OpenStack on OpenShift: Revolutionising Cloud Infrastructure

OpenStack, once hailed as the future of cloud computing, has faced challenges in recent years, leading some to question its relevance. However, declaring OpenStack "dead" would be premature.

In the dynamic world of cloud computing, a groundbreaking integration is reshaping the landscape: OpenStack on OpenShift (RHOSO). This powerful combination is set to redefine how organizations approach their cloud infrastructure, offering a bridge between established systems and cutting-edge technologies.

The OpenStack Evolution: From Promise to New Potential

OpenStack emerged as a beacon of open-source, flexible cloud infrastructure. Many organizations, particularly in telecommunications and large enterprises, adopted it for its customizability and control. However, as public cloud giants gained momentum, OpenStack faced challenges:

• Complexity in deployment and management
• Resource-intensive operations
• Steep learning curves for IT teams

Despite these hurdles, OpenStack remained crucial for organizations requiring granular control over their infrastructure. The question became: How can OpenStack evolve to meet modern cloud demands?

OpenShift Integration: A Paradigm Shift

The integration of OpenStack with Red Hat's OpenShift platform isn't just an improvement—it's a transformation. This fusion addresses longstanding OpenStack challenges while unlocking new possibilities for cloud-native operations.

Key Innovations Driving Change

1. Podified Controller Operator: Envision running the entire OpenStack control plane as containers within OpenShift. This approach revolutionizes flexibility and resource management, simplifying upgrades and maintenance while reducing downtime.
2. Unified Control Plane: The new common control plane offers a single point of management for both compute and worker nodes. This unification streamlines operations and brings consistency to hybrid environments, eliminating the need to juggle separate management systems.
3. Streamlined Operations: By consolidating the toolset around Ansible and the Operator framework, this integration dramatically reduces operational complexity. IT teams can focus on innovation rather than managing multiple tools.
4. Enterprise-Grade Scalability and Availability: Supporting distributed compute nodes and sharded control plane services, this integration is built for scale. It caters to operations across multiple data centers and expands seamlessly to the edge.
5. Enhanced Observability: Observability is now a core component of OpenStack, available at install time. Unified approach: visualizations appear in the Observe section of the OpenShift console, providing a centralized view of all observability information. OpenStack metrics are collected using the Cluster Observability Operator—the same fully-supported Prometheus stack that OpenShift uses. Collects metrics and enables logs, with more signals planned for the future.
6. Modernized Storage Strategy: Red Hat Ceph Storage (RHCS) is now supported only in external mode, eliminating the need for director-deployed Ceph. Operators configure all OpenStack services to consume Ceph, maintaining support for Hyperconverged Infrastructure (HCI) scenarios. Customers using OpenStack Platform 17.1 with director Ceph can transition to version 18 by "externalizing" their Ceph cluster.

Strategic Benefits: Implications for the Customer

1. Future-Proofing Infrastructure: This integration positions organizations for the future of cloud computing. It allows modernization of infrastructure without abandoning existing investments in OpenStack.
2. Redefining Operational Efficiency: The streamlined management and increased automation translate to reduced cloud operational costs and increased agility, enabling IT teams to achieve more with optimized resources.
3. Flexibility in a Hybrid World: The ability to support both traditional and cloud-native workloads on the same platform is a strategic advantage. This flexibility facilitates a smoother transition from legacy systems to modern architectures.
4. Industry-Specific Advantages: For the telecommunications sector, this integration offers a unified platform to deliver both 4G and 5G networks, supporting both virtualized and cloud-native network functions.
5. Improved Visibility and Control: The enhanced observability features provide unprecedented insight into the entire stack, enabling more informed decision-making and faster problem resolution.
6. Flexible Storage Solutions: The new approach to Ceph storage offers greater flexibility and scalability, allowing organizations to adapt their storage strategy to changing needs without compromising on performance or reliability.

Looking Ahead: The Future of Cloud Infrastructure

The OpenStack-OpenShift integration opens up exciting possibilities:

• Edge Computing Revolution: Extending this model to edge scenarios could redefine approaches to distributed computing.
• Advanced Disaster Recovery: Seamless failover and recovery across multiple regions ensure unprecedented business continuity.
• True Multi-Cloud Enablement: We're approaching a future where managing diverse cloud environments becomes as straightforward as managing a single data center.
• Long-Term Stability and Support: RHOSO is built on RHEL 9.4 and offers an extensive five-year support life. It will be aligned with two releases of OpenShift, starting with the already released 4.16 and then 4.18. Support will extend to 2027 with the additional Extended Update Support (EUS) Term-2 support announced at the last summit.

Strategic Implications

The integration of OpenStack and OpenShift is more than a technological advancement; it's a strategic opportunity. It offers a path to modernize infrastructure, reduce operational complexity, and position organizations for the future of cloud computing.

This shift provides the tools to build a more agile, efficient, and future-ready IT infrastructure. The long support lifecycle and alignment with OpenShift releases ensure stability and continuity, crucial for long-term planning and ROI.

The enhanced observability and modernized storage approach address key pain points in managing complex cloud environments. They offer improved visibility, control, and flexibility—essential for navigating the increasingly complex digital landscape.

In the rapidly evolving world of cloud technology, embracing such innovations offers both immediate benefits and long-term strategic advantages. The OpenStack-OpenShift integration serves as a bridge between the robust, customizable infrastructure needed today and the agile, cloud-native future.

As technology continues to drive business transformation, the question becomes: How will the organisations leverage this innovation to stay ahead in the cloud computing race? With its extended support lifecycle, improved observability, and flexible storage options, RHOSO offers a compelling answer to this critical question.