Installing a Cluster with Assisted Installer

Install an OpenShift Container Platform cluster on OCI using Red Hat's Assisted Installer.

Before you begin, ensure to review the Prerequisites section of this documentation. The workflow for Assisted Installer involves three main steps:

Generating the discovery ISO image (Red Hat Console).
Provisioning the cluster infrastructure (OCI Console).
Completing the installation (Red Hat Console).

Part 1: Generating Discovery ISO File (Red Hat Console)

The compute nodes for the cluster require a preconfigured discovery ISO image to validate hardware and network configurations during cluster deployment. Follow the steps in Using the Assisted Installer to generate an OCI-compatible discovery ISO image (Red Hat documentation) to generate and download the discovery ISO using the Red Hat Hybrid Cloud Console. Then return to this guide for Part 2: Provisioning Infrastructure (OCI Console)

Part 2: Provisioning Infrastructure (OCI Console)

Upload the discovery ISO and set up the infrastructure using the Red Hat OpenShift plugin and Resource Manager in the OCI Console.

In the tasks in this section, you work in the OCI Console to upload the discovery ISO image and provision the cluster infrastructure resources as discussed in Configuration Files. See Terraform Defined Resources for OpenShift for a list of the resources created by the Terraform script used for this installation method. Note that you specify an existing compartment and Object Storage bucket for the cluster. See Creating a Compartment and Creating an Object Storage Bucket if you need instructions for creating these resources.

Uploading Red Hat ISO Image to Object Storage

In the OCI Console, create an Object Storage bucket and upload the discovery ISO to the bucket.
Find the uploaded discovery ISO and complete the following steps:
1. Create a pre-authenticated request for the ISO in Object Storage.
2. Copy the generated URL to use as the OpenShift Image Source URI in the next step. For more information, see Pre-Authenticated Requests for Object Storage.

Creating OpenShift Container Platform Infrastructure

Follow the steps to set up the necessary infrastructure for the OpenShift cluster.

Important

Run the create-resource-attribution-tags stack before running the create-cluster stack to avoid installation failure.
The create-resource-attribution-tags stack only needs to be run once. If the tag namespace and defined-tags already exist, you can skip this step for future installations.
A tagging controller runs in the background to ensure the required OpenShift resource attribution tags are present on cluster resources during installation and ongoing reconciliation.

Open the navigation menu and select Developer Services, then select Red Hat OpenShift.
- The latest version of the Terraform stack is automatically uploaded for you.
- The Create in compartment and Terraform version fields are prepopulated.
- Enter an optional Name and Description.
- (Optional) In the Tags section, add tags to organize the resources.
1. From the Tag namespace dropdown list, select a relevant tag namespace.
2. In the Tag key field, specify a tag key.
3. In the Tag value field, specify a value for the tag.
4. Select Add tag.
Select Next.
On the Configure variables page, review and configure the required variables for the infrastructure resources that the stack creates when you run the Apply job for this execution plan.

In the OpenShift Cluster Configuration section, review and configure the following fields:

OpenShift Cluster Configuration


Field	Description
Tenancy OCID	The OCID of the current tenancy. Default value: Current tenancy
Compartment	The OCID of the compartment where you want to create the OpenShift cluster. Default value: Current compartment
Cluster Name	The OpenShift cluster name. Note: Use the same value for cluster name that you specified in the Red Hat Hybrid Cloud Console and ensure that it's DNS compatible.
Installation Method	The installation method you want to use for installing the cluster. Default value: Assisted Installer
Create OpenShift Image and Instances	Enables the creation of OpenShift image and instances. Default value: True
OpenShift Image Source URI	The pre-authenticated Request URL created in the previous task, Uploading Red Hat ISO Image to Object Storage. Note: This field is visible only when the Create OpenShift Image and Instances checkbox is selected.

In the OpenShift Resource Attribution Tags section, review and configure the following field:

OpenShift Resource Attribution Tags


Field	Description
Tag Namespace Compartment For OpenShift Resource Attribution Tags	The tag namespace compartment for OpenShift resource attribution tags. Note: Ensure that the specified tag exists before applying the Terraform stack. The compartment where the tag namespace for resource tagging is created defaults to the current compartment. For OpenShift Attribution on OCI resources, the tag namespace and defined tags are set to `openshift-tags` and `openshift-resource`. If the openshift-tags namespace already exists, ensure it's correctly defined and applied. For example: `defined-tags" - {"openshift-tags"- {"openshift-resource" - "openshift-resource-infra"} }`

In the Control Plane Node Configuration section, review and configure the following fields:

Control Plane Node Configuration

Note: This section is visible only when the Create OpenShift Image and Instances checkbox is selected.


