OpenShift 4: Operators, Improved Console, Pipelines
Key Points
- OpenShift 4 is built around Operators, which extend the Kubernetes API with custom resources (CRDs) and use the Operator Lifecycle Manager to automate installation, upgrades, and lifecycle management for both platform services and user‑deployed applications.
- The platform’s console has been redesigned with separate administrator and developer views, new dashboards, streamlined deployment workflows (git, image, or YAML), and richer observability tools that simplify cluster management and troubleshooting.
- OpenShift now bundles community‑driven solutions such as OpenShift Service Mesh and OpenShift Pipelines (powered by Tekton), providing out‑of‑the‑box support for service‑mesh networking and CI/CD pipelines.
- Developers can quickly create or adopt Operators using the Operator SDK and the built‑in Operator Hub, enabling custom automation and easier integration of third‑party solutions into the OpenShift environment.
Sections
- OpenShift 4: Operators & New Developer Experience - A brief overview of OpenShift 4's shift to Operator‑driven automation, the enhanced developer console, and the integration of Service Mesh and Pipelines.
- OpenShift Pipelines & Service Mesh Overview - A brief overview of OpenShift 4 features, highlighting CI/CD via Tekton‑integrated Pipelines and Istio‑based Service Mesh that uses sidecar control‑plane management for microservice interactions.
Full Transcript
# OpenShift 4: Operators, Improved Console, Pipelines **Source:** [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQ8AianmcPk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQ8AianmcPk) **Duration:** 00:04:26 ## Summary - OpenShift 4 is built around Operators, which extend the Kubernetes API with custom resources (CRDs) and use the Operator Lifecycle Manager to automate installation, upgrades, and lifecycle management for both platform services and user‑deployed applications. - The platform’s console has been redesigned with separate administrator and developer views, new dashboards, streamlined deployment workflows (git, image, or YAML), and richer observability tools that simplify cluster management and troubleshooting. - OpenShift now bundles community‑driven solutions such as OpenShift Service Mesh and OpenShift Pipelines (powered by Tekton), providing out‑of‑the‑box support for service‑mesh networking and CI/CD pipelines. - Developers can quickly create or adopt Operators using the Operator SDK and the built‑in Operator Hub, enabling custom automation and easier integration of third‑party solutions into the OpenShift environment. ## Sections - [00:00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQ8AianmcPk&t=0s) **OpenShift 4: Operators & New Developer Experience** - A brief overview of OpenShift 4's shift to Operator‑driven automation, the enhanced developer console, and the integration of Service Mesh and Pipelines. - [00:03:15](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQ8AianmcPk&t=195s) **OpenShift Pipelines & Service Mesh Overview** - A brief overview of OpenShift 4 features, highlighting CI/CD via Tekton‑integrated Pipelines and Istio‑based Service Mesh that uses sidecar control‑plane management for microservice interactions. ## Full Transcript
Red Hat OpenShift is the enterprise Kubernetes platform,
and with the latest version, OpenShift 4,
the platform has undergone significant improvements to developer experience,
automation, and the management of the platform itself.
But what exactly changed, and what do you need to know about OpenShift 4?
Let's get started.
So, OpenShift is Kubernetes at the core,
and with OpenShift 4, the platform is now driven by Operators.
Yes, this includes the services that support OpenShift,
as well as app services that are deployed by users like you.
This is significant.
So, we'll start with covering Operators.
Next, we'll jump into one of the first things users will notice in OpenShift 4
- that is, an improved developer experience.
And this comes with significant updates to the console.
And then finally we'll dive into some of the community-driven projects
that OpenShift has adopted into supported solutions.
Things like OpenShift Service Mesh and OpenShift Pipelines.
There's actually more but we'll touch on these two today.
Starting with Operators, essentially they allow you to automate the lifecycle of
containers. Let's say I'm deploying a simple front-end and back-end
application. Once I deploy all of them into my cluster, I've got to manage all
the automation or on the config of individual applications, but with an
Operator I can take a different approach. By installing an Operator into a cluster
with OLM, or Operator Lifecycle Manager, I can enable new CRDs, or Custom Resource
Definitions. These CRDs allow me to manage my application using custom
config files tailored from my application. In addition, any automation
that I need can be built into the operator itself. Essentially I've
extended the Kubernetes API to create new custom resources that are tailored
to the resources that you regularly work with. In OpenShift 4, the services that
make up OpenShift itself are actually managed by Operators. This means we get
to take advantage of that same framework to easily do installation and upgrades
of OpenShift itself. Check out the Operator SDK to create your own
Operators, or use the embedded Operator Hub and OpenShift to start quickly
and with existing solutions. Next let's talk about
one of the first things you'll notice in the platform and that is an improved
developer experience starting from the console.
The main thing you'll notice is a different view for administrators and
developers. There's new dashboard capabilities for streamlined deployment
of applications, whether you start with a git repo, container image, or deployment
YAML. In addition, you'll get better observability into the platform. For
example, there's an advanced view which tracks everything happening in your
cluster. There's improved administration of the cluster itself, with a new user
manage section as well. Lastly, let's close with some of the community driven
projects that OpenShift is supporting. One of them is going to be OpenShift
Pipelines with Tekton. Tekon is a cloud native way to declare CI/CD
pipelines and it's based entirely on Kubernetes. It starts with defining the
tasks that make up a CI/CD flow, which actually run as pods in your cluster.
These make up a pipeline and that's able to deploy applications into your cluster.
In OpenShift there's actually UI integration between Tekton and OpenShift.
So, OpenShift Pipelines lets you manage your CI/CD all in the dashboard.
The other community-driven project I want to talk about is OpenShift
Service Mesh. This is based on Istio. Imagine you have a number of services
that are dependent on one another, a number of concerns arise in the
interaction between these services. How do you actually manage these
interdependent complexities? Well instead of managing them in the app itself, you
can take advantage of the Istio Control Plane which uses "sidecars" to basically
help you control how these microservices connect with each other, how
they enforce policies, and then even observe how they behave. That way the
capabilities rest on the control plane rather than the apps themselves. Thanks
for joining me for this quick video overviewing some of the newest features in OpenShift 4.
As always, if you like the video or you have any comments, please
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videos like this in the future.