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The OpenShift operator framework enables vendors to manage the life cycle of the middleware they provide. For example, the Dell CSM operator provides drivers for Dell storage products. Operators attempt to encode the operational knowledge that is required for various stateful applications. Depending on its complexity, the operator can fully automate the LCM of various applications and middleware, scale automatically, and handle abnormalities gracefully.
Operators can simplify Day-2 operations by automatically deploying, updating, and maintaining specific application deployments. This simplification is achieved by creating CRDs that are managed through a control loop that is embedded in the operator.
As with Helm, a universal package manager for Kubernetes, an operator can configure and install middleware. Unlike Helm, operators are application-specific, so you must install an operator to manage each middleware application. For an overview of the benefits that an operator can provide, see What are Operators?.