Chapter 16. Upgrading to OpenShift Data Foundation

16.1. Overview of the OpenShift Data Foundation update process

OpenShift Container Storage, based on the open source Ceph technology, has expanded its scope and foundational role in a containerized, hybrid cloud environment since its introduction. It complements existing storage in addition to other data-related hardware and software, making them rapidly attachable, accessible, and scalable in a hybrid cloud environment. To better reflect these foundational and infrastructure distinctives, OpenShift Container Storage is now OpenShift Data Foundation.

Important

You can perform the upgrade process for OpenShift Data Foundation version 4.9 from OpenShift Container Storage version 4.8 only by installing the OpenShift Data Foundation operator from OpenShift Container Platform OperatorHub.

In the future release, you can upgrade Red Hat OpenShift Data Foundation, either between minor releases like 4.9 and 4.x, or between batch updates like 4.9.0 and 4.9.1 by enabling automatic updates (if not done so during operator installation) or performing manual updates.

You also need to upgrade the different parts of Red Hat OpenShift Data Foundation in the following order for both internal and external mode deployments:

  1. Update OpenShift Container Platform according to the Updating clusters documentation for OpenShift Container Platform.

  2. Update Red Hat OpenShift Data Foundation.

    1. To prepare a disconnected environment for updates, see Operