SupportConsoleDevelopersStart a trialContact

Chapter 1. Installing from an RPM package

You can install MicroShift from an RPM package on a machine with a supported version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL).

1.1. System requirements for installing MicroShift

The following conditions must be met prior to installing MicroShift:

  • A compatible version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). For more information, see the "Compatibility table" section.
  • AArch64 or x86_64 system architecture.
  • 2 CPU cores.
  • 2 GB RAM. Installing from the network (UEFI HTTPs or PXE boot) requires 3 GB RAM for RHEL.
  • 10 GB of storage.
  • You have an active MicroShift subscription on your Red Hat account. If you do not have a subscription, contact your sales representative for more information.
  • If your workload requires Persistent Volumes (PVs), you have a Logical Volume Manager (LVM) Volume Group (VG) with sufficient free capacity for the workloads.
Important

These requirements are the minimum system requirements for MicroShift and Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). Add the system requirements for the workload you plan to run.

For example, if an IoT gateway solution requires 4 GB of RAM, your system needs to have at least 2GB for Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) and MicroShift, plus 4GB for the workloads. 6GB of RAM is required in total.

It is recommended to allow for extra capacity for future needs if you are deploying physical devices in remote locations. If you are uncertain of the RAM required and if the budget permits, use the maximum RAM capacity the device can support.

Important

Ensure you configure secure access to the system to be able to manage it accordingly. For more information, see Using secure communications between two systems with OpenSSH.

1.2. Compatibility table

Plan to pair a supported version of RHEL for Edge with the MicroShift version you are using as described in the following compatibility table:

Red Hat Device Edge release compatibility matrix

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) and MicroShift work together as a single solution for device-edge computing. You can update each component separately, but the product versions must be compatible. For example, an update of MicroShift from 4.14 to 4.16 requires a {op-system} update. Supported configurations of Red Hat Device Edge use verified releases for each together as listed in the following table:

RHEL for Edge Version(s)

MicroShift Version

MicroShift Release Status

Supported MicroShift Version→MicroShift Version Updates

9.4

4.16

Generally Available

4.16.0→4.16.z, 4.14→4.16 and 4.15→4.16

9.2, 9.3

4.15

Generally Available

4.15.0→4.15.z, 4.14→4.15 and 4.15→4.16

9.2, 9.3

4.14

Generally Available

4.14.0→4.14.z, 4.14→4.15 and 4.14→4.16

9.2

4.13

Technology Preview

None

8.7

4.12

Developer Preview

None

1.3. Before installing MicroShift from an RPM package

Preparation of the host machine is recommended prior to installing MicroShift for memory configuration and FIPS mode.

1.3.1. Configuring volume groups

MicroShift uses the logical volume manager storage (LVMS) Container Storage Interface (CSI) plugin for providing storage to persistent volumes (PVs). LVMS relies on the Linux logical volume manager (LVM) to dynamically manage the backing logical volumes (LVs) for PVs. For this reason, your machine must have an LVM volume group (VG) with unused space in which LVMS can create the LVs for your workload’s PVs.

To configure a volume group (VG) that allows LVMS to create the LVs for your workload’s PVs, lower the Desired Size of your root volume during the installation of RHEL. Lowering the size of your root volume allows unallocated space on the disk for additional LVs created by LVMS at runtime.

1.3.2. Prepare for FIPS mode

If your use case requires running MicroShift containers in FIPS mode, you must install RHEL with FIPS enabled. After the worker machine is configured to run in FIPS mode, your MicroShift containers are automatically configured to also run in FIPS mode.

Important

Because FIPS must be enabled before the operating system that your cluster uses starts for the first time, you cannot enable FIPS after you deploy a cluster.

Additional resources

1.4. Preparing to install MicroShift from an RPM package

Configure your Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) machine to have a logical volume manager (LVM) volume group (VG) with sufficient capacity for the persistent volumes (PVs) of your workload.

Prerequisites

  • The system requirements for installing MicroShift have been met.
  • You have root user access to your machine.
  • You have configured your LVM VG with the capacity needed for the PVs of your workload.

Procedure

  1. In the graphical installer under Installation Destination in the Storage Configuration subsection, select Custom Done to open the dialog for configuring partitions and volumes. The Manual Partitioning window is displayed.
  2. Under New Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.x Installation, select Click here to create them automatically.
  3. Select the root partition, /, reduce Desired Capacity so that the VG has sufficient capacity for your PVs, and then click Update Settings.

  4. Complete your installation.

    Note

    For more options on partition configuration, read the guide linked in the Additional information section for Configuring Manual Partitioning.

  5. As a root user, verify the VG capacity available on your system by running the following command: 

    $ sudo vgs

    Example output: 

    VG   #PV #LV #SN Attr   VSize    VFree
rhel   1   2   0 wz--n- <127.00g 54.94g

Additional resources

1.5. Installing Red Hat build of MicroShift from an RPM package

Use the following procedure to install Red Hat build of MicroShift from an RPM package.

Prerequisites

  • The system requirements for installing Red Hat build of MicroShift have been met.
  • You have completed the steps of preparing to install Red Hat build of MicroShift from an RPM package.

