---
title: "VAST Block CSI Driver 2.6.3 Release Notes"
slug: "vast-block-csi-driver-263-release-notes-2-6"
updated: 2026-11-04T00:16:41Z
published: 2026-11-04T00:16:41Z
canonical: "docs.vastdata.com/vast-block-csi-driver-263-release-notes-2-6"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.vastdata.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# VAST Block CSI Driver 2.6.3 Release Notes

VAST Block CSI Driver 2.6.3 is released to General Availability as of August 2025.

To upgrade to VAST Block CSI Driver 2.6.3, follow the upgrade procedure in the [*VAST Block CSI Driver 2.6 Administrator's Guide*](/develop/docs/block-csi-driver-administrators-guide-2-6)​​​.

**Note**: This driver version is not compatible with VAST Cluster 5.5.0 or later.

## New Features and Capabilities

### Deploying on OpenShift with VAST CSI Operator

VAST Block CSI Driver can be deployed in OpenShift environments using VAST CSI Operator. For the deployment guidelines, see [*VAST Block CSI Driver 2.6 Administrator's Guide*](/develop/docs/block-csi-driver-administrators-guide-2-6)​​​.

### LUKS-Based Host Encryption

Starting with version 2.6.3, VAST Block CSI Driver supports LUKS-based host encryption.

To enable host encryption, specify a LUKS passphrase in the Kubernetes secret referenced in the driver's Helm chart configuration file. When a passphrase is supplied, host encryption is enabled with default parameters. You can override the defaults by supplying encryption-related parameters in the storage class definition.

For more information, see [*VAST Block CSI Driver 2.6 Administrator's Guide*](/develop/docs/block-csi-driver-administrators-guide-2-6)​​​.

### Attaching a VAST QoS Policy to Block Volumes

When using VAST Cluster 5.4 or later, you can optionally set up a Quality of Service (QoS) policy to be associated with the views that VAST Block CSI Driver creates. A QoS policy is specified per Kubernetes storage class configured for the VAST driver.

### Connection to a Specific VAST Cluster Tenant

When using VAST Block CSI Driver with VAST Cluster 5.3.3 or later, you can set up storage provisioning using a particular VAST cluster tenant.

To do so, in the [Kubernetes secret](/develop/docs/deploy-vast-block-csi-driver-26#create-kubernetes-secret-for-vast-block-csi-driver) that supplies the credentials to connect to the VAST cluster:

- Specify the desired tenant on the new `tenant` parameter.
- Use credentials of a VMS user that is the *Tenant Admin* for the tenant.

> [!NOTE]
> **Note**
> 
> VAST Cluster versions prior to 5.3.3 or do not allow using the *Tenant Admin* user type for VAST CSI.

For more information, see *VAST Block CSI Driver Administrator's Guide*.

### Waiting for Completion of VAST Snapshot and Clone Operations

VAST Block CSI Driver provides a new storage class parameter, `blockingClones`, that determines whether the driver should wait for VAST snapshot or clone operations to fully complete before the PVC can be attached to a pod. This ensures that the volume is fully usable and consistent at the time of provisioning, but may add a significant latency.

> [!NOTE]
> **Note**
> 
> Waiting for completion may increase the overall duration of the PVC snapshot or clone operation.

By default, the driver does not wait for completion of snapshot or clone operations before provisioning a PVC.

### VAST CSI Operator for Kubernetes

VAST Block CSI Driver can be deployed using the [VAST CSI Operator for Kubernetes](/develop/docs/deploy-vast-block-csi-driver-26#deploy-vast-block-csi-driver-with-vast-csi-operator-for-kubernetes).