How to use this image

All examples in this guide use the public image. If you've mirrored the repository for your own use (for example, to your Docker Hub namespace), update your commands to reference the mirrored image instead of the public one.

For example:

• Public image: dhi.io/piraeus-server:<tag>
• Mirrored image: <your-namespace>/dhi-piraeus-server:<tag>

For the examples, you must first use docker login dhi.io to authenticate to the registry to pull the images.

What's included in this piraeus-server image

This Docker Hardened piraeus-server image includes:

• linstor - The LINSTOR command-line client for managing storage resources
• Controller - The LINSTOR controller binary (at /usr/share/linstor-server/bin/Controller) for managing cluster state and coordinating storage operations
• Satellite - The LINSTOR satellite binary (at /usr/share/linstor-server/bin/Satellite) for managing local DRBD resources on storage nodes
• kubectl - Kubernetes command-line tool for cluster management
• k8s-await-election - Utility for waiting on Kubernetes leader election before starting services
• losetup-container - Container-aware loop device management utility for storage operations
• piraeus-entry.sh - Entrypoint script that orchestrates LINSTOR controller and satellite startup

Start a piraeus-server image

Piraeus Server is the core storage engine of the Piraeus stack, built on LINSTOR and DRBD technology. It can run in three modes: as a controller (manages cluster state and coordinates storage operations), as a satellite (runs on each storage node and manages local DRBD resources), or in combined mode. In production Kubernetes deployments, the Piraeus Operator automatically deploys and configures these components, but the image can also be run standalone for testing or non-Kubernetes environments.

Basic usage (satellite mode)

docker run -d --name piraeus-server \
  --privileged \
  -p 3366:3366 -p 3367:3367 -p 3370:3370 -p 3371:3371 -p 3376:3376 -p 3377:3377 \
  dhi.io/piraeus-server:<tag> startSatellite

Controller mode

docker run -d --name piraeus-controller \
  -p 3370:3370 -p 3371:3371 \
  -v piraeus-controller-data:/var/lib/linstor \
  dhi.io/piraeus-server:<tag> startController

Note: The /var/lib/linstor directory is pre-created in the image with proper nonroot ownership. When using volume mounts, ensure the volume has correct permissions for the nonroot user (UID 65532).

Exposed ports

Common piraeus-server use cases

Kubernetes deployment via Piraeus Operator

The recommended way to deploy Piraeus Server is through the Piraeus Operator, which manages the lifecycle of LINSTOR components. The operator handles controller and satellite deployment, configuration, and scaling:

helm repo add piraeus-charts https://piraeus.io/helm-charts/
helm repo update
helm install piraeus-operator piraeus-charts/piraeus-operator \
  --set installCRDs=true \
  --set linstorSatelliteImage.repository=dhi.io/piraeus-server \
  --set linstorSatelliteImage.tag=<tag> \
  --set linstorControllerImage.repository=dhi.io/piraeus-server \
  --set linstorControllerImage.tag=<tag>

Standalone controller deployment

For testing or non-Kubernetes environments, you can run the controller standalone:

docker run -d --name piraeus-controller \
  -p 3370:3370 -p 3371:3371 \
  -v piraeus-controller-data:/var/lib/linstor \
  dhi.io/piraeus-server:<tag> startController

Standalone satellite deployment

Run a satellite node that connects to an external controller:

docker run -d --name piraeus-satellite \
  --privileged \
  -p 3366:3366 -p 3367:3367 \
  -v /dev:/dev \
  -v piraeus-satellite-data:/var/lib/linstor \
  -e LINSTOR_CONTROLLERS=http://controller-host:3370 \
  dhi.io/piraeus-server:<tag> startSatellite

Check LINSTOR cluster status

Once deployed, verify the cluster status using the LINSTOR client:

# Using kubectl exec
kubectl exec -it deployment/linstor-controller -- linstor node list

# Or using docker exec
docker exec -it piraeus-controller linstor node list

Differences vs upstream piraeus-server image

When migrating from upstream quay.io/piraeusdatastore/piraeus-server to Docker Hardened Images, note these key differences:

Volume permissions: When using volume mounts for /var/lib/linstor, ensure the volume has correct ownership. In Kubernetes, the Piraeus Operator handles this automatically. For standalone Docker usage, you may need to initialize volumes with proper permissions:

# Create volume with correct ownership
docker volume create piraeus-controller-data
docker run --rm -v piraeus-controller-data:/data \
  --entrypoint chown dhi.io/piraeus-server:<tag> \
  -R 65532:65532 /data

Image variants

Docker Hardened Images come in different variants depending on their intended use. Image variants are identified by their tag.

