Chapter 5. Installing a cluster on Azure with customizations

Procedure

1. If you do not have an existing SSH key pair on your local machine to use for authentication onto your cluster nodes, create one. For example, on a computer that uses a Linux operating system, run the following command:

   $ ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -N '' -f <path>/<file_name> 1

   1

   Specify the path and file name, such as ~/.ssh/id_ed25519, of the new SSH key. If you have an existing key pair, ensure your public key is in the your ~/.ssh directory.

   Note

   If you plan to install an OpenShift Container Platform cluster that uses the RHEL cryptographic libraries that have been submitted to NIST for FIPS 140-2/140-3 Validation on only the x86_64, ppc64le, and s390x architectures, do not create a key that uses the ed25519 algorithm. Instead, create a key that uses the rsa or ecdsa algorithm.

2. View the public SSH key:

   $ cat <path>/<file_name>.pub

   For example, run the following to view the ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub public key:

   $ cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub

3. Add the SSH private key identity to the SSH agent for your local user, if it has not already been added. SSH agent management of the key is required for password-less SSH authentication onto your cluster nodes, or if you want to use the ./openshift-install gather command.

   Note

   On some distributions, default SSH private key identities such as ~/.ssh/id_rsa and ~/.ssh/id_dsa are managed automatically.

   1. If the ssh-agent process is not already running for your local user, start it as a background task:

      $ eval "$(ssh-agent -s)"

      Example output

      Agent pid 31874

      Note

      If your cluster is in FIPS mode, only use FIPS-compliant algorithms to generate the SSH key. The key must be either RSA or ECDSA.

4. Add your SSH private key to the ssh-agent:

   $ ssh-add <path>/<file_name> 1

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   Specify the path and file name for your SSH private key, such as ~/.ssh/id_ed25519

   Example output

   Identity added: /home/<you>/<path>/<file_name> (<computer_name>)

Procedure

1. Display all of the available OpenShift Container Platform images by running one of the following commands:

   • North America:

     $  az vm image list --all --offer rh-ocp-worker --publisher redhat -o table

     Example output

     Offer          Publisher       Sku                 Urn                                                             Version
     -------------  --------------  ------------------  --------------------------------------------------------------  -----------------
     rh-ocp-worker  RedHat          rh-ocp-worker       RedHat:rh-ocp-worker:rh-ocp-worker:4.15.2024072409              4.15.2024072409
     rh-ocp-worker  RedHat          rh-ocp-worker-gen1  RedHat:rh-ocp-worker:rh-ocp-worker-gen1:4.15.2024072409         4.15.2024072409

   • EMEA:

     $  az vm image list --all --offer rh-ocp-worker --publisher redhat-limited -o table

     Example output

     Offer          Publisher       Sku                 Urn                                                                     Version
     -------------  --------------  ------------------  --------------------------------------------------------------          -----------------
     rh-ocp-worker  redhat-limited  rh-ocp-worker       redhat-limited:rh-ocp-worker:rh-ocp-worker:4.15.2024072409              4.15.2024072409
     rh-ocp-worker  redhat-limited  rh-ocp-worker-gen1  redhat-limited:rh-ocp-worker:rh-ocp-worker-gen1:4.15.2024072409         4.15.2024072409

   Note

   Use the latest image that is available for compute and control plane nodes. If required, your VMs are automatically upgraded as part of the installation process.

2. Inspect the image for your offer by running one of the following commands:

   • North America:

     $ az vm image show --urn redhat:rh-ocp-worker:rh-ocp-worker:<version>

   • EMEA:

     $ az vm image show --urn redhat-limited:rh-ocp-worker:rh-ocp-worker:<version>

3. Review the terms of the offer by running one of the following commands:

   • North America:

     $ az vm image terms show --urn redhat:rh-ocp-worker:rh-ocp-worker:<version>

   • EMEA:

     $ az vm image terms show --urn redhat-limited:rh-ocp-worker:rh-ocp-worker:<version>

4. Accept the terms of the offering by running one of the following commands:

   • North America:

     $ az vm image terms accept --urn redhat:rh-ocp-worker:rh-ocp-worker:<version>

   • EMEA:

     $ az vm image terms accept --urn redhat-limited:rh-ocp-worker:rh-ocp-worker:<version>

5. Record the image details of your offer. You must update the compute section in the install-config.yaml file with values for publisher, offer, sku, and version before deploying the cluster. You may also update the controlPlane section to deploy control plane machines with the specified image details, or the defaultMachinePlatform section to deploy both control plane and compute machines with the specified image details. Use the latest available image for control plane and compute nodes.

Procedure

1. Go to the Cluster Type page on the Red Hat Hybrid Cloud Console. If you have a Red Hat account, log in with your credentials. If you do not, create an account.
2. Select your infrastructure provider from the Run it yourself section of the page.
3. Select your host operating system and architecture from the dropdown menus under OpenShift Installer and click Download Installer.

4. Place the downloaded file in the directory where you want to store the installation configuration files.

   Important
   • The installation program creates several files on the computer that you use to install your cluster. You must keep the installation program and the files that the installation program creates after you finish installing the cluster. Both of the files are required to delete the cluster.
   • Deleting the files created by the installation program does not remove your cluster, even if the cluster failed during installation. To remove your cluster, complete the OpenShift Container Platform uninstallation procedures for your specific cloud provider.

5. Extract the installation program. For example, on a computer that uses a Linux operating system, run the following command:

   $ tar -xvf openshift-install-linux.tar.gz

6. Download your installation pull secret from Red Hat OpenShift Cluster Manager. This pull secret allows you to authenticate with the services that are provided by the included authorities, including Quay.io, which serves the container images for OpenShift Container Platform components.

Procedure

1. Optional: If you have run the installation program on this computer before, and want to use an alternative service principal or managed identity, go to the ~/.azure/ directory and delete the osServicePrincipal.json configuration file.

   Deleting this file prevents the installation program from automatically reusing subscription and authentication values from a previous installation.

2. Create the install-config.yaml file.

   1. Change to the directory that contains the installation program and run the following command:

      $ ./openshift-install create install-config --dir <installation_directory> 1

      1

      For <installation_directory>, specify the directory name to store the files that the installation program creates.

      When specifying the directory:

      • Verify that the directory has the execute permission. This permission is required to run Terraform binaries under the installation directory.
      • Use an empty directory. Some installation assets, such as bootstrap X.509 certificates, have short expiration intervals, therefore you must not reuse an installation directory. If you want to reuse individual files from another cluster installation, you can copy them into your directory. However, the file names for the installation assets might change between releases. Use caution when copying installation files from an earlier OpenShift Container Platform version.

   2. At the prompts, provide the configuration details for your cloud:

      1. Optional: Select an SSH key to use to access your cluster machines.

         Note

         For production OpenShift Container Platform clusters on which you want to perform installation debugging or disaster recovery, specify an SSH key that your ssh-agent process uses.

      2. Select azure as the platform to target.

         If the installation program cannot locate the osServicePrincipal.json configuration file from a previous installation, you are prompted for Azure subscription and authentication values.

      3. Enter the following Azure parameter values for your subscription:

         • azure subscription id: Enter the subscription ID to use for the cluster.
         • azure tenant id: Enter the tenant ID.

      4. Depending on the Azure identity you are using to deploy the cluster, do one of the following when prompted for the azure service principal client id:

         • If you are using a service principal, enter its application ID.
         • If you are using a system-assigned managed identity, leave this value blank.
         • If you are using a user-assigned managed identity, specify its client ID.

      5. Depending on the Azure identity you are using to deploy the cluster, do one of the following when prompted for the azure service principal client secret:

         • If you are using a service principal, enter its password.
         • If you are using a system-assigned managed identity, leave this value blank.
         • If you are using a user-assigned managed identity, leave this value blank.
      6. Select the region to deploy the cluster to.
      7. Select the base domain to deploy the cluster to. The base domain corresponds to the Azure DNS Zone that you created for your cluster.

      8. Enter a descriptive name for your cluster.

         Important

         All Azure resources that are available through public endpoints are subject to resource name restrictions, and you cannot create resources that use certain terms. For a list of terms that Azure restricts, see Resolve reserved resource name errors in the Azure documentation.

3. Modify the install-config.yaml file. You can find more information about the available parameters in the "Installation configuration parameters" section.

   Note

   If you are installing a three-node cluster, be sure to set the compute.replicas parameter to 0. This ensures that the cluster’s control planes are schedulable. For more information, see "Installing a three-node cluster on Azure".

4. Back up the install-config.yaml file so that you can use it to install multiple clusters.

   Important

   The install-config.yaml file is consumed during the installation process. If you want to reuse the file, you must back it up now.

Procedure

1. Navigate to the OpenShift Container Platform downloads page on the Red Hat Customer Portal.
2. Select the architecture from the Product Variant drop-down list.
3. Select the appropriate version from the Version drop-down list.
4. Click Download Now next to the OpenShift v4.16 Linux Clients entry and save the file.

5. Unpack the archive:

   $ tar xvf <file>

6. Place the oc binary in a directory that is on your PATH.

   To check your PATH, execute the following command:

   $ echo $PATH

Procedure

1. Navigate to the OpenShift Container Platform downloads page on the Red Hat Customer Portal.
2. Select the appropriate version from the Version drop-down list.
3. Click Download Now next to the OpenShift v4.16 Windows Client entry and save the file.
4. Unzip the archive with a ZIP program.

5. Move the oc binary to a directory that is on your PATH.

   To check your PATH, open the command prompt and execute the following command:

   C:\> path

Procedure

1. Navigate to the OpenShift Container Platform downloads page on the Red Hat Customer Portal.
2. Select the appropriate version from the Version drop-down list.

3. Click Download Now next to the OpenShift v4.16 macOS Clients entry and save the file.

   Note

   For macOS arm64, choose the OpenShift v4.16 macOS arm64 Client entry.

4. Unpack and unzip the archive.

5. Move the oc binary to a directory on your PATH.

   To check your PATH, open a terminal and execute the following command:

   $ echo $PATH

Procedure

1. Export the kubeadmin credentials:

   $ export KUBECONFIG=<installation_directory>/auth/kubeconfig 1

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   For <installation_directory>, specify the path to the directory that you stored the installation files in.

2. Verify you can run oc commands successfully using the exported configuration:

   $ oc whoami

   Example output

   system:admin