VMware Cloud Foundation

Expanding Storage for Harbor Registry on vSphere Kubernetes Service

Introduction

Harbor Registry as a Supervisor Service is a critical part of vSphere Kubernetes Service( VKS) environments. It provides a secure, enterprise-grade container image registry for Kubernetes workloads running within Supervisor Namespace.

Over time, as more container images are stored and replicated, Harbor’s storage can fill up. This can cause upload failures or registry performance issues. Fortunately, expanding the storage backing Harbor is straightforward using vSphere Cloud Native Storage (CNS) and Persistent Volume Claims (PVC).

In this guide, we’ll go step-by-step to increase the storage space of the Harbor Registry running as a Supervisor Service.

Harbor Supervisor Service Architecture

Harbor deployed as a supervisor service runs as set of Kubernetes pods within the svc-harbor-{vsphere-cluster-moref} namespace.

Its data—like container images, charts, and metadata is stored on Persistent Volumes (PV). These volumes are dynamically provisioned by vSphere CNS using a storage policy.

The PVC for Harbor Registry are :

  • data-harbor-redis
  • data-harbor-trivy
  • database-data-harbor-database
  • harbor-jobservice
  • harbor-registry

Each PVC is bound to a volume in vSphere and can be resized online if the storage policy allows it.

Prerequisites

  • Login Access to vSphere Supervisor as a vSphere SSO Administrator
  • kubectl configured to access vSphere Supervisor Cluster
  • vSphere datastore has sufficient storage capacity to support expansion

Increasing Harbor Registry Storage

  • Login to Supervisor Cluster using vcf-cli 
root@image-builder:/home/pj# vcf context create --endpoint 172.16.22.13 --username administrator@vsphere.local --insecure-skip-tls-verify
? Provide a name for the context:  supervisor
[i] Auth type vSphere SSO detected. Proceeding for authentication...
Provide Password:



Logged in successfully.

You have access to the following contexts:
   supervisor
   supervisor:svc-cci-ns-domain-c10
   supervisor:svc-harbor-domain-c10
   supervisor:svc-tkg-domain-c10
   supervisor:svc-velero-domain-c10

If the namespace context you wish to use is not in this list, you may need to
refresh the context again, or contact your cluster administrator.

To change context, use `vcf context use <context_name>`
[ok] successfully created context: supervisor
[ok] successfully created context: supervisor:svc-tkg-domain-c10
[ok] successfully created context: supervisor:svc-velero-domain-c10
[ok] successfully created context: supervisor:svc-cci-ns-domain-c10
[ok] successfully created context: supervisor:svc-harbor-domain-c10

root@image-builder:/home/pj# vcf context list
  NAME                              CURRENT  TYPE
  supervisor                        false    kubernetes
  supervisor:svc-cci-ns-domain-c10  false    kubernetes
  supervisor:svc-harbor-domain-c10  false    kubernetes
  supervisor:svc-tkg-domain-c10     false    kubernetes
  supervisor:svc-velero-domain-c10  false    kubernetes

[i] Use '--wide' to view additional columns.

root@image-builder:/home/pj# vcf context use supervisor
[ok] Token is still active. Skipped the token refresh for context "supervisor"
[i] Successfully activated context 'supervisor' (Type: kubernetes)
[i] Fetching recommended plugins for active context 'supervisor'...
[ok] All recommended plugins are already installed and up-to-date.
  • Identify the Harbor Registry namespace and PV
root@image-builder:/home/pj# kubectl get ns | grep -i harbor
svc-harbor-domain-c10                       Active   165m

