FC HBAs are visible to the OS
ls /sys/class/fc_host


# Expected:  host0  host1


# host object creation 


# Check fabric login state — must show logged in
cat /sys/class/fc_host/host*/symbolic_name
fnic v1.8.0.2 over fnic0
fnic v1.8.0.2 over fnic1


# Confirm multipathd is running
systemctl status multipathd

1. Connecting OpenShift Workers to FlashArray

   Worker Node Expectations

   Basic connectivity verification can be performed from any worker node once the FlashArray has been configured with host objects, zoning is active, and volumes are connected to the host group.

   1. Verify multipath devices : multipath -ll
      Example Output:

      3624a937054f3fecfb2834edc09d7f042 dm-1 PURE,FlashArray
      size=1.0T features='0' hwhandler='1 alua' wp=rw
      `-+- policy='service-time 0' prio=50 status=active
        |- 0:0:33:1  sda  8:0     active ready running
        |- 0:0:35:1  sde  8:64    active ready running
        |- 1:0:36:1  sdk  8:160   active ready running
        `- 1:0:9:1   sdi  8:128   active ready running
      

2. MachineConfig: Configure Transport Protocol

   FC MachineConfig

   In the OpenShift web console:

   1. Go to Compute > MachineConfigs
   2. Click Create MachineConfig
   3. Switch to YAML view
   4. Paste the MachineConfig

      {
          user_friendly_names no
          polling_interval 10
          find_multipaths yes
      }
      devices {
          device {
              vendor "PURE"
              product "FlashArray"
              path_selector "service-time 0"
              hardware_handler "1 alua"
              path_grouping_policy group_by_prio
              prio alua
              failback immediate
              path_checker tur
              user_friendly_names no
              no_path_retry 0
              features 0
              dev_loss_tmo 600
          }
      }
      blacklist_exceptions {
          property "(SCSI_IDENT_|ID_WWN)"
      }
      blacklist {
          devnode "^pxd[0-9]*"
          devnode "^pxd*"
      }
      

      This is the encoded text below. It has been urlencoded, other encoding methods such as base64 can be used.

      apiVersion: machineconfiguration.openshift.io/v1
      kind: MachineConfig
      metadata:
        name: 99-worker-fc-pure
        labels:
          machineconfiguration.openshift.io/role: worker
      spec:
        config:
          ignition:
            version: 3.2.0
          storage:
            files:
              # /etc/multipath.conf tuned for Pure FlashArray (SCSI-FC)
              - path: /etc/multipath.conf
                mode: 0644
                overwrite: true
                contents:
                  source: data:,defaults%20%7B%0A%20%20%20%20user_friendly_names%20no%0A%20%20%20%20polling_interval%2010%0A%20%20%20%20find_multipaths%20yes%0A%7D%0Adevices%20%7B%0A%20%20%20%20device%20%7B%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20vendor%20%22PURE%22%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20product%20%22FlashArray%22%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20path_selector%20%22service-time%200%22%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20hardware_handler%20%221%20alua%22%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20path_grouping_policy%20group_by_prio%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20prio%20alua%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20failback%20immediate%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20path_checker%20tur%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20user_friendly_names%20no%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20no_path_retry%200%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20features%200%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20dev_loss_tmo%20600%0A%20%20%20%20%7D%0A%7D%0Ablacklist_exceptions%20%7B%0A%20%20%20%20property%20%22(SCSI_IDENT_%7CID_WWN)%22%0A%7D%0Ablacklist%20%7B%0A%20%20%20%20devnode%20%22%5Epxd%5B0-9%5D*%22%0A%20%20%20%20devnode%20%22%5Epxd*%22%0A%7D
              # Optional: udev rules for Pure FlashArray SCSI devices
              - path: /etc/udev/rules.d/99-pure-storage-fc.rules
                mode: 0644
                overwrite: true
                contents:
                  source: data:,ACTION%3D%3D%22add%7Cchange%22%2C%20KERNEL%3D%3D%22sd*%5B!0-9%5D%22%2C%20SUBSYSTEM%3D%3D%22block%22%2C%20ENV%7BID_VENDOR%7D%3D%3D%22PURE%22%2C%20OPTIONS%3D%22nowatch%22%2C%20ATTR%7Bqueue%2Fscheduler%7D%3D%22none%22
          systemd:
            units:
              - name: multipathd.service
                enabled: true
      

   5. Click Create
   6. Validation
      Expected output — all columns should reflect consistent counts with UPDATED=True, DEGRADED=False:

