NetApp Trident 26.10: Built for larger, more automated Kubernetes environments

Scale storage, secure VMs, and simplify operations

As Kubernetes becomes the foundation for more business-critical applications, platform teams are being asked to do more than provision persistent volumes. They need storage workflows that can scale with larger clusters, support containers and virtual machines, automate day-2 operations, and make security easier to apply consistently. With NetApp^® Trident^™ 26.10, NetApp continues to advance Kubernetes-native storage orchestration for demanding enterprise environments.

What’s new in Trident 26.10

Trident 26.10 focuses on the operational realities of modern Kubernetes: larger deployments, declarative infrastructure, mixed container and VM workloads, and the need to reduce manual intervention as environments grow. The release introduces five key areas of enhancement for Kubernetes professionals.

1. Greater parallelism for larger Kubernetes deployments

   For teams operating large Kubernetes clusters, storage operations need to keep pace with application demand. Trident 26.10 continues the move toward parallel execution in this multi-release effort. In this release, Trident will support ASA r2 and ontap-nas-flexgroup parallelism in the Trident controller. Only provisioning of SMB volumes for Windows nodes is the last pending piece that will be GA in a later release, and default to parallel core afterwards. The result is faster provisioning, deletion, snapshot, and expansion operations—and a better experience when multiple storage events occur at the same time.




2. Kubernetes-native object storage provisioning with COSI

   Object storage is increasingly important for modern applications, AI pipelines, and backup targets. With support for the Container Object Storage Interface (COSI), Trident 26.10 helps Kubernetes teams provision and manage S3-compatible object buckets through Kubernetes-native workflows. This gives platform teams a more declarative way to control bucket lifecycle, access, and security across NetApp StorageGRID^® and ONTAP^® S3 environments.




3. Host-side encryption for RWX volumes used by virtual machines

   Kubernetes professionals supporting KubeVirt or Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization often rely on ReadWriteMany volumes for VM disks, especially when enabling live migration. Trident 26.10 adds LUKS support for RWX volumes, helping teams apply host-side encryption to persistent volumes used by virtualized workloads. This improves the security posture of Kubernetes-based virtualization without forcing teams to compromise on mobility or operational flexibility.




4. Automatic use of new ONTAP data LIFs

   As ONTAP environments grow, administrators may add new data LIFs or controllers to expand capacity and connectivity. Trident 26.10 helps reduce operational friction by enabling Trident to discover and use new ONTAP NVMe/TCP data LIFs without requiring a Trident controller restart. For high-growth environments, this makes storage expansion more automated and less disruptive.




5. Trident integration for first-party ONTAP on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure

   Trident 26.10 also extends Kubernetes-native storage orchestration to OCI environments with support for first-party ONTAP on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, called “Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Storage with NetApp" (OCISN). Support for OCISN will align with service availability later this year. Kubernetes users running Oracle Kubernetes Engine or self-managed clusters can dynamically provision persistent volumes on ONTAP using familiar Trident workflows. This helps teams maintain consistent storage capabilities for NFS, iSCSI, NVMe/TCP, snapshots, clones, and topology-aware deployments across OCI regions and availability domains.

Why it matters for Kubernetes teams

For platform engineers, storage administrators, and virtualization teams, Trident 26.10 is about reducing friction as Kubernetes environments scale. Parallel operations help larger clusters stay responsive. COSI support brings object storage into declarative Kubernetes workflows. LUKS encryption for RWX volumes strengthens security for VM disks. Automatic data LIF refresh reduces restart-driven operational steps. And OCI integration expands where teams can run persistent Kubernetes workloads with NetApp data services to an additional public cloud.

Together, these enhancements reinforce Trident’s role as the Kubernetes-native storage orchestration layer for NetApp environments across on-premises and cloud deployments. Trident remains open source and continues to help teams provision, protect, and operate persistent storage using the workflows Kubernetes professionals already know.

Get started

Explore NetApp Trident software and review the latest release details to see how Trident 26.10 can help your team operate persistent Kubernetes workloads with greater scale, automation, and confidence.