With Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization, DoD software teams can preserve their existing investment in VMs while benefiting from the simplicity and speed of a modern hybrid cloud application platform.
Reduced operational risk. Bringing enterprise-class stability to open source software, Red Hat OpenShift lets the DoD host VMs on any hardware platform, avoiding reliance on any single vendor. In addition, use of open source components supports the DoD’s efforts to strengthen the security of end-to-end software supply chains. Open source provides the visibility and traceability that proprietary software lacks, reducing the risk that components will inject malicious software or code into the enterprise.
Technology force multiplier. With a single platform for VMs, container-based, and serverless workloads, DoD IT teams can standardize infrastructure deployment and use a common, consistent set of established tools. DoD software teams can also integrate Red Hat OpenShift with open source development tools they already use for container management, such as GitLab for DevSecOps and JFrog Artifactory for image storage. In addition to reducing Day 2 operational costs, consolidating VMs, Kubernetes containers, and serverless workloads on a single platform lowers infrastructure costs.
A path to infrastructure modernization. OpenShift Virtualization supports DoD infrastructure modernization goals, which call for preserving existing virtualization investments while adopting modern application lifecycle practices such as DevSecOps and automation.
Automation and self healing. The DoD Software Implementation Plan directs agencies to “...leverage automation to replace manual processes and increase the security of DevSecOps processes by reducing human-caused unintentional mistakes or malicious interference with the software integration and delivery process.”2 Used in conjunction with OpenShift Virtualization, Red Hat Ansible® Automation Platform can automate Day 2 VM operations such as configuration changes, patching, and rebooting. Automation also supports DoD COOP planning. For example, if Ansible Automation Platform detects that a VM has drifted from the desired state, it automatically executes self-healing actions. Similarly, if one node in a cluster stops responding, Ansible Automation Platform can automatically restart services on another node.
Increased flexibility and resilience. Envision a scenario in which VMs for a mission-critical system need to be stood up in a new location within 6 hours. With traditional VM hosting platforms, IT staff need to manually configure the VM for the new environment, a time-consuming and error-prone process that might not be completed by the mission deadline. When Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization is paired with Ansible Automation Platform, VM migration can be executed automatically. Code and files are stored in a centralized Git repository to ensure the configuration is accurate and secure.
Faster time to production for new VMs. By combining OpenShift Virtualization with modern application development processes and tools, such as Red Hat Trusted Software Supply Chain, Red Hat OpenShift Dev Spaces, and Red Hat Developer Hub, the DoD can achieve its objective to deliver resilient software at the speed of relevance.
Security compliance. Both Red Hat OpenShift and Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform have a Security Technical Implementation Guide (STIG) published through Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA). Agency software teams can define different security zones on OpenShift for VMs with similar security profiles. Each security zone is isolated from the others with firewall rules, a technique called microsegmentation. For example, one zone might be reserved for VM workloads containing sensitive information that cannot be shared with workloads outside the zone.
