What Is OpenShift and Its Key Features

OpenShift is a container application platform that allows developers to build, deploy, and manage applications in a cloud-native way. It's a game-changer for businesses and developers alike.

OpenShift is built on top of Kubernetes, which is an open-source container orchestration system. This means that OpenShift inherits many of Kubernetes' key features, such as automated deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications.

With OpenShift, developers can focus on writing code, while the platform takes care of the underlying infrastructure and scaling. This allows for faster development and deployment of applications, which is a huge advantage in today's fast-paced tech landscape.

OpenShift is a private platform as a service that allows organizations to deploy and manage OpenShift on their own hardware or on a certified cloud provider's infrastructure.

It's primarily known as OpenShift Container Platform, which is an assemblage of Docker-based application containers managed via Kubernetes orchestration.

OpenShift Container Platform is built on a foundation of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) and also supports Windows.

Platform operators are responsible for managing services related to the entire OpenShift platform. They provide an API to allow administrators to configure these components.

Platform operators include critical networking services. This means they help ensure that the underlying network infrastructure is functioning correctly.

Monitoring services are also managed by platform operators. This includes keeping an eye on system performance, identifying potential issues, and sending alerts when necessary.

Credential services are another important aspect of platform operators. They help manage access and authentication for users and applications.

By managing these critical services, platform operators play a vital role in keeping the OpenShift platform running smoothly and efficiently.

OpenShift.io is a free, open source platform that was announced in May 2017. It's designed to be a cloud-native supplement to OpenShift Online, offering an integrated approach to DevOps.

OpenShift.io provides a Linux container environment, making it easy for developers to create and deploy microservices-based applications. This environment is a game-changer for teams looking to streamline their development process.

One of the key features of OpenShift.io is its machine learning system, which assists developers with design decisions. This system uses data to provide insights and recommendations, helping developers make informed decisions.

OpenShift.io encompasses several open source development technologies, including Fabric8, Eclipse Che, Eclipse Vert.x, Jenkins, JBoss Forge, WildFly Swarm, and Kubernetes. These technologies work together to create a robust and efficient development environment.

OpenShift originated from Red Hat's acquisition of Makara, a company marketing a platform as a service (PaaS) based on Linux containers, in November 2010.

It was announced in May 2011 as proprietary technology and didn't become open-source until May 2012. This change in licensing made OpenShift more accessible to a wider range of developers.

The container technology and orchestration used in OpenShift up until v3, released in June 2015, were custom-developed technologies. However, with the adoption of Docker and Kubernetes in v3, OpenShift's architecture underwent significant changes.

The v4 product introduced additional architectural changes, including a shift to using CRI-O as the container runtime, Podman for interacting with pods and containers, and Buildah as the container build tool. This move broke the exclusive dependency on Docker.

OpenShift's key to success lies in combining Docker containers and Kubernetes orchestration, both built on RHEL.

OpenShift has a rich history that dates back to 2010 when Red Hat acquired Makara, a company that developed a platform as a service (PaaS) based on Linux containers.

Red Hat's acquisition of Makara marked the beginning of OpenShift's journey, and it was announced as proprietary technology in May 2011.

OpenShift didn't become open-source until May 2012, a significant shift in its development and availability.

Up until version 3, released in June 2015, OpenShift used custom-developed technologies for container technology and container orchestration.

With version 3, OpenShift adopted Docker as the container technology and Kubernetes as the container orchestration technology, a major turning point in its evolution.

The adoption of Docker and Kubernetes brought significant improvements to OpenShift, but it wasn't until version 4 that the platform underwent even more architectural changes.

In version 4, OpenShift shifted to using CRI-O as the container runtime and Podman for interacting with pods and containers, breaking its exclusive dependency on Docker.

Red Hat OpenShift is a multifaceted, Open Source container application development platform from Red Hat Inc.

Red Hat OpenShift is available in a number of versions, including cloud service versions and self-managed versions.

The underlying OpenShift code and functionality are identical across all versions.

Red Hat OpenShift is built on RHEL, combining Docker containers and Kubernetes orchestration.