• Runtime variants are designed to run your application in production. These images are intended to be used either directly or as the FROM image in the final stage of a multi-stage build. These images typically:

  • Run as a nonroot user
  • Do not include a shell or a package manager
  • Contain only the minimal set of libraries needed to run the app

• Build-time variants typically include dev in the tag name and are intended for use in the first stage of a multi-stage Dockerfile. These images typically:

  • Run as the root user
  • Include a shell and package manager
  • Are used to build or compile applications

To view the image variants and get more information about them, select the Tags tab for this repository, and then select a tag.

Migrate to a Docker Hardened Image

To migrate your application to a Docker Hardened Image, you must update your Dockerfile. At minimum, you must update the base image in your existing Dockerfile to a Docker Hardened Image. This and a few other common changes are listed in the following table of migration notes.

The following steps outline the general migration process.

1. Find hardened images for your app.

   A hardened image may have several variants. Inspect the image tags and find the image variant that meets your needs.

2. Update the base image in your Dockerfile.

   Update the base image in your application's Dockerfile to the hardened image you found in the previous step. For framework images, this is typically going to be an image tagged as dev because it has the tools needed to install packages and dependencies.

3. For multi-stage Dockerfiles, update the runtime image in your Dockerfile.

   To ensure that your final image is as minimal as possible, you should use a multi-stage build. All stages in your Dockerfile should use a hardened image. While intermediary stages will typically use images tagged as dev, your final runtime stage should use a non-dev image variant.

4. Install additional packages

   Docker Hardened Images contain minimal packages in order to reduce the potential attack surface. You may need to install additional packages in your Dockerfile. Inspect the image variants to identify which packages are already installed.

   Only images tagged as dev typically have package managers. You should use a multi-stage Dockerfile to install the packages. Install the packages in the build stage that uses a dev image. Then, if needed, copy any necessary artifacts to the runtime stage that uses a non-dev image.

   For Alpine-based images, you can use apk to install packages. For Debian-based images, you can use apt-get to install packages.

Troubleshooting migration

The following are common issues that you may encounter during migration.

General debugging

The hardened images intended for runtime don't contain a shell nor any tools for debugging. The recommended method for debugging applications built with Docker Hardened Images is to use Docker Debug⁠ to attach to these containers. Docker Debug provides a shell, common debugging tools, and lets you install other tools in an ephemeral, writable layer that only exists during the debugging session.

Permissions

By default image variants intended for runtime, run as the nonroot user. Ensure that necessary files and directories are accessible to the nonroot user. You may need to copy files to different directories or change permissions so your application running as the nonroot user can access them.

Privileged ports

Non-dev hardened images run as a nonroot user by default. As a result, applications in these images can't bind to privileged ports (below 1024) when running in Kubernetes or in Docker Engine versions older than 20.10. To avoid issues, configure your application to listen on port 1025 or higher inside the container, even if you map it to a lower port on the host. For example, docker run -p 80:8080 my-image will work because the port inside the container is 8080, and docker run -p 80:81 my-image won't work because the port inside the container is 81.

No shell

By default, image variants intended for runtime don't contain a shell. Use dev images in build stages to run shell commands and then copy any necessary artifacts into the runtime stage. In addition, use Docker Debug to debug containers with no shell.

Entry point

Docker Hardened Images may have different entry points than images such as Docker Official Images. Use docker inspect to inspect entry points for Docker Hardened Images and update your Dockerfile if necessary.