Field	Description
Control Plane Shape	The compute instance shape of the control plane nodes. For more information, see Compute Shapes. Default value: VM.Standard.E5.Flex
(Optional) Control Plane Capacity Reservation OCID	The OCID of the capacity reservation used for the control-plane nodes.
Control Plane Node Count	The number of control plane nodes in the cluster. Default value: 3
Control Plane Node OCPU	The number of OCPUs available each control plane node shape. Default value: 4
Control Plane Node Memory	The amount of memory available, in gigabytes (GB), for each control plane node shape. Default value: 24
Control Plane Node Boot Volume	The boot volume size (GB), of each control plane node. Default value: 1024
Control Plane Node VPU	The number of Volume Performance Units (VPUs) applied to the volume, per 1 GB, of each control plane node. Default value: 100
Distribute Control Plane Instances Across ADs	Enables automatic distribution of control-plane instances across Availability domains (ADs) in a round-robin sequence, starting from the selected AD. If unselected, all nodes are created in the selected starting AD. Default value: True
(Optional) Starting AD	Availability domain (AD) used for initial node placement. Additional nodes are automatically distributed across ADs in a round-robin sequence, starting from the selected AD.
Distribute Control Plane Instances Across FDs	Distributes control plane instances across Fault Domains in a round-robin sequence. If not selected, the OCI Compute service distributes them based on shape availability and other criteria. Default value: True
(Optional) Starting FD	The fault domain used for initial control-plane node placement. Additional nodes are distributed across fault domains in round-robin order, beginning with the selected fault domain.

In the Autoscaling Configuration section, if you're configuring an autoscaling stack, select Enable OCI OpenShift Autoscaler. Review and configure the following fields:

Autoscaling Configuration

Note: This section is visible only if you select the Enable OCI OpenShift Autoscaler checkbox. If you select this option, the following Compute Node Configuration isn't available.


Field	Description
Autoscaler Node Shape	The instance shape of the Autoscaler compute nodes. For more information, see Compute Shapes. Default value: VM.Standard.E5.Flex
Autoscaler Image Source URI	The object storage URI to your Autoscaler image. You created this image as a prerequisite: see Prerequisites for Autoscaling
Minimum Autoscaler Node Count	The minimum number of compute nodes in the cluster. Default value: 0
Maximum Autoscaler Node Count	The maximum number of compute nodes in the cluster. Default value: 5
Autoscaler Pool Identifier	Optionally, enter an identifier of up to five lowercase letters, numbers, or hyphens. This identifier is appended to the CAPI cluster name when the autoscaler creates node pool resources.
Autoscaler Node OCPU	The number of OCPUs available for each autoscaled compute node shape. This value is only used for VMs, and is ignored for Bare Metal instances. Default value: 4
Autoscaler Node Memory	The amount of memory available, in gigabytes (GB), for each autoscaled compute node shape. This value is only used for VMs, and is ignored for Bare Metal instances. Default value: 24
Cluster Network CIDR Block	The IPV4 CIDR blocks for your OpenShift cluster network.
Service Network CIDR Block	The IPV4 CIDR blocks for your OpenShift service network.

Important

When autoscaling is enabled, the stack sets the static compute replica count to zero. Control-plane nodes can receive the worker role and remain schedulable. Workloads scheduled on control-plane nodes can prevent the pending-workload signal required for scale-up. After dedicated autoscaled workers reach the Ready state, follow Red Hat solution 4564851 to remove the worker role from control-plane nodes.

In the Compute Node Configuration section, review and configure the following fields:

Compute Node Configuration

Note: This section is visible only when the Create OpenShift Image and Instances checkbox is selected. It's not available if you select Enable OCI OpenShift Autoscaler for an autoscaling Terraform deployment.


Field	Description
Compute Shape	The instance shape of the compute nodes. For more information, see Compute Shapes. Default value: VM.Standard.E5.Flex
(Optional) Compute Capacity Reservation OCID	The OCID of the capacity reservation used for compute nodes.
Compute Node Count	The number of compute nodes in the cluster. Default value: 3
Compute Node OCPU	The number of OCPUs available each compute node shape. Default value: 6
Compute Node Memory	The amount of memory available, in gigabytes (GB), for each compute node shape. Default value: 32 GB
Compute Node Boot Volume	The boot volume size (GB) of each compute node. Default value: 300 GB
Compute Node VPU	The number of Volume Performance Units (VPUs) applied to the volume, per 1 GB, of each compute node. Default value: 30
Distribute Compute Instances Across ADs	Enables automatic distribution of compute instances across Availability domains (ADs) in a round-robin sequence, starting from the selected AD. If unselected, all nodes are created in the selected starting AD. Default value: True
(Optional) Starting AD	Availability domain (AD) used for initial node placement. Additional nodes are automatically distributed across ADs in a round-robin sequence, starting from the selected AD.
Distribute Compute Instances Across FDs	Distributes compute instances across Fault Domains in a round-robin sequence. If not selected, the OCI Compute service distributes them based on shape availability and other criteria. Default value: True
(Optional) Starting FD	The fault domain used for initial compute-node placement. Additional nodes are distributed across fault domains in round-robin order, beginning with the selected fault domain.

