Chapter 1. Installing an on-premise cluster using the {ai-full}
You can install OpenShift Container Platform on on-premise hardware or on-premise VMs using the Assisted Installer. Installing OpenShift Container Platform using the Assisted Installer supports x86_64, AArch64, ppc64le, and s390x CPU architectures.
Installing OpenShift Container Platform on IBM Z (s390x) is supported only with RHEL KVM installations.
1.1. Using the Assisted Installer
The Assisted Installer is a user-friendly installation solution offered on the Red Hat Hybrid Cloud Console. The Assisted Installer supports the various deployment platforms with a focus on bare metal, Nutanix, and vSphere infrastructures.
The Assisted Installer provides installation functionality as a service. This software-as-a-service (SaaS) approach has the following advantages:
- Web user interface: The web user interface performs cluster installation without the user having to create the installation configuration files manually.
- No bootstrap node: A bootstrap node is not required when installing with the Assisted Installer. The bootstrapping process executes on a node within the cluster.
Hosting: The Assisted Installer hosts:
- Ignition files
- The installation configuration
- A discovery ISO
- The installer
Streamlined installation workflow: Deployment does not require in-depth knowledge of OpenShift Container Platform. The Assisted Installer provides reasonable defaults and provides the installer as a service, which:
- Eliminates the need to install and run the OpenShift Container Platform installer locally.
- Ensures the latest version of the installer up to the latest tested z-stream releases. Older versions remain available, if needed.
- Enables building automation by using the API without the need to run the OpenShift Container Platform installer locally.
- Advanced networking: The Assisted Installer supports IPv4 networking with SDN and OVN, IPv6 and dual stack networking with OVN only, NMState-based static IP addressing, and an HTTP/S proxy. OVN is the default Container Network Interface (CNI) for OpenShift Container Platform 4.12 and later, but you can use SDN.
Preinstallation validation: The Assisted Installer validates the configuration before installation to ensure a high probability of success. The validation process includes the following checks:
- Ensuring network connectivity
- Ensuring sufficient network bandwidth
- Ensuring connectivity to the registry
- Ensuring time synchronization between cluster nodes
- Verifying that the cluster nodes meet the minimum hardware requirements
- Validating the installation configuration parameters
- REST API: The Assisted Installer has a REST API, enabling automation.
The Assisted Installer supports installing OpenShift Container Platform on premises in a connected environment, including with an optional HTTP/S proxy. It can install the following:
Highly available OpenShift Container Platform or Single Node OpenShift (SNO)
NoteSNO is not supported on IBM Z and IBM Power.
- OpenShift Container Platform on bare metal, Nutanix, or vSphere with full platform integration, or other virtualization platforms without integration
- Optionally OpenShift Virtualization and OpenShift Data Foundation (formerly OpenShift Container Storage)
The user interface provides an intuitive interactive workflow where automation does not exist or is not required. Users may also automate installations using the REST API.
See the Assisted Installer for OpenShift Container Platform documentation for details.
1.2. API support for the Assisted Installer
Supported APIs for the Assisted Installer are stable for a minimum of three months from the announcement of deprecation.
