Skip to content

OpenShift Content Pack Operator Guide

The OpenShift content pack enables automated deployment and management of OpenShift clusters through Digital Rebar Platform (DRP). This guide focuses on practical operation and maintenance of OpenShift clusters deployed using this content pack.

There two ways to install OpenShift with RackN DRP.

  • UPI - User Provisioned Infrastructure
  • IPI - Installer Provisioned Infrastructure

UPI

This is the original installation method of OpenShift that assumes that the cluster is going to be managed outside of the the OpenShift cluster. This is counter to many Kubernetes and OpenShift architects who believe that the system should manage itself.

This is the least supported by Red Hat.

IPI

This represents an evolution of the Red Hat OpenShift installer to attempt to manage the whole bare metal cluster from within the cluster. This mentality has a bootstrapping problem of needing a cluster to build a cluster. The OpenShift installer attempts to address the bootstrap problem.

RackN DRP attempts to feed and wrap the OpenShift Installer while maintaining the Red Hat intentions of having OpenShift manage itself even in bare metal environments.

Documentation Structure

Our documentation is organized to help you efficiently find the information you need:

  • Getting Started: Quick start guide and basic concepts
  • Architecture: Core components and system design
  • Requirements: Prerequisites and environment setup
  • Operations Guide: Day-to-day operational tasks
  • Advanced Features: In-depth capabilities like ACM, disconnected installations, custom configurations, and security
  • Troubleshooting: Common issues and diagnostics

Quick Start

  1. Ensure your environment meets the minimum requirements
  2. Get your pull secret from Red Hat OpenShift Cluster Manager

  3. Deploy using either: 

    # CLI deployment
drpcli clusters create - < <(jq -n \
--arg pull_secret "$(cat pull-secret.json | jq -c .)" \
'{
   Name: "demo",
   Profiles: ["universal-application-openshift-cluster"],
   Workflow: "universal-start",
   "Meta": {
     "BaseContext": "oc-cluster",
   },
   Params: {
      "broker/name": "pool-broker",
      "openshift/pull-secret": $pull_secret
   }
}')
    Or use the DRP UI:

    • Navigate to Clusters → Add
    • Select "openshift-cluster" pipeline
    • Select "oc-cluster" context
    • Paste your pull secret
    • Click Save

  4. Monitor deployment progress in the DRP UI or CLI

  5. Access your cluster: 
    export KUBECONFIG=/root/cluster/auth/kubeconfig
oc get nodes

Next Steps

Support and Resources

For additional assistance:

License

This content pack is licensed under the RackN License. See documentation for details.