In the Network Configuration section, review and configure the following fields:

Network Configuration


Field	Description
Create Public DNS	Create a public DNS zone based on the Base domain specified in the Zone DNS field. Note: If you don't want to create a public DNS, create a private DNS zone unless you use your own DNS solution. To resolve cluster hostnames without DNS, add entries to `/etc/hosts` that map cluster hostnames to the IP address of the `api_apps` Load Balancer using the `etc_hosts_entry` output. Default value: True
Create Private DNS	Creates a private DNS zone based on the Base domain, specified in the Zone DNS field, to support hostname resolution within the VCN. Note: The private DNS zone contains the same records as the public DNS zone. If using an unregistered Base domain, we recommend to create a private DNS zone, otherwise, you might need alternative methods to resolve cluster hostnames. For more information, see Private DNS.
Enable Public API Load Balancer	Creates a Load Balancer for the OpenShift API endpoint in the public subnet with a public IP address for external access. Note: If unselected, the Load Balancer is created in a private subnet with limited access within the VCN or connected private networks. In on-premises environments (for example, C3/PCA), public IPs might be internal (RFC 1918). Public access is helpful for remote management, automation, and CI/CD. Contact your network administrator if needed.
Enable Public Apps Load Balancer	Creates a Load Balancer for OpenShift applications in the public subnet with a public IP address for external access to workloads. Note: If unselected, the Load Balancer is created in a private subnet, limiting access to within the VCN or over a VPN/private network. Public access is useful for internet-facing apps, customer services, or multitenant workloads. In on-premises setups (for example, C3/PCA), public IPs might be internal (RFC 1918). Contact your network team to ensure proper exposure. Default value: True
Zone DNS	The base domain for your cluster's DNS records (for example, `devcluster.openshift.com`), which is used to create public or private (or both) DNS Zones. This value must match the Base domain value entered in the Red Hat Hybrid Cloud Console during the creation of the ISO image.
Use Existing Networking Infrastructure	Select to reuse an existing VCN and subnets instead of creating new networking resources. Before selecting this option, complete Prerequisites for Using an Existing VCN. Default value: False
VCN Compartment	The compartment that contains the existing VCN. This field is displayed only when Use Existing Networking Infrastructure is selected. Default value: Current compartment
Existing VCN	The OCID of the existing VCN. This field is displayed only when Use Existing Networking Infrastructure is selected.
Subnet Compartment	The compartment that contains the existing subnets. This field is displayed only when Use Existing Networking Infrastructure is selected. Default value: Current compartment
Existing Private Subnet for OCP	The OCID of the existing private subnet used by the OpenShift control-plane and VM compute nodes.
Existing Private Subnet for Bare Metal	The OCID of the existing private subnet used by bare-metal compute nodes. This subnet must be different from the private OpenShift subnet.
Existing Public Subnet	The OCID of the existing public subnet used by public-facing cluster resources.
VCN DNS Label	A DNS label for the VCN, used with the VNIC's hostname and subnet's DNS label to form a Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) for each VNIC within this subnet. (for example, `bminstance1.subnet123.vcn1.oraclevcn.com`). Default value: openshiftvcn
VCN CIDR	The IPv4 CIDR blocks for the VCN of your OpenShift Cluster. Default value: 10.0.0.0/16
Public Subnet CIDR	The IPv4 CIDR blocks for the public subnet of your OpenShift Cluster. Default value: 10.0.0.0/20
Private Subnet CIDR for OCP	The IPv4 CIDR blocks for the private subnet of your OpenShift Cluster. Default value: 10.0.16.0/20
Reserved Private Subnet CIDR for Bare Metal	The IPv4 CIDR blocks for the private subnet of OpenShift Bare metal Clusters. Default value: 10.0.32.0/20
Load Balancer Maximum Bandwidth	Bandwidth (Mbps) that decides the maximum bandwidth (ingress plus egress) that the Load Balancer can achieve. The values must be between `minimumBandwidthInMbps` and 8000. Default value: 500
Load Balancer Minimum Bandwidth	Bandwidth (Mbps) that decides the total pre-provisioned bandwidth (ingress plus egress). The values must be between 10 and the `maximumBandwidthInMbps` Default value: 10

