Open Source OpenShift for Cloud and DevOps Environments

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Open Source OpenShift is a game-changer for cloud and DevOps environments. It's a free and open-source platform that allows you to build, deploy, and manage applications on your own infrastructure.

OpenShift provides a scalable and on-demand platform for your applications, with features like automated scaling, load balancing, and self-healing. This means you can focus on writing code, not worrying about the underlying infrastructure.

OpenShift is built on top of Docker, Kubernetes, and Red Hat's own technology, making it a robust and reliable choice for cloud and DevOps environments. With OpenShift, you can deploy your applications anywhere, from on-premises to public clouds like AWS and Azure.

What Is?

OpenShift is a cloud-based Kubernetes platform that helps developers build applications, offering automated installation, upgrades, and life cycle management.

It's designed to give organizations the ability to build, deploy, and scale applications faster both on-premises and in the cloud, protecting their development infrastructure at scale with enterprise-grade security.

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OpenShift provides comprehensive multi-tenancy features, advanced security and monitoring, integrated storage, and CI/CD pipeline management right out of the box.

This makes it easier for organizations to transform and modernize, allowing them to scale and grow their business through cloud-native development.

OpenShift Container Platform is a private platform as a service that organizations can deploy and manage on their own on-premises hardware or on the infrastructure of a certified cloud provider.

It's implemented as an assemblage of Docker-based application containers managed via Kubernetes orchestration, all running on an operating system foundation of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), with Windows also supported.

OpenShift.io is a free, open source, end-to-end and cloud-native supplement to OpenShift Online, offering an integrated approach to DevOps that incorporates tools for development teams to create and deploy microservices-based applications.

It provides a Linux container environment and a machine learning system that assist developers with design decisions, encompassing several open source development technologies.

Installation and Setup

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Installing OpenShift on Ubuntu is a great choice, and for good reason. Ubuntu's compatibility makes it possible for a wide range of people to use OpenShift.

Ubuntu's vibrant and active community provides excellent support for OpenShift users, with forums, discussions, and troubleshooting resources readily available.

Installing OpenShift on Ubuntu is also easy to use, thanks to Ubuntu's user-friendly interface and clear package management framework.

Designers and managers who are already familiar with Ubuntu will find it more convenient to install and manage OpenShift on a platform they know well.

Ubuntu's resource accessibility and flexibility make it an ideal choice for OpenShift installation, allowing users to leverage existing infrastructure and hardware architectures.

Here are the steps to install Docker CE, a prerequisite for running OKD services in containers:

  1. Update your system by running the following commands.
  2. Install Docker CE by running the command `sudo apt-get install docker-ce`.
  3. Start the Docker service and enable it to start at boot with the command `sudo systemctl start docker` and `sudo systemctl enable docker`.
  4. Switch to the root account by running the command `sudo su`.
  5. Restart the Docker service to implement the changes by running the command `sudo systemctl restart docker`.

What is Dedicated?

OpenShift Dedicated offers a single-tenant OpenShift environment on a public cloud managed by Red Hat, incorporating Docker and Kubernetes orchestration technologies.

You can run OpenShift Dedicated on public clouds, and at launch in December 2015, it only supported Amazon Web Services (AWS).

It's worth noting that support for Google Cloud Platform was added later, in December 2016.

Installing Ubuntu

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Installing Ubuntu is a great choice for OpenShift, and here's why. Ubuntu is a generally utilized Linux circulation with a huge client base.

This means OpenShift can be used by a wide range of people because it is compatible with a well-known operating system. Ubuntu's vibrant and active community offers forums, discussions, and troubleshooting support.

This community support can be a huge help when introducing OpenShift on Ubuntu, making it simpler to track down answers for normal issues. Ubuntu is known for its easy to use interface and clear bundle the executives framework.

This makes installing OpenShift on Ubuntu more direct for clients acquainted with Ubuntu, lessening the expectation to absorb information. Designers and overseers who are as of now acclimated with working with Ubuntu might find it more helpful to introduce and oversee OpenShift on a stage they are know all about.

Here are some of the key benefits of installing Ubuntu:

  • Compatibility
  • Community Support
  • Easy to use
  • Familiar Environment
  • Resource Accessibility
  • Flexibility

Ubuntu supports a great many hardware architectures and stages, giving adaptability in picking the equipment and arrangement climate that best suits the client's necessities.

Installing on Ubuntu

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Installing OpenShift on Ubuntu is a straightforward process that offers several advantages. Ubuntu is a widely used Linux distribution with a huge client base, making it a great choice for OpenShift.