Procedure

  1. As a root user, enable the Red Hat build of MicroShift repositories by running the following command: 

    $ sudo subscription-manager repos \
    --enable rhocp-4.16-for-rhel-9-$(uname -m)-rpms \
    --enable fast-datapath-for-rhel-9-$(uname -m)-rpms

  2. Install Red Hat build of MicroShift by running the following command: 

    $ sudo dnf install -y microshift
  3. Download your installation pull secret from the Red Hat Hybrid Cloud Console to a temporary folder, for example, $HOME/openshift-pull-secret. This pull secret allows you to authenticate with the container registries that serve the container images used by Red Hat build of MicroShift.

  4. To copy the pull secret to the /etc/crio folder of your RHEL machine, run the following command: 

    $ sudo cp $HOME/openshift-pull-secret /etc/crio/openshift-pull-secret

  5. Make the root user the owner of the /etc/crio/openshift-pull-secret file by running the following command: 

    $ sudo chown root:root /etc/crio/openshift-pull-secret

  6. Make the /etc/crio/openshift-pull-secret file readable and writeable by the root user only by running the following command: 

    $ sudo chmod 600 /etc/crio/openshift-pull-secret

  7. If your RHEL machine has a firewall enabled, you must configure a few mandatory firewall rules. For firewalld, run the following commands: 

    $ sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --zone=trusted --add-source=10.42.0.0/16
    $ sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --zone=trusted --add-source=169.254.169.1
    $ sudo firewall-cmd --reload

If the Volume Group (VG) that you have prepared for Red Hat build of MicroShift used the default name rhel, no further configuration is necessary. If you have used a different name, or if you want to change more configuration settings, see the Configuring Red Hat build of MicroShift section.

1.6. Installing optional packages

When you install MicroShift, optional RPM packages can be added. Examples of optional RPMs include those designed to expand your network, add and manage operators, and manage applications. Use the following procedures to add the packages that you need.

1.6.1. Installing the Operator Lifecycle Manager (OLM) from an RPM package

When you install MicroShift, the Operator Lifecycle Manager (OLM) package is not installed by default. You can install the OLM on your MicroShift instance using an RPM package.

Procedure

  1. Install the OLM package by running the following command: 

    $ sudo dnf install microshift-olm

  2. To apply the manifest from the package to an active cluster, run the following command: 

    $ sudo systemctl restart microshift

Additional resources

1.6.2. Installing the GitOps Argo CD manifests from an RPM package

You can use a lightweight version of OpenShift GitOps with MicroShift to help manage your applications. Install the necessary Argo CD manifests using an RPM package. This RPM package included the necessary manifests that runs core Argo CD.

Important

This process installs the basic GitOps functionalities. The Argo CD CLI is not available on MicroShift.

Prerequisites

  • You installed MicroShift version 4.14 or higher
  • Additional RAM storage of 250MB recommended

Procedure

  1. Enable the GitOps repository with the subscription manager by running the following command: 

    $ sudo subscription-manager repos --enable=gitops-1.12-for-rhel-9-$(uname -m)-rpms

  2. Install the GitOps package by running the following command: 

    $ sudo dnf install -y microshift-gitops

  3. To deploy Argo CD pods, restart the MicroShift service by running the following command: 

    $ sudo systemctl restart microshift

Verification

  • You can verify that your pods are running properly by running the following command: 

    $ oc get pods -n openshift-gitops

    Example output

    NAME                                  READY   STATUS    RESTARTS   AGE
argocd-application-controller-0       1/1     Running   0          4m11s
argocd-redis-56844446bc-dzmhf         1/1     Running   0          4m12s
argocd-repo-server-57b4f896cf-7qk8l   1/1     Running   0          4m12s

Additional resources

1.6.3. Installing the multiple networks plugin

Use this procedure to install the MicroShift Multus CNI plugin alongside a new MicroShift installation. The MicroShift Multus Container Network Interface (CNI) plugin is not installed by default. If you want to attach additional networks to a pod for high-performance network configurations, install the microshift-multus RPM package.

Important

Uninstalling the MicroShift Multus CNI is not supported.

Procedure

  • Install the Multus RPM package by running the following command: 

    $ sudo dnf install microshift-multus
    Tip

    If you create your custom resources (CRs) while you are completing your installation of MicroShift, you can avoid restarting the service to apply them.

Next steps

  1. Continue with your new MicroShift installation, including any add-ons.
  2. Create the custom resources (CRs) needed for your MicroShift Multus CNI plugin.
  3. Configure other networking CNIs as needed.
  4. After you have finished installing all of the RPMs that you want to include, start the MicroShift service. The MicroShift Multus CNI plugin is automatically deployed.

Additional resources

1.7. Starting and stopping MicroShift

After installing all of the RPM packages you need, learn to start and stop the MicroShift service.

1.7.1. Starting the MicroShift service

Use the following procedure to start the MicroShift service.

Prerequisites

  • You have installed MicroShift from an RPM package.

