Red Hat Updates OpenShift Platform to Simplify Operations

Red Hat today unveiled an update to the open source Red Hat OpenShift platform based on Kubernetes that adds integration with serverless computing frameworks and support for Red Hat OpenShift Pipelines, which leverages the Tekton software developed by Google to enable each step of the continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipeline in its own container, as well as an instance of a service mesh.

In addition, Red Hat is making possible for developers to run a local instance of Red Hat OpenShift using Red Hat CodeReady Containers, which enables developers to install a pre-built OpenShift environment on a laptop that makes it easier to later deploy them on a full Red Hat OpenShift environment.

Of the four capabilities being added to Red Hat OpenShift 4.2, only Red Hat OpenShift Service Mesh is generally available in the form of a Kubernetes Operator that makes it easier to deploy and update a service mesh. Red Hat OpenShift Service Mesh is based on the Istio service mesh originally developed by Google, IBM and Lyft and Kiali, an observability console for Istio and Jaeger, a distributed tracing tool.

Integration with serverless computing frameworks is being provided via support for Knative, a set of middleware developed by Google to integrate Kubernetes with open serverless computing frameworks, that Red Hat is making available as a technology preview.

Support for Tekton in the form of Red Hat OpenShift Pipelines similarly is only being made available as a developer preview. That preview, however, is being made available as a Kubernetes Operator to simplify deployments and updates.

Joe Fernandes, vice president products for cloud platforms at Red Hat, says Red Hat over time envisions organizations will embrace Tekton to build more granular workflows for open source CI/CD platforms that Red Hat already makes available as part of Red Hat OpenShift.

With that arrival of Red Hat OpenShift 4.2, Fernandes says Red Hat is focusing more on the need of IT operations teams, especially those that are now starting to deploy Red Hat OpenShift across hybrid cloud computing environments. At present, Red Hat now has just over 1,000 customers using Red Hat OpenShift, adds Fernandes.

Hybrid cloud computing deployments are critical to the overall Red Hat strategy. Organizations that employ a single cloud are likely to rely on a managed service provided by a cloud service provider. Once they start to employ multiple clouds, offerings such as Red Hat OpenShift become more compelling because they make it easier to manage the hybrid cloud environment and allow organizations to not be locked into their cloud service provider. In fact, the whole reason IBM spent $34 billion to acquire Red Hat rests on that proposition.

It remains to be seen to what degree organizations will centralize the management of multiple clouds to create a true hybrid cloud computing environment. In the meantime, however, Red Hat appears to be doing everything it can to help IT organizations realize that dream sooner than later.