Chapter 1. Operators overview

Operators are among the most important components of OpenShift Container Platform. Operators are the preferred method of packaging, deploying, and managing services on the control plane. They can also provide advantages to applications that users run.

Operators integrate with Kubernetes APIs and CLI tools such as kubectl and oc commands. They provide the means of monitoring applications, performing health checks, managing over-the-air (OTA) updates, and ensuring that applications remain in your specified state.

While both follow similar Operator concepts and goals, Operators in OpenShift Container Platform are managed by two different systems, depending on their purpose:

With Operators, you an create applications to monitor the running services in the cluster. Operators are designed specifically for your applications. Operators implement and automate the common Day 1 operations such as installation and configuration as well as Day 2 operations such as auto-scaling up and down and backups. All these activities are in a piece of software running inside your cluster.