Procedure

  1. As a root user, start the MicroShift service by entering the following command: 

    $ sudo systemctl start microshift

  2. Optional: To configure your Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) machine to start MicroShift when your machine starts, enter the following command: 

    $ sudo systemctl enable microshift

  3. Optional: To disable MicroShift from automatically starting when your machine starts, enter the following command: 

    $ sudo systemctl disable microshift
    Note

    The first time that the MicroShift service starts, it downloads and initializes the container images for MicroShift. As a result, it can take several minutes for MicroShift to start the first time that the service is deployed. Boot time is reduced for subsequent starts of the MicroShift service.

1.7.2. Stopping the MicroShift service

Use the following procedure to stop the MicroShift service.

Prerequisites

  • The MicroShift service is running.

Procedure

  1. Enter the following command to stop the MicroShift service: 

    $ sudo systemctl stop microshift

  2. Workloads deployed on MicroShift might continue running even after the MicroShift service has been stopped. Enter the following command to display running workloads: 

    $ sudo crictl ps -a

  3. Enter the following commands to stop the deployed workloads: 

    $ sudo systemctl stop kubepods.slice

1.7.3. How to access the MicroShift cluster

Use the procedures in this section to access the MicroShift cluster by using the OpenShift CLI (oc).

  • You can access the cluster from either the same machine running the MicroShift service or from a remote location.
  • You can use this access to observe and administrate workloads.
  • When using the following steps, choose the kubeconfig file that contains the host name or IP address you want to connect to and place it in the relevant directory.

Additional resources

1.7.4. Accessing the MicroShift cluster locally

Use the following procedure to access the MicroShift cluster locally by using a kubeconfig file.

Prerequisites

  • You have installed the oc binary.

Procedure

  1. Optional: to create a ~/.kube/ folder if your Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) machine does not have one, run the following command: 

    $ mkdir -p ~/.kube/

  2. Copy the generated local access kubeconfig file to the ~/.kube/ directory by running the following command: 

    $ sudo cat /var/lib/microshift/resources/kubeadmin/kubeconfig > ~/.kube/config

  3. Update the permissions on your ~/.kube/config file by running the following command: 

    $ chmod go-r ~/.kube/config

Verification

  • Verify that MicroShift is running by entering the following command: 

    $ oc get all -A

1.7.5. Opening the firewall for remote access to the MicroShift cluster

Use the following procedure to open the firewall so that a remote user can access the MicroShift cluster. This procedure must be completed before a workstation user can access the cluster remotely.

For this procedure, user@microshift is the user on the MicroShift host machine and is responsible for setting up that machine so that it can be accessed by a remote user on a separate workstation.

Prerequisites

  • You have installed the oc binary.
  • Your account has cluster administration privileges.

Procedure

  • As user@microshift on the MicroShift host, open the firewall port for the Kubernetes API server (6443/tcp) by running the following command: 

    [user@microshift]$ sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --zone=public --add-port=6443/tcp && sudo firewall-cmd --reload

Verification

  • As user@microshift, verify that MicroShift is running by entering the following command: 

    [user@microshift]$ oc get all -A

1.7.6. Accessing the MicroShift cluster remotely

Use the following procedure to access the MicroShift cluster from a remote location by using a kubeconfig file.

The user@workstation login is used to access the host machine remotely. The <user> value in the procedure is the name of the user that user@workstation logs in with to the MicroShift host.

Prerequisites

  • You have installed the oc binary.
  • The user@microshift has opened the firewall from the local host.

Procedure

  1. As user@workstation, create a ~/.kube/ folder if your Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) machine does not have one by running the following command: 

    [user@workstation]$ mkdir -p ~/.kube/

  2. As user@workstation, set a variable for the hostname of your MicroShift host by running the following command: 

    [user@workstation]$ MICROSHIFT_MACHINE=<name or IP address of MicroShift machine>

  3. As user@workstation, copy the generated kubeconfig file that contains the host name or IP address you want to connect with from the RHEL machine running MicroShift to your local machine by running the following command: 

    [user@workstation]$ ssh <user>@$MICROSHIFT_MACHINE "sudo cat /var/lib/microshift/resources/kubeadmin/$MICROSHIFT_MACHINE/kubeconfig" > ~/.kube/config
    Note

    To generate the kubeconfig files for this step, see Generating additional kubeconfig files for remote access.

  4. As user@workstation, update the permissions on your ~/.kube/config file by running the following command: 

    $ chmod go-r ~/.kube/config

Verification

  • As user@workstation, verify that MicroShift is running by entering the following command: 

    [user@workstation]$ oc get all -A
Red Hat logoGithubRedditYoutubeTwitter

Learn

Try, buy, & sell

Communities

About Red Hat Documentation

We help Red Hat users innovate and achieve their goals with our products and services with content they can trust.

Making open source more inclusive

Red Hat is committed to replacing problematic language in our code, documentation, and web properties. For more details, see the Red Hat Blog.

About Red Hat

We deliver hardened solutions that make it easier for enterprises to work across platforms and environments, from the core datacenter to the network edge.

© 2024 Red Hat, Inc.