The Red Hat OpenShift Container Engine provides an enterprise Kubernetes platform for hybrid cloud deployments.

The following figure shows the architecture of the OpenShift platform.

Figure 1.         OpenShift system architecture

The lowest layer consists of the hosting platform, which comprises Dell EMC PowerEdge servers and Dell EMC Networking switches in this reference architecture. Dell EMC storage products may be integrated into this layer to create a comprehensive platform for hosting the Openshift Container Platform, as shown in the first layer in Figure 1.

Container ecosystem platform

Openshift Container Platform provides enterprises with full control over the Kubernetes environment. OpenShip Container Platform includes:

• Self-service dashboard access to control application and development
• A pluggable architecture that gives you a choice of supported container runtimes, networking, storage, and continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) solutions
• Built-in automation integrated into an orchestrator framework
• Unified operations across the OpenShift environment
• On-demand services that seamlessly integrate configuration, deployment, and consumption of services from the OpenShift Service Catalog
• A platform that is part of the CNCF-certified Kubernetes program, ensuring a maximum level of portability and interoperability for your container workloads

Container ecosystem infrastructure

The container ecosystem software infrastructure described in Chapter 4 consists of five key parts, each of which is deployed on servers that provide a functional service:

• A bastion node.
• Three master enterprise-grade nodes. This number of nodes is sufficient for several hundred workload/application nodes and many thousands of containers.
• Three or more infrastructure nodes.
• Four or more workload/application nodes.
• Storage nodes. The storage node type depends on the type of storage that is provided within the cluster design. This Ready Architecture makes use of Red Hat OpenShift Container Storage.

Container ecosystem storage

Red Hat OpenShift Container Storage, which is based on GlusterFS, can be used with Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform. Both products require separate subscription support. Red Hat OpenShift Container Storage is available in Standard or Premium subscription levels.

The deployment example in this guide uses integrated GlusterFS storage for infrastructure. The sample deployment uses persistent volumes on the infrastructure nodes for the deployment of containers onto the workload/application nodes and potentially also for storage of workload/application data. Carefully map out your storage needs and how you want to implement this within your OpenShift cluster. It is important that your cluster design includes an appropriate level of data protection and backup.