Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Documentation

Getting Started with OpenShift Container Platform on OCI

Learn about deploying the Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI).

Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform is a cloud-based Kubernetes container platform. Red Hat, in partnership with OCI, supports running cluster workloads on the OCI platform. For an overview of OpenShift Container Platform and Kubernetes, see the Red Hat documentation at OpenShift Container Platform and Kubernetes overview.

Cluster infrastructure consists of several compute instances running Red Hat Enterprise Linux CoreOS (RHCOS), along with the networking, load balancing and routing required to move network traffic in and out of the cluster. See Understanding OpenShift Container Platform for details about the Red Hat software stack and cluster management.

Cluster Architecture in OCI

OpenShift Container Platform clusters use OCI's DNS Resolution, Virtual Cloud Network (VCN), load balancers, and compute nodes as follows:

  1. Network traffic is resolved with OCI DNS.
  2. Traffic is routed to the VCN assigned to the cluster compute nodes.
  3. Within the VCN's public subnet, an external Load Balancer routes traffic to the control plane (master) nodes of the cluster, which sit within a private subnet.
  4. The cluster's control plane compute nodes use an internal Load Balancer to communicate with the compute (worker) nodes of the cluster.
Figure 1. OpenShift Container Platform in OCI

Illustration shows how traffic moves from OCI DNS through OCI Networking to OpenShift Container Platform cluster nodes

Installation Options

Oracle offers an automated path for provisioning the cluster infrastructure that uses the Red Hat Assisted Installer. We recommend this method for most users.

Oracle also supports the use of Red Hat's Agent-based Installer for users who want to set up the cluster manually or using other automation tools, or for those working in a disconnected environment.

Assisted Installer

Red Hat's Assisted Installer provides a simple web interface in the Red Hat Hybrid Cloud Console to perform cluster installation. The Assisted Installer requires an internet connection.

At a high level, the work flow starts in the Red Hat Hybrid Cloud Console, where you create the discovery ISO image. The work flow then moves to the OCI Console for infrastructure provisioning, which includes creating a custom Red Hat ISO image for compute nodes, and using the Resource Manager service to run a Terraform script and create the infrastructure resources required by the cluster. Lastly, the final cluster configuration and installation is performed in the Red Hat Hybrid Cloud Console:


A workflow diagram with four boxes in a vertical stack. The first and fourth boxes represent installation steps performed in the Red Hat OpenShift Hybrid Cloud Console, while the second and third represent steps performed in the OCI Console. These steps are detailed in the OpenShift for OCI Assisted Installer section of this documentation.

See Installing a Cluster with Red Hat's Assisted Installer for instructions.

Agent-based Installer

Red Hat's Agent-based Installer is recommended for advanced users who want maximum flexibility, and requires users to create OCI resources manually in the OCI Console or to use their own automation tools. This method typically takes longer to complete than the Assisted Installer. The work flow is described in detail in Agent-based Installer for OpenShift Container Platform.

Documentation

Deploying an OpenShift Container Platform cluster on OCI combines actions performed in the Red Hat Hybrid Cloud Console and actions performed in the OCI Console. This documentation details the tasks that you perform in the OCI Console, and provides an overview of the complete installation work flow involving both consoles. This documentation is intended to be used together with the Red Hat documentation in the following locations: