Openshift OCPV¶

OpenShift Virtualization (OCPV) Content Bundle¶

This content bundle provides automation for deploying and managing OpenShift Virtualization (formerly known as Container-Native Virtualization) on OpenShift clusters. OpenShift Virtualization enables you to run and manage virtual machine workloads alongside container workloads on the same OpenShift platform.

Overview¶

OpenShift Virtualization allows organizations to:

Migrate Traditional Workloads: Move VM-based applications to containers
Unified Platform: Manage containers and VMs from a single control plane
Streamlined Operations: Use Kubernetes-native tools for VM lifecycle management
Consistent Security Model: Apply the same security controls to VMs and containers
Simplified Disaster Recovery: Leverage Kubernetes-native backup and DR solutions for VMs

This content bundle automates the installation, configuration, and management of OpenShift Virtualization capabilities on your cluster.

Prerequisites¶

Before deploying OpenShift Virtualization, ensure you have:

A fully operational OpenShift cluster (4.12+)
Sufficient cluster resources:
At least 3 worker nodes
Minimum 16GB RAM per worker node
Minimum 4 vCPUs per worker node
Sufficient storage for VM disks (see Storage Considerations)
Virtualization support enabled at the hardware level
Cluster administrator privileges

Installation Methods¶

There are two ways to install OpenShift Virtualization with this content bundle:

Method 1: During OpenShift Deployment¶

Apply the openshift-config-ocpv profile before deploying your OpenShift cluster:

# Apply the OpenShift Virtualization profile to your cluster configuration
drpcli clusters addprofile demo openshift-config-ocpv

# The installation will proceed automatically after cluster deployment

With this profile applied, the OpenShift deployment process will automatically install OpenShift Virtualization after the cluster is operational.

Method 2: Post-Deployment Installation¶

If your OpenShift cluster is already deployed, you can install OpenShift Virtualization using the provided blueprint:

# Get your cluster UUID (replace "demo" with your cluster name)
CLUSTER_UUID=$(drpcli clusters show Name:demo | jq -r .Uuid)

# Create a work order to run the OCPV installation blueprint
drpcli clusters work_order add $CLUSTER_UUID openshift-cluster-ocpv-install

Installation Process¶

The OpenShift Virtualization installation process follows these steps:

Creating the openshift-cnv namespace
Configuring the OperatorGroup for CNV
Creating the subscription to the OpenShift Virtualization operator
Waiting for the operator installation to complete
Deploying the HyperConverged custom resource
Waiting for the deployment to reach a ready state

The process typically takes 10-15 minutes to complete, depending on your cluster resources and network speed.

Storage Considerations¶

OpenShift Virtualization requires appropriate storage to manage virtual machine disks. The content bundle supports several storage options:

Hostpath Provisioner (HPP)¶

For development and testing environments, you can use the Hostpath Provisioner, which uses node-local storage:

apiVersion: hostpathprovisioner.kubevirt.io/v1beta1
kind: HostPathProvisioner
metadata:
  name: hostpath-provisioner
spec:
  imagePullPolicy: IfNotPresent
  storagePools:
  - name: vm-storage-pool
    path: "/var/vm-volumes"
  workload:
    nodeSelector:
      kubernetes.io/os: linux

StorageClass Configuration¶

Create an appropriate StorageClass with volumeBindingMode: WaitForFirstConsumer:

apiVersion: storage.k8s.io/v1
kind: StorageClass
metadata:
  name: vm-storage
provisioner: kubevirt.io.hostpath-provisioner
reclaimPolicy: Delete
volumeBindingMode: WaitForFirstConsumer
parameters:
  storagePool: vm-storage-pool

Managing Virtual Machines¶

After installation, you can manage VMs through:

OpenShift Web Console: Navigate to the Virtualization section
Command Line: Use the oc CLI with virtualization resources

Creating VMs via CLI¶

First, create a namespace for your VM workloads:

# Create a namespace for VM workloads
cat <<EOF | oc apply -f -
---
apiVersion: v1
kind: Namespace
metadata:
  name: vm-workloads
  labels:
    name: vm-workloads
EOF

Then create a virtual machine:

# Create a simple VM
cat <<EOF | oc apply -f -
---
apiVersion: kubevirt.io/v1
kind: VirtualMachine
metadata:
  name: vm-simple
  namespace: vm-workloads
spec:
  running: true
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        kubevirt.io/vm: vm-simple
    spec:
      domain:
        devices:
          disks:
          - disk:
              bus: virtio
            name: rootdisk
          - disk:
              bus: virtio
            name: cloudinitdisk
          interfaces:
          - masquerade: {}
            name: default
        machine:
          type: q35
        resources:
          requests:
            memory: 1Gi
            cpu: 1
      networks:
      - name: default
        pod: {}
      volumes:
      - containerDisk:
          image: quay.io/containerdisks/fedora:latest
        name: rootdisk
      - cloudInitNoCloud:
          userData: |-
            #cloud-config
            password: fedora
            chpasswd: { expire: False }
            ssh_pwauth: True
        name: cloudinitdisk
EOF

# Start/Stop VM operations
virtctl start vm-simple -n vm-workloads
virtctl stop  vm-simple -n vm-workloads -p '{"spec":{"running":false}}' --type=merge

# Connect to VM console
virtctl console vm-simple -n vm-workloads

Importing VM Disks¶

# Create a DataVolume for VM import
cat <<EOF | oc create -f -
apiVersion: cdi.kubevirt.io/v1beta1
kind: DataVolume
metadata:
  name: my-vm-disk
spec:
  source:
    http:
      url: "https://example.com/disk.qcow2"
  pvc:
    accessModes:
      - ReadWriteOnce
    resources:
      requests:
        storage: 10Gi
EOF

Cleanup and Removal¶

If you need to remove OpenShift Virtualization from your cluster, use the provided cleanup blueprint:

# Get your cluster UUID
CLUSTER_UUID=$(drpcli clusters show demo | jq -r .Uuid)

# Create a work order to run the OCPV cleanup blueprint
drpcli clusters work_order on $CLUSTER_UUID openshift-cluster-ocpv-cleanup

The cleanup process removes: 1. HyperConverged resource 2. Operator subscription 3. ClusterServiceVersions 4. OperatorGroup 5. Supporting resources 6. openshift-cnv namespace

Troubleshooting¶

Verifying Installation¶

Check the status of the installation components:

# Check the HyperConverged resource status
oc get hco -n openshift-cnv

# Check operator pods
oc get pods -n openshift-cnv

# View events for troubleshooting
oc get events -n openshift-cnv --sort-by='.lastTimestamp'

Common Issues¶

Storage Provisioning Issues: Verify your storage configuration and ensure that PVCs can be created.
```
# Run the storage verification script
bash check-storage-config.sh
```
Resource Constraints: Ensure nodes have sufficient resources for virtualization.
```
oc describe node <node-name> | grep -A 5 Capacity
```
Hardware Virtualization Support: Verify nodes have virtualization extensions enabled.
```
oc debug node/<node-name> -- chroot /host grep -E 'svm|vmx' /proc/cpuinfo
```

Support¶

For issues or questions: - Check the Digital Rebar documentation - Review the OpenShift Virtualization documentation - Contact RackN support

License¶

RackN License - See documentation for details.