This combination enables developers to create apps that can run anywhere Docker containers are supported, including on premises, public clouds, private clouds, and hybrid cloud environments.

Red Hat OpenShift provides an online container catalog with contributions from Red Hat and third parties, covering various categories.

Here are some popular categories in the container catalog:

Red Hat OpenShift also enables developers to create their own containers and manage them with the open source Kubernetes container orchestration platform.

OpenShift is built on open source Kubernetes, with additional components to provide enterprise-grade features. It's a turn-key solution that's secure and reliable.

The base operating system is Red Hat Enterprise Linux CoreOS, a lightweight version of RHEL that provides essential OS features and easy over-the-air updates. CoreOS combines the ease of Container Linux with the Red Hat Enterprise Linux kernel for container hosts.

Kubernetes is the industry standard container orchestration engine, managing hosts and workers to run containers. It's the heart of OpenShift's containerization solution.

OpenShift Container Platform is built around application containers powered by CRI-O, with orchestration and management provided by Kubernetes, on Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Red Hat Enterprise Linux CoreOS.

The base operating system of OpenShift is Red Hat Enterprise Linux CoreOS, a lightweight version of RHEL that provides essential OS features and combines the ease of over-the-air updates with the Red Hat Enterprise Linux kernel for container hosts.

CRI-O is a lightweight Docker alternative, serving as a Kubernetes Container Runtime Interface that enables the use of Open Container Initiative compatible runtimes and supports OCI container images from any container registry.

Kubernetes is the industry standard container orchestration engine, managing several hosts, master, and workers to run containers, and defining how applications are built, operated, managed, and more.

ETCD is a distributed database of key-value pairs that stores cluster, Kubernetes object configuration, and state information.

OpenShift Kubernetes Extensions are Custom Resource Definitions in the Kubernetes ETCD database, providing additional functionality compared to a vanilla Kubernetes deployment.

Most internal features run as containers on a Kubernetes environment, fulfilling base infrastructure functions such as networking and authentication.

Runtimes and xPaaS offer base ready-to-use container images and templates for developers, including a set of base images for JBoss middleware products and other languages and databases.

In OpenShift, nodes are crucial components that make up the cluster.

There are two main types of nodes in OpenShift: cluster master and cluster workers. The cluster master is responsible for managing the cluster, while cluster workers handle the actual workload.

The cluster master node is the central hub of the cluster, responsible for making decisions and enforcing policies. It's essentially the brain of the operation.

Cluster workers, on the other hand, are the nodes that run your applications and services. They're the ones that actually do the work.

Each node has a specific role to play, and they work together seamlessly to ensure the smooth operation of the cluster.

Application operators are managed by the Cluster Operator Lifecycle Management. They are either Red Hat Operators or Certified operators from third parties.

These operators can be used to manage specific application workloads on the clusters. They are an essential part of the OpenShift platform.

Application operators integrate with Kubernetes APIs and CLI tools. This allows them to perform health checks, manage updates, and ensure that the service/application remains in a specified state.

Application operators are responsible for managing services related to the entire OpenShift platform. This includes critical networking, monitoring, and credential services.

Container-native virtualization is a powerful tool that allows administrators to run virtual machine workloads alongside container workloads.

It enables the creation and management of Linux and Windows virtual machines, making it a versatile option for developers and administrators alike.

This platform also provides the ability to import and clone existing virtual machines, streamlining the process of setting up new workloads.

One of the most impressive features of container-native virtualization is the live migration of virtual machines between nodes, allowing for seamless and efficient workload management.

Image Streams are a powerful tool that allows you to detect changes in application code or source images and force a Pod rebuild/re-deploy action to implement the changes.

Image Streams group container images marked by tags and manage the related container lifecycle accordingly. This means you can keep track of different versions of your images and ensure that the right version is deployed at the right time.

Image Streams can automatically update a deployment if a new base image has been released onto the platform. This is a huge time-saver and helps ensure that your application is always running with the latest and greatest code.

By using Image Streams, you can simplify the process of managing container images and deployments, and reduce the risk of errors or downtime.