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OpenShift Virtualization on Red Hat OpenShift Service on AWS (ROSA) has garnered attention, though it’s not entirely a new concept. At its core, it builds upon the established open-source project KubeVirt, which has been evolving for several years. Initially, I found myself puzzled by its existence – why would a virtualization administrator abandon traditional hypervisors for the complexities of Kubernetes? Why take this route on AWS instead of simply utilizing Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2)? After all, businesses have spent nearly a decade shifting from virtual machines to microservices. It led me to believe that KubeVirt wasn’t for me.
Fast forward to today, and I’m revisiting this technology with fresh eyes. In this post, we will delve into what OpenShift Virtualization is, its target audience, and practical use cases for it on AWS.
What is OpenShift Virtualization?
OpenShift Virtualization, much like other virtualization platforms, enables users to create virtual machines (VMs) and run them on virtual hosts, complete with their own operating systems, virtual disks, and networking capabilities. The key differentiator is that it operates on Kubernetes, specifically within the OpenShift environment. This duality raises interesting questions: Should users abandon VMs in favor of containers, or can both coexist? As we explore further, we will clarify these complexities. The OpenShift Virtualization is integrated within OpenShift and can be installed as an Operator from the OperatorHub at no additional cost—yes, there are no hidden licensing or subscription fees.
Who is This For? How Does It Fit Into a Modernization Strategy?
Diving deeper into this topic reveals that OpenShift Virtualization is not a universal solution for enterprise virtualization needs. Instead, it caters to organizations pursuing modernization, incorporating microservices and Kubernetes while still managing workloads that haven’t been transitioned from VMs to containers.
Several factors drive this necessity, including Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) applications that users cannot modify, legacy systems deemed low priority for modernization, or those with high risks that could adversely affect business operations. Developers can leverage OpenShift to modernize their applications while managing VM workloads without incurring extra licensing costs. Organizations that have invested in OpenShift as part of their modernization efforts should consider consolidating workloads using OpenShift Virtualization to reduce their overall cost footprint.
Moreover, OpenShift Virtualization enhances portability, allowing businesses migrating to the cloud to transition both container and VM workloads to OpenShift on AWS. This strategy can facilitate quicker cloud adoption while organizations evaluate their next steps. As managed OpenShift becomes more prevalent, OpenShift Virtualization on Red Hat OpenShift Service on AWS (ROSA) presents an attractive opportunity for exploration.
Installing OpenShift Virtualization Operator
Step 1: From the OpenShift web console, navigate to Operators, select OperatorHub, and search for OpenShift Virtualization.
Step 2: Click on the OpenShift Virtualization Operator and hit the Install button.
For this blog, I opted for the default settings with automatic updates. After installing the Virtualization Operator, you’ll need to create a HyperConverged infrastructure. Step 3: Click on Create HyperConverged.
Once the operator is set up, a new virtualization tab will appear in the OpenShift web console, enabling management of Virtual Machine workloads.
Adding Another Machine Pool with Bare Metal Nodes
This step occurs post-ROSA cluster provisioning. After logging into the Red Hat Hybrid Cloud Console, select the ROSA cluster, click on Machine pools, and choose Add machine pool.
We will add a general-purpose M7.metal instance to each availability zone (AZ).
Most customers utilize some form of attached storage array for their virtual servers, typically involving multiple disks with replication for resilience. On AWS, this would mean deploying numerous compute nodes across each AZ, using attached Amazon Elastic Block Store (EBS) volumes with replication for durability. However, this approach can lead to unnecessary duplication and increased data transfer costs associated with storage replication.
A more efficient alternative is to utilize Amazon Elastic File System (Amazon EFS) for shared storage, which is a managed service supported in OpenShift and can be deployed via the OperatorHub. With EFS, AWS handles data replication, offering resilience without the need for multiple compute nodes or volumes. This can significantly lower storage costs for customers.
OpenShift presents this shared storage through Kubernetes Persistent Volume Claims (PVCs) for both OpenShift container workloads and VMs. We will explore this topic in more depth in a future post.
Now that OpenShift Virtualization is configured on ROSA, the next step is not to create new VMs as this runs counter to modernization goals. Instead, we will focus on importing existing VMs. Documentation on installing the Virtctl-Client is available, which could be beneficial for future automation, although it’s beyond the scope of this discussion.
VMs can be migrated to OpenShift Virtualization through several methods, including importing a VM template from an existing virtualization environment or using the Red Hat Migration Toolkit for Virtualization (MTV). For small-scale migrations, importing from a template is a viable option, though it requires prior exportation. Red Hat offers various Migration Toolkits based on the upstream open-source Konveyor project, including the Migration Toolkit for Applications (MTA), which aids in converting application code to containers, and the Migration Toolkit for Containers (MTC), which supports moving container workloads to new environments like OpenShift v3 to v4 or on-premises to AWS.
For more insights on transitioning roles, check out this article from SHRM which serves as an authority on the topic. Also, if you’re interested in how to conclude a cover letter effectively, this link provides valuable tips to keep your reader engaged. As you embark on your journey with Amazon, I recommend consulting this resource for guidance during your initial six months.
Summary
In conclusion, OpenShift Virtualization on ROSA provides organizations with a unique opportunity to modernize their workloads while still accommodating legacy systems through a unified platform. By leveraging the capabilities of OpenShift and integrating virtualization, businesses can streamline operations and reduce costs while enhancing their cloud migration strategies.
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