One of the key benefits of installing OpenShift on Ubuntu is its compatibility with a well-known operating system. This means a wide range of people can use OpenShift, regardless of their technical expertise.

Ubuntu's vibrant and active community provides extensive support through forums, discussions, and troubleshooting. This community support can be a huge help when encountering common issues.

The easy-to-use interface and clear package management framework of Ubuntu make it a great choice for OpenShift. This can reduce the learning curve for users already familiar with Ubuntu.

If you're already comfortable working with Ubuntu, you might find it more helpful to install and manage OpenShift on a platform you're already familiar with.

Installing OpenShift on Ubuntu also provides access to existing infrastructure and resources, such as cloud suppliers and on-premises servers. This can save you time and effort in setting up your environment.

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Here are the steps to install OpenShift on Ubuntu:

  1. Update your system by running the following commands:
  2. In order to run all OKD services in docker containers, install the Docker CE on your system by running the following command:
  3. Start the Docker service and enable it to start at boot with the following command:
  4. Restart the docker to implement the changes by using the following command:

Red Hat Overview

Red Hat OpenShift is a multifaceted, Open Source container application development platform from Red Hat Inc. for the development, deployment and management of applications.

Red Hat OpenShift provides developers with an integrated development environment (IDE) for building and deploying Docker-formatted containers and then managing them with the open source Kubernetes container orchestration platform.

Red Hat OpenShift is available in a number of versions, including cloud service versions and self-managed versions, which differ in their implementations, locations, and pricing models but have identical underlying code and functionality.

The actual underlying OpenShift code and functionality are identical across all versions, making it a consistent platform for developers to work with.

Red Hat OpenShift is available in the following versions:

  • Cloud service versions
  • Self-managed versions

Architecture and Features

OpenShift's architecture is built on top of Kubernetes, but with some key differences. One notable difference is the concept of build-related artifacts, which are considered first-class Kubernetes resources in OpenShift.

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OpenShift's client program, "oc", offers a superset of the standard capabilities bundled in the mainline "kubectl" client program of Kubernetes. This allows for direct interaction with build-related resources using sub-commands.

Some other differences between OpenShift and Kubernetes include the out-of-the-box install of an image repository, ImageStreams, and Templates, which simplify application deployment and management. OpenShift also includes an embedded OperatorHub, a web GUI where users can browse and install a library of Kubernetes Operators.

Here are some key features and benefits of OpenShift:

  • Run cloud-native microservices at scale with OpenShift, which leverages Kubernetes to orchestrate many containers and scale running in the cloud.
  • Scale and manage infrastructure with OpenShift's flexible, cloud-based nature, giving companies complete control over the scale and management of their application infrastructure.

OpenShift tightly controls the operating systems used, with the "control plane" components having to be running Red Hat CoreOS. This enables the cluster to support upgrades and patches of the control plane nodes with minimal effort.

Architecture

OpenShift's architecture is built on top of Kubernetes, but with some key differences. One major difference is that OpenShift considers build-related artifacts as first-class Kubernetes resources, allowing for standard Kubernetes operations to be applied to them.

Computer server in data center room
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The OpenShift client program, "oc", offers a superset of the standard capabilities bundled in the mainline "kubectl" client program of Kubernetes. This means you can directly interact with build-related resources using sub-commands like "new-build" or "start-build".

OpenShift has a pod builds technology called Source-to-Image (S2I), which is available out of the box. However, this is slowly being phased out in favor of Tekton, a cloud-native way of building and deploying to Kubernetes.

Some other differences between OpenShift and Kubernetes include:

  • The out-of-the-box install of OpenShift comes with an image repository.
  • ImageStreams and Templates are unique to OpenShift and simplify application deployment and management.
  • The "new-app" command can be used to initiate an application deployment automatically, applying the app label to all resources created as a result of the deployment.
  • OpenShift supports platforms like AWS, IBM Cloud, vSphere, and bare metal deployments with OpenShift 4.
  • OpenShift's implementation of Deployment, called DeploymentConfig, is logic-based compared to Kubernetes' controller-based Deployment objects.
  • OpenShift has an embedded OperatorHub, a web GUI where users can browse and install a library of Kubernetes Operators.

OpenShift tightly controls the operating systems used, requiring the "control plane" components to run Red Hat CoreOS. This enables the cluster to support upgrades and patches of the control plane nodes with minimal effort.

Key Features

OpenShift is built on top of powerful technologies like Docker and Kubernetes. Docker has become the de facto standard for developers due to its ability to make more efficient use of system resources.

OpenShift 4.0 defaults to the Container Runtime Interface — Open Container Initiative (CRI-OCI), which can handle a greater number of container nodes at scale. This allows for more efficient use of resources.