      C:\oc>oc get mcp worker
      NAME     CONFIG  UPDATED   UPDATING   DEGRADED   MACHINECOUN READYMACHINECOUNT   UPDATEDMACHINECOUNT   DEGRADEDMACHINECOUNT   AGE
      worker   rendered-worker-9bff717bea674e806f07303ab142f402   True      False False 3 3 3 0 35d
      

   7. Verify MachineConfig in the GUI
      Go to Compute > MachineConfigPools > worker and confirm the pool returns to a healthy state with:

      • Updated = True

      • Updating = False

      • Degraded = False

3. Installing the Portworx Operator
   1. Create a dedicated namespace to host the Portworx Operator and cluster components.

      In the OpenShift web console:

      • Go to Home > Projects

      • Click Create Project

      • Enter portworx

      • Click Create

   2. Install from the OpenShift UI

      For current OpenShift versions, use Ecosystem > Software Catalog; older versions use OperatorHub.

      • Go to Ecosystem > Software Catalog

      • Search for Portworx Operator or Portworx Certified

      • Open the operator page and click Install

      • Choose the target namespace

      • Optionally Enable the Console plugin if you want Portworx management integrated into the OpenShift console

      • Complete the installation

      • Find Portworx in Software Catalogue

      • Navigate to Ecosystem → Software Catalogue, search for Portworx, and locate the Portworx Certified tile, which is the supported production operator from the Red Hat catalog

   3. Install the Operator

      Click the Portworx Certified tile to open the detail page. Review the description and supported versions, then click Install.On the installation options screen, confirm the namespace is set to openshift-operators and Install Mode is set to All namespaces. Leave Install Plan Approval as Automatic.

   4. Confirm Operator Status

      Confirm the Portworx Certified operator shows Status: Succeeded. This confirms the operator is installed and its CRDs are registered.

      

   5. Verify Pods Status

      

   6. Verify Operator Pod and CRDs

      After a short time, verify that the Operator is up and that the necessary CRDs have been registered.

      Check Operator Pod Status:

      # List Portworx operator pods in the cluster-wide operator namespace
      oc get pods -n openshift-operators | grep portworx
      

      You should see something similar to:

      portworx-operator-c95c9b4d4-fhjqx   1/1     Running   1 (37d ago)   37d
      

      If the pod is not Running, inspect the logs:

      oc logs -n openshift-operators deploy/portworx-operator
      

      Resolve any issues before you continue.
   7. Verify CRDs (StorageCluster and Related Types)
      Confirm the StorageCluster CRD is present:

      oc get crd | grep storagecluster
      

      purestorageclusters.core.libopenstorage.org               2026-03-10T20:44:51Z
      storageclusters.core.libopenstorage.org                   2026-03-10T20:44:31Z
      

4. Integrating Portworx with FlashArray
   1. Create a dedicated user with storage admin privileges and generate an API token. Navigate to Settings > Access > Users, create a user (e.g. px-portworx), assign the Storage Admin role

      

   2. Copy & store the API token

      

   3. Create a pure.json file containing:

      • FlashArray management endpoint(s) (IP/FQDN).

      • The API token for the Portworx user

        {
          "FlashArrays": [
            {
              "MgmtEndPoint": "https://<flasharray-mgmt-ip-or-fqdn>",
              "APIToken": "<FLASHARRAY-API-TOKEN>"
            }
          ]
        }
        

   4. Next, store the pure.json file in a Kubernetes secret that Portworx can read. This secret must be created in the same namespace where your StorageCluster will live (for example, portworx)
      From your workstation:

      oc create secret generic px-pure-secret -n portworx --from-file=pure.json=./pure.json

5. Deploy StorageCluster for Everpure FlashArray
   1. Open Portworx Central
   2. Start the Generate Spec workflow
   3. Choose:

      • Installation method: Operator

      • Platform: OpenShift 4+

      • Backend / provisioner: Pure FlashArray

      • SAN type: Fibre Channel

   4. After the operator is installed successfully, navigate to Operators > Installed Operators > Portworx
   5. Select Create StorageCluster
   6. Toggle to the YAML view
   7. Paste the spec that was generated
   8. Finalize by clicking Create

      kind: StorageCluster
      apiVersion: core.libopenstorage.org/v1
      metadata:
        name: px-cluster-80d8e0d4-7151-4f65-bf98-918559edc5f3
        namespace: portworx
        annotations:
          portworx.io/install-source: "https://install.portworx.com/26.1?oem=px-csi&operator=true&ce=pure&csi=true&stork=false&mon=true&promop=true&kbver=1.34.5&ns=portworx&osft=true&c=px-cluster-80d8e0d4-7151-4f65-bf98-918559edc5f3&pureSanType=FC&tel=true"
          portworx.io/is-openshift: "true"
          portworx.io/misc-args: "--oem px-csi"
      spec:
        image: portworx/px-pure-csi-driver:26.1.2
        imagePullPolicy: Always
        csi:
          enabled: true
        monitoring:
          telemetry:
            enabled: true
          prometheus:
            enabled: true
            exportMetrics: true
        env:
        - name: PURE_FLASHARRAY_SAN_TYPE
          value: "FC"
      