(Optional) In the Advanced Configurations section, review and configure the following fields:

Advanced Configurations


Field	Description
OCI CCM and CSI Driver Version	The OCI CCM and CSI driver version to deploy. For more information see the list of driver versions and the STORAGE.MD file on GitHub. Default value: v1.34.0
Use Existing Instance Role Tags	Indicates whether to reuse existing instance role tag namespace and defined tags when tagging OCI resources. By default, a new set of instance role tagging resources are created and destroyed with the rest of the cluster resources. If required, create instance role tag resources separately that can be reused with the Terraform stack from the create-instance-role-tags page in the oci-openshift GitHub repo. The existing instance role tagging resources aren't destroyed when the cluster is deleted.
(Optional) Instance Role Tag Namespace Name	The name of the instance role tag namespace to reuse. Note: This field is visible only when the Use Existing Instance Role Tags checkbox is selected. Default value: openshift-{cluster_name}
Instance Role Tag Namespace Compartment OCID	The compartment containing existing instance role tag namespace. Note: This field is visible only when the Use Existing Instance Role Tags checkbox is selected. Default value: Current compartment
Enable Oracle Cloud Agent (beta)	Select to enable Oracle Cloud Agent in the cluster. Before selecting this option, accept the Marketplace listing terms and export the agent container image to an OCIR repository in the tenancy. Default value: False
Cloud Agent Container Repository Name	The name of the OCIR repository that contains the Oracle Cloud Agent container image. This field is displayed only when Enable Oracle Cloud Agent (beta) is selected. Default value: openshift-oca
Region where container image is exported	Enter a different region only when the Oracle Cloud Agent container image was exported to a region other than the region where the stack is deployed. This field is displayed only when Enable Oracle Cloud Agent (beta) is selected.

Select Next.
On the Review page, review the stack information and variables.
Select Create to create the stack. The Console redirects to the Resource Manager stacks details page for the new stack.
On the stack details page, select Apply to create an apply job and provision the infrastructure for the cluster. After running an apply job, get the job's details to check its status. Succeeded (SUCCEEDED) indicates that the job has completed.
Important

Terraform Apply provisions only the OCI resources. Return to Red Hat Hybrid Cloud Console and complete the Assisted Installer workflow. Autoscaled workers can't be provisioned until the OpenShift installation is complete and the autoscaling operator is running.

What's Next? After running the apply job for the stack, stay in the Resource Manager section of the OCI Console and perform the steps in Getting the Custom Manifests for Installation.

Getting the Custom Manifests for Installation

After provisioning the infrastructure in the Resource Manager, from the "Outputs" of the stack job, get the dynamic_custom_manifest file. This output contains all the required manifests, concatenated and preformatted with the configuration values for CCM and CSI.

On the Stacks page in Resource Manager, select the name of the stack to see its details. If the list view of jobs isn't displayed, select Jobs under the Resources section to see the list of jobs.
Select the job for the stack creation. The Job details page is displayed in the Console.
Select Outputs under the Resources section to see the list of outputs for the job.
For the output dynamic_custom_manifest select show to view the contents of the output.
Select copy to copy the contents of the output. Note: We recommend that you don't manually select and copy the text, as this can cause problems with indentation when you paste this output in the following step.
Using a text or code editor, save the copied output to a new manifest.yaml file. Upload this file in the Custom Manifest step of the installation process described in Part 3: Installing Cluster (Red Hat Console).

Part 3: Installing Cluster (Red Hat Console)

Return to the Red Hat Hybrid Cloud Console to complete the cluster creation using the Assisted Installer. Follow the steps in Completing the remaining Assisted Installer steps (Red Hat documentation). This includes:

Assigning roles to the control plane and compute instances running in OCI.
Reviewing the settings for cluster storage and networking.
Uploading the manifest.yaml file you created in Part 2: Provisioning Infrastructure (OCI Console) in the Custom Manifest section.
Starting the cluster installation.

Accessing Cluster Console

After installation is complete, select Launch OpenShift Console in the Red Hat Hybrid Cloud Console. This opens the management console for the new cluster. The Web Console URL for the cluster console is displayed on the Installation progress page and can be bookmarked in a browser. In the cluster management console, download the kubeconfig file which you use to access the cluster with the OpenShift CLI (oc) or the Kubernetes CLI (kubectl).

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Documentation