root@image-builder:/home/pj# kubectl get pv,pvc -n svc-harbor-domain-c10
NAME                                                        CAPACITY   ACCESS MODES   RECLAIM POLICY   STATUS   CLAIM                                                   STORAGECLASS                                             VOLUMEATTRIBUTESCLASS   REASON   AGE
persistentvolume/pvc-210e0b36-f688-4980-b262-284450fe7e64   1Gi        RWO            Delete           Bound    svc-harbor-domain-c10/database-data-harbor-database-0   thanos-vcf-cl01-optimal-datastore-default-policy-raid1   <unset>                          3h7m
persistentvolume/pvc-276ee7a1-0a70-449d-ae1d-29ab7367cde6   5Gi        RWO            Delete           Bound    svc-harbor-domain-c10/data-harbor-trivy-0               thanos-vcf-cl01-optimal-datastore-default-policy-raid1   <unset>                          3h7m
persistentvolume/pvc-c02e474d-6d2a-4fa3-9c2a-b0ded4e371e0   1Gi        RWO            Delete           Bound    svc-harbor-domain-c10/harbor-jobservice                 thanos-vcf-cl01-optimal-datastore-default-policy-raid1   <unset>                          3h7m
persistentvolume/pvc-cd52d87a-8e3b-40e9-bb60-51e0739dc740   1Gi        RWO            Delete           Bound    svc-harbor-domain-c10/data-harbor-redis-0               thanos-vcf-cl01-optimal-datastore-default-policy-raid1   <unset>                          3h7m
persistentvolume/pvc-da6fe1e1-4d25-4045-a3ad-f29cbae33af3   10Gi       RWO            Delete           Bound    svc-harbor-domain-c10/harbor-registry                   thanos-vcf-cl01-optimal-datastore-default-policy-raid1   <unset>                          3h7m

NAME                                                    STATUS   VOLUME                                     CAPACITY   ACCESS MODES   STORAGECLASS                                             VOLUMEATTRIBUTESCLASS   AGE
persistentvolumeclaim/data-harbor-redis-0               Bound    pvc-cd52d87a-8e3b-40e9-bb60-51e0739dc740   1Gi        RWO            thanos-vcf-cl01-optimal-datastore-default-policy-raid1   <unset>                 3h7m
persistentvolumeclaim/data-harbor-trivy-0               Bound    pvc-276ee7a1-0a70-449d-ae1d-29ab7367cde6   5Gi        RWO            thanos-vcf-cl01-optimal-datastore-default-policy-raid1   <unset>                 3h7m
persistentvolumeclaim/database-data-harbor-database-0   Bound    pvc-210e0b36-f688-4980-b262-284450fe7e64   1Gi        RWO            thanos-vcf-cl01-optimal-datastore-default-policy-raid1   <unset>                 3h7m
persistentvolumeclaim/harbor-jobservice                 Bound    pvc-c02e474d-6d2a-4fa3-9c2a-b0ded4e371e0   1Gi        RWO            thanos-vcf-cl01-optimal-datastore-default-policy-raid1   <unset>                 3h7m
persistentvolumeclaim/harbor-registry                   Bound    pvc-da6fe1e1-4d25-4045-a3ad-f29cbae33af3   10Gi       RWO            thanos-vcf-cl01-optimal-datastore-default-policy-raid1   <unset>                 3h7m
  • Edit the Harbor Registry Service values.yaml directly from Supervisor Management – Services- Harbor – Manage Service . Increase the value for harbor registry PVC to the desired size and click Finish.
  • Verify the PVC size after a few minutes . The PVC size should show increased to 20GB.
rroot@image-builder:/home/pj# kubectl get pv,pvc -n svc-harbor-domain-c10
NAME                                                        CAPACITY   ACCESS MODES   RECLAIM POLICY   STATUS   CLAIM                                                   STORAGECLASS                                             VOLUMEATTRIBUTESCLASS   REASON   AGE
persistentvolume/pvc-210e0b36-f688-4980-b262-284450fe7e64   1Gi        RWO            Delete           Bound    svc-harbor-domain-c10/database-data-harbor-database-0   thanos-vcf-cl01-optimal-datastore-default-policy-raid1   <unset>                          172m
persistentvolume/pvc-276ee7a1-0a70-449d-ae1d-29ab7367cde6   5Gi        RWO            Delete           Bound    svc-harbor-domain-c10/data-harbor-trivy-0               thanos-vcf-cl01-optimal-datastore-default-policy-raid1   <unset>                          172m
persistentvolume/pvc-c02e474d-6d2a-4fa3-9c2a-b0ded4e371e0   1Gi        RWO            Delete           Bound    svc-harbor-domain-c10/harbor-jobservice                 thanos-vcf-cl01-optimal-datastore-default-policy-raid1   <unset>                          172m
persistentvolume/pvc-cd52d87a-8e3b-40e9-bb60-51e0739dc740   1Gi        RWO            Delete           Bound    svc-harbor-domain-c10/data-harbor-redis-0               thanos-vcf-cl01-optimal-datastore-default-policy-raid1   <unset>                          172m
persistentvolume/pvc-da6fe1e1-4d25-4045-a3ad-f29cbae33af3   20Gi       RWO            Delete           Bound    svc-harbor-domain-c10/harbor-registry                   thanos-vcf-cl01-optimal-datastore-default-policy-raid1   <unset>                          172m