   9. To Apply and Monitor, go to Operators > Installed Operators > Portworx in the GUI
   10. Open the Storage Cluster tab
   11. Confirm the cluster progresses to a healthy state
   12. Check the StorageCluster status:

       oc get storagecluster -n portworx
       

   13. Then, monitor Portworx pods:

       oc get pods -n portworx
       

   14. If pods are not progressing to Running:
       Check Operator logs:

       oc logs -n openshift-operators deploy/portworx-operator
       

       Check an individual Portworx pod's logs:

       oc logs -n portworx <portworx-pod-name>
       

       Do not proceed to creating StorageClasses or PVCs until the StorageCluster is healthy and all Portworx pods in portworx namespace are in Running state.
6. Validation with OpenShift Virtualization
   1. Create a Portworx + FlashArray StorageClass, in the OpenShift web console: go to Storage > StorageClasses
   2. Click Create StorageClass
   3. Switch to YAML view
   4. Paste the StorageClass configuration below

      apiVersion: storage.k8s.io/v1
      kind: StorageClass
      metadata:
        name: px-pure-fc-sc
        annotations:
          storageclass.kubernetes.io/is-default-class: "true"
      provisioner: pxd.portworx.com
      parameters:
        backend: pure_block
      allowVolumeExpansi�on: true
      

      

   5. Verify:

      oc get storageclass

      Output:

      NAME  PROVISIONER RECLAIMPOLICY VOLUMEBINDINGMODE ALLOWVOLUMEEXPANSION   AGE px-pure-fc-sc (default)  pxd.portworx.com  Delete  Immediate true   50d
      �
      

7. Deploy a VM Using the FlashArray StorageClass
   1. In the OpenShift GUI, go to Home > Projects
   2. Click Create Project
   3. Enter px-test
   4. Click Create
   5. Create a PVC using the Portworx + FlashArray StorageClass, navigate to Storage > PersistentVolumeClaims
   6. Switch to the px-test project
   7. Click Create PersistentVolumeClaim
   8. Configure the following settings:

      • Name: px-test-pvc

      • StorageClass: px-pure-fc-sc

      • Size: 5Gi

      • Access mode: ReadWriteOnce

   9. Click Create

      

   10. Use YAML:

       apiVersion: v1
       kind: PersistentVolumeClaim
       metadata:
         name: px-test-pvc
         namespace: px-test
       spec:
         accessModes:
           - ReadWriteOnce
         storageClassName: px-pure-fc-sc
         resources:
           requests:
             storage: 5Gi
       

       oc apply -f px-test-pvc.yaml
       oc get pvc px-test-pvc -n px-test
       

       Validation

       C:\oc>oc get pvc px-test-pvc -n px-test
       
       NAME STATUS VOLUME CAPACITY ACCESS MODES STORAGECLASS VOLUMEATTRIBUTESCLASS AGE
       px-test-pvc Bound pvc-4c04e712-f9ba-481c-b5f7-19e43372b4d8 5Gi RWO px-pure-fc-sc   <unset> 6m28s
       

   11. Create a simple pod that mounts it and runs I/O, in the OpenShift web console go to Workloads > Pods
   12. Click Create Pod
   13. Switch to YAML view
   14. Paste the configuration below

       apiVersion: v1
       kind: Pod
       metadata:
         name: px-test-pod
         namespace: px-test
       spec:
         containers:
           - name: app
             image: registry.access.redhat.com/ubi9/ubi-minimal
             command: ["sleep", "3600"]
             volumeMounts:
               - name: data
                 mountPath: /data
         volumes:
           - name: data
             persistentVolumeClaim:
               claimName: px-test-pvc
       

   15. Click Create

       C:\oc>oc get pod px-test-pod -n px-test
       NAME          READY   STATUS    RESTARTS   AGE
       px-test-pod   1/1     Running   0          29s