In the ever-evolving landscape of cloud computing, the efficient deployment and management of containerized applications are paramount. With the integration of Red Hat OpenShift on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), a powerful and adaptable solution for orchestrating OpenShift clusters on OCI is now at your fingertips. This article delves deep into this exciting development.
Embracing versatility with Red Hat OpenShift 4.14
Starting from OpenShift 4.14, users are presented with two distinct installation methods. You can now install an OpenShift cluster on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure through either of the following approaches:
1. SaaS-based assisted installer
For those who appreciate a user-friendly Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)-based installation experience, OpenShift offers the assisted installer. This installer provides an intuitive, graphical user interface-driven approach for deploying OpenShift clusters. It simplifies the installation process, making it easier even for users who may not be deeply familiar with command line interfaces (CLIs). The assisted installer is accessible via the Red Hat Hybrid Cloud Console and is well suited for environments with internet connectivity, enabling your cluster to connect to the broader online ecosystem.
2. CLI-based agent-based installer
Important: Using the Agent-based Install to install an OpenShift cluster on OCI is a Developer Preview feature. For more information see Developer and Technology Previews: How they compare.
The agent-based installation method introduces flexibility that lets users boot their on-premises servers in the manner they choose. It combines the user-friendliness of the assisted installation service with offline capabilities, including deployment in air-gapped environments. This method is a subcommand of the OpenShift installer. It generates a bootable ISO image containing all the necessary information to deploy an OpenShift cluster, complete with an available release image.
The configuration for agent-based installation follows the same format as the installer-provisioned infrastructure and user-provisioned infrastructure installation methods. Moreover, the agent-based installer can optionally generate or accept Zero-Touch Provisioning (ZTP) custom resources, facilitating the provisioning of new edge sites with declarative configurations for bare-metal equipment.
Agent-based installer features
You can leverage the benefits of the assisted installer hosted service as an OpenShift user, even in disconnected environments. The agent-based installation involves a bootable ISO containing the assisted discovery agent and the assisted service. While both components are essential for cluster installation, the latter runs on only one of the hosts.
The openshift-install agent create image
subcommand generates an ephemeral ISO based on user-provided inputs through manifests such as install-config.yaml
and agent-config.yaml
. Alternatively, users can opt for ZTP manifests for configuring bare-metal equipment.
Interested? Request access to Red Hat OpenShift on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure in Developer Preview.
About Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI)
Oracle Cloud Infrastructure offers a comprehensive suite of cloud services, enabling users to develop and run a wide range of applications in a highly available, high-performance environment. OCI’s distributed cloud gives users greater control over data residency, locality and authority, even in multicloud scenarios.
OCI features:
- Multicloud capabilities, allowing customers to choose the best cloud provider for their applications and databases
- Hybrid cloud options
- Public cloud with 45 cloud regions across 23 countries, including an EU Sovereign Cloud, addressing data residency and sovereignty requirements
- Dedicated cloud regions and Oracle Alloy for tailored cloud services and experiences
Red Hat OpenShift with Oracle Cloud Infrastructure
OpenShift is now supported and certified to run on OCI with the release of Red Hat OpenShift 4.14. This support extends to customer-managed installations using certified configurations of Red Hat OpenShift Platform Plus, Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform and Red Hat OpenShift Kubernetes Engine, running on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure compute virtual machines and bare metal instances.
Overview of agent-based installer support for OCI
In the latest OpenShift 4.14 release, the agent-based installer extends its support to a new platform type: external for the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure provider. Here are the key requirements for utilizing this support:
- Minimum OpenShift version required: OpenShift 4.14
- When using an
external
platform, theplatformName
can only be set tooci
. - When using an
external
platform, thecloudControllerManager
must be set toExternal
. - The agent-based installer can generate a minimal ISO with or without explicitly creating the
rootfs.img
file, which is dynamically loaded into memory during the boot process. - All cluster topologies are supported, including Single Node OpenShift (SNO), Highly Available (HA), and Compact, along with the connected, disconnected, and dual-stack networking.
How to generate the agent ISO
- Prepare
agent-config.yaml
andinstall-config.yaml
files. - Prepare CCM and CSI manifest YAML files.
- Get the latest openshift-install binary.
- Run
./openshift-install agent create image — —log-level debug
to generate the ISO image.
Wrap up
This article explored the integration of Red Hat OpenShift’s agent-based installer with Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, opening up new possibilities for deploying and managing containerized applications efficiently.
About the author
More like this
Browse by channel
Automation
The latest on IT automation for tech, teams, and environments
Artificial intelligence
Updates on the platforms that free customers to run AI workloads anywhere
Open hybrid cloud
Explore how we build a more flexible future with hybrid cloud
Security
The latest on how we reduce risks across environments and technologies
Edge computing
Updates on the platforms that simplify operations at the edge
Infrastructure
The latest on the world’s leading enterprise Linux platform
Applications
Inside our solutions to the toughest application challenges
Original shows
Entertaining stories from the makers and leaders in enterprise tech
Products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux
- Red Hat OpenShift
- Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform
- Cloud services
- See all products
Tools
- Training and certification
- My account
- Customer support
- Developer resources
- Find a partner
- Red Hat Ecosystem Catalog
- Red Hat value calculator
- Documentation
Try, buy, & sell
Communicate
About Red Hat
We’re the world’s leading provider of enterprise open source solutions—including Linux, cloud, container, and Kubernetes. We deliver hardened solutions that make it easier for enterprises to work across platforms and environments, from the core datacenter to the network edge.
Select a language
Red Hat legal and privacy links
- About Red Hat
- Jobs
- Events
- Locations
- Contact Red Hat
- Red Hat Blog
- Diversity, equity, and inclusion
- Cool Stuff Store
- Red Hat Summit