NAME                                                    STATUS   VOLUME                                     CAPACITY   ACCESS MODES   STORAGECLASS                                             VOLUMEATTRIBUTESCLASS   AGE
persistentvolumeclaim/data-harbor-redis-0               Bound    pvc-cd52d87a-8e3b-40e9-bb60-51e0739dc740   1Gi        RWO            thanos-vcf-cl01-optimal-datastore-default-policy-raid1   <unset>                 172m
persistentvolumeclaim/data-harbor-trivy-0               Bound    pvc-276ee7a1-0a70-449d-ae1d-29ab7367cde6   5Gi        RWO            thanos-vcf-cl01-optimal-datastore-default-policy-raid1   <unset>                 172m
persistentvolumeclaim/database-data-harbor-database-0   Bound    pvc-210e0b36-f688-4980-b262-284450fe7e64   1Gi        RWO            thanos-vcf-cl01-optimal-datastore-default-policy-raid1   <unset>                 172m
persistentvolumeclaim/harbor-jobservice                 Bound    pvc-c02e474d-6d2a-4fa3-9c2a-b0ded4e371e0   1Gi        RWO            thanos-vcf-cl01-optimal-datastore-default-policy-raid1   <unset>                 172m
persistentvolumeclaim/harbor-registry                   Bound    pvc-da6fe1e1-4d25-4045-a3ad-f29cbae33af3   20Gi       RWO            thanos-vcf-cl01-optimal-datastore-default-policy-raid1   <unset>                 172m

This can be verified from vSphere Client as well from Supervisor Management – Namespaces – Harbor Namespace – Storage – Persistent Volume Chains

  • Confirm Harbor Functionality by checking pods status and from Harbor UI.
root@image-builder:/home/pj# kubectl get pods -n svc-harbor-domain-c10
NAME                                 READY   STATUS    RESTARTS       AGE
harbor-core-5b875bf764-v7hnz         1/1     Running   1 (173m ago)   175m
harbor-database-0                    1/1     Running   0              175m
harbor-exporter-6cb6d48f8b-hbrqk     1/1     Running   1 (173m ago)   175m
harbor-jobservice-866d9b65b4-4rvxp   1/1     Running   2 (172m ago)   175m
harbor-nginx-fc9754459-bcntj         1/1     Running   0              175m
harbor-portal-786b4856b5-2rxfv       1/1     Running   0              175m
harbor-redis-0                       1/1     Running   0              175m
harbor-registry-77d475b6c8-qxfnc     2/2     Running   0              175m
harbor-trivy-0                       1/1     Running   0              175m

By following these steps, you can safely and seamlessly expand Harbor’s registry storage without downtime or data loss.

Proactive capacity management guarantees that your Harbor Supervisor Service maintains high availability. It ensures performance and scalability for your containerized workloads on vSphere.

Disclaimer: All posts, contents and examples are for educational purposes in lab environments only and does not constitute professional advice. No warranty is implied or given. The user accepts that all information, contents, and opinions are my own. They do not reflect the opinions of my employer.

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