The orchestration of many containers and scaling running in the cloud is made possible by Kubernetes. This enables the creation and deployment of cloud-native microservices at scale.

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OpenShift offers key benefits for software development and container deployment. Here are some of the key features:

  • Run cloud-native microservices at scale, combining loosely-coupled functions to create high-performing applications.
  • Scale and manage infrastructure, giving companies complete control over the scale and management of their application infrastructure.
  • Access a wide ecosystem of partners with open-source and cloud-native technologies, including pre-created templates and popular continuous integration tools like Jenkins.

Kubernetes and DevOps

High-performing DevOps teams have 46 times more frequent code deployments and 440 times faster lead time from commitment to deployment. This is a direct result of the emergence of DevOps and continuous integration (CI) and continuous development (CD) pipelines.

By using OpenShift, organizations can empower easy integration with leading CI/CD platforms, AI-powered performance monitoring solutions, and user-demand analysis tools. OpenShift eases the burden of Kubernetes management by simplifying tools and enhancing DevOps productivity.

OpenShift provides a variety of benefits over managing Kubernetes on your own infrastructure, including simplifying Kubernetes management tools, enhancing DevOps productivity, and speeding up development.

Data Foundation

Data Foundation is a crucial component for applications running with OpenShift Container platform. It provides cloud native storage, data management and data protection.

OpenShift Data Foundation (ODF) is specifically designed for cloud native environments, including cloud, on-prem, and hybrid/multi-cloud environments. This means developers can rely on it for their applications regardless of the deployment scenario.

ODF provides a unified platform for managing storage, data, and protection across different environments. This simplifies the process of data management and reduces the complexity of storage infrastructure.

Database Access

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Database Access is a crucial aspect of Kubernetes and DevOps. Red Hat OpenShift Database Access (RHODA) is a capability in managed OpenShift Kubernetes environments.

RHODA enables administrators to set up connections to database-as-a-service offerings from different providers. RHODA is an add-on service to OSD and Red Hat OpenShift Service on AWS (ROSA).

RHODA's initial alpha release supported MongoDB Atlas for MongoDB. Crunchy Bridge for PostgreSQL was also included in the initial alpha release.

Cloud & DevOps

High-performing DevOps teams have 46 times more frequent code deployments and 440 times faster lead time from commitment to deployment. This is because DevOps and continuous integration (CI) and continuous development (CD) pipelines have fundamentally changed the nature of software design, development, and deployment.

OpenShift empowers easy integration with leading CI/CD platforms, AI-powered performance monitoring solutions, and user-demand analysis tools. By taking better control of their Kubernetes environments, OpenShift can help organizations reach their full DevOps potential.

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The average annual salary of a DevOps professional in the U.S is $138K, with a predicted compounded annual growth rate of 20.5%. The forecasted DevOps market size by 2032 is $57.3 Billion.

OpenShift provides a variety of benefits over managing Kubernetes on your own infrastructure, including simplifying Kubernetes management tools, enhancing DevOps productivity, and speeding up development.

Here are some key statistics about the DevOps market:

By streamlining and consolidating Kubernetes setup and management, OpenShift enhances developer productivity by simplifying CI/CD processes, speeds up development, and reduces the burden and overhead on the DevOps team.

Templates

Kubernetes offers Helm templates that are easy to use and provide a generous amount of flexibility.

OpenShift templates can't hold a candle to Kubernetes' Helm templates in terms of flexibility and user-friendliness.

Kubernetes' Helm templates are a game-changer for developers who want to quickly deploy and manage applications.

Their flexibility allows for a wide range of customization options, making it easier to tailor your deployment to your specific needs.

With Helm templates, you can create and manage complex applications with ease, without having to worry about the underlying infrastructure.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a free version of OpenShift?

Yes, OpenShift offers a free starter tier for experimentation, testing, or development. Upgrade to the paid tier for production use or additional resources.

What are alternatives to OpenShift?

Alternatives to OpenShift include Amazon ECS, VMware Tanzu Platform, Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE), Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS), SUSE Rancher, Portainer, Alibaba Cloud Container Service for Kubernetes (ACK), and Alauda Container Platform, each offering container orchestration and management capabilities. These alternatives provide scalable and secure solutions for deploying and managing containerized applications.

Walter Brekke

Lead Writer

Walter Brekke is a seasoned writer with a passion for creating informative and engaging content. With a strong background in technology, Walter has established himself as a go-to expert in the field of cloud storage and collaboration. His articles have been widely read and respected, providing valuable insights and solutions to readers.

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