One thing that organizations readily accepted is that customer experience and fast delivery is paramount to succeed in business. Therefore, they accomplish it by adopting Containers and Kubernetes; in fact, 60-70% of organizations use containers today. Talking about Containers, we definitely need Container Management solutions like Kubernetes.
So in this blog, we will talk about Red Hat Openshift, an enterprise Kubernetes Platform to deploy, create, and scale applications faster.
The blog will walk you through the following topics
- What is OpenShift?
- What’s new in Red Hat Openshift 4?
- OpenShift Architecture
- What does OpenShift do?
- OpenShift Models
- OpenShift for DevOps
- Why use OpenShift?
What is OpenShift?
OpenShift is a platform from RedHat/IBM to run containerized applications. Under the hood, OpenShift is powered by an open-source Kubernetes engine.
Also, you can think of OpenShift as “Kubernetes” branded by Red Hat with some extra bells and whistles. It is PaaS (Platform as a Service) built on top of Docker and Kubernetes that allows to build, test, deploy, manage, and run container-based applications on the cloud.
Kubernetes is a container orchestration tool, and Openshift uses Kubernetes as a container orchestration engine where you can run and build your application anywhere, like on multi-cloud or hybrid-cloud.
It helps in managing your development lifecycle, standardized workflows, building continuous integration/continuous delivery pipeline, and release management for the fastest delivery of applications.
What’s new in Red Hat OpenShift 4?
The latest version of Openshift is Red Hat Openshift 4, which include the following new features:
- Tekton with OpenShift Pipelines makes the process of setting up the CI/CD pipeline easier.
- OpenShift Service Mesh helps monitor and track code, create routes for deployments, and test error handling without disturbing your code.
- With the advent of OpenShift Serverless, it becomes easy to operate serverless applications and makes them readily available for developers.
- Integration of OpenShift with VS Code IDE has helped in debugging code, maintain pipelines and do development activities locally from anywhere.
- Operators help quickly install the software you need; the most significant advantage of operators is that it handles everything like control plane applications, operating system up-gradation databases, events, and other aspects and lets you focus more on your code.
Openshift Architecture – Working
With the help of Openshift Architecture, we will try to understand how Red Hat Openshift actually works. OpenShift has layered architecture where Docker and Kubernetes tightly hold layers with each other. Now the obvious question that arises here is, what roles do Docker and Kubernetes play then? So, Docker is responsible for creating Linux-based containers, and Kubernetes performs orchestration of containers on multiple hosts.
In the same process, we build a Kubernetes master in a cluster which controls all the nodes and deploys the containers to all the nodes. So, now let’s see the major component of OpenShift Architecture.
- API Server– With the help of API servers, different tools and libraries communicate with each other.
- Controller Manager – Regulates and manages cluster state, also responsible for gathering and sending information to API servers.
- Etcd– Stores configuration information and has key-value to distribute among nodes for accessibility.
- Scheduler – Helps in distributing workloads to nodes.
- Kubernetes master makes communication with the node server with the following key components:
- Docker- a service that helps in running containers for the application.
- Kubelet Service- Responsible for transferring information to and from the control pane. It receives commands and works from master components. Helps in managing network issues as well as port forwarding.
- Proxy Service- They run on each node and make service available to external hosts. It manages load balancing, health checkups of containers and pods.
- Integrated OpenShift Container Registry- An inbuilt storage for storing Docker images.
What does Red Hat Openshift do?
OpenShift makes use of Docker Container to provide distribution of Kubernetes.
In simple words, with the help of OpenShift, enterprises deploy Kubernetes in a customized and automated environment without facing the trouble of deploying various Kubernetes features. Openshift is not just Kubernetes, but also more than that; as it includes things like Prometheus, Grafana, Tekton, RHEl CoreOS which work together to deploy applications.
One of the key reasons OpenShift is preferred nowadays is due to its capability to reduce the time to market. As it helps you figure out workflows during tried and tested set of tools, saving you from burning analysis cycles of enterprises and help in accelerating developer productivity. The Speed and Agility of Openshift are backed by Red Hat’s technology, support, and experience over the years.
It also provides new features like code-to-production deployment, application catalog under its hood. And, also offers automated installation, cluster services, lifecycle management, and manages development workflow. It helps you structure your applications around microservices and containers.
OpenShift Models
Red Hat OpenShift is available in four different models that are listed below:
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OpenShift Container Platform
Openshift Container Platform works best on a hybrid cloud for creating and scaling containerized applications. The main task of the Openshift Container Platform is to bring Docker and Kubernetes together and help in managing containers and delivering them faster. The main feature includes enterprise-grade Kubernetes, offers automated operations, and enhances developer productivity.
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OpenShift Online
It is a cloud hosting and application deployment platform that helps developers build, deploy, and scale containerized apps in the public cloud. It supports a multi-tenant environment where many users can share the same cluster. Some of its capabilities are self-service, on-demand applications stacks, code and push, heavy-duty tools, and streamlined delivery.
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OpenShift Dedicated
With the word Dedicated, it is understood that it provides fully managed single-tenant space to the organization. The main advantage of the Dedicated OpenShift is that it helps in reducing operational complexity so that enterprises can focus more on their core services and add increasing value to the business.
Suppose you are using OpenShift Dedicated as a deployment option. In that case, you will get premium support, integrated container registry, logging, flexible authentication options, Virtual Private Cloud Integration, and many more other services.
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OpenShift.io
The primary thing to note in OpenShift.io is that it provides a Linux container and Machine Learning environment to help developers with design decisions. It is known to provide DevOps surrounding and help in building and deploying applications based on microservices. The significant technologies supported by it include OpenJDK, WildFly Swarm, Eclipse Chef, Jenkins, Spring Boot.
OpenShift for Dev and Ops [DevOps]
Organizations strive for DevOps culture and CI/CD is a tool that helps them achieve that. And in this process, OpenShift and its capability to build CI/CD Pipeline plays a key role in reducing the friction between the Development and Operation teams.
Involving OpenShift with the DevOps process helps in finding and preventing bugs and defects early during the software delivery process. Not only this, it streamlines the whole process by increasing visibility and ensuring security throughout the lifecycle.
Why use Red Hat OpenShift?
Let’s discuss the outcome of using Red Hat OpenShift concerning the following criteria:
Architecture
Red Hat Openshift is known to provide consistency across any infrastructure. Not only this, it makes tasks easier for both developers and the operations team by providing a common abstraction layer where both parties can see how applications are packaged, deployed, and managed.
Deployment
By using Red Hat OpenShift, you can develop more innovative applications with enterprise Kubernetes. It supports the DevOps process with the help of CI/CD Pipeline for automating applications and their delivery.
The inclusion of self-service developer tools, IDE, data and storage services, and a wide range of coding language support is like a cherry on the cake. It provides the ability to integrate and use public cloud services such as AI/ML and access the ISV software marketplace.
Operations
And for the operations team and System Admins, OpenShift makes the task significantly more manageable by providing a single control panel to manage applications, VMs, and, yes, of course, containers too. OpenShift operator helps automate Kubernetes Operations, and built-in CI/CD tools help automate application delivery.
Conclusion
OpenShift is a unique platform for building and shipping cloud-based applications. It opens opportunities for innovative products and services with faster delivery. An organization using Red Hat OpenShift can unleash many advantages and gain competitive benefits in business. I hope this blog may have helped you in providing information. Keep Reading.
Related/References
- Kubernetes for Beginners
- Kubernetes Architecture | An Introduction to Kubernetes Components
- Docker & Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) Training
- (CKA) Certification: Step By Step Activity Guides/Hands-On Lab Exercise
- Docker Architecture | Docker Engine Components | Container Lifecycle
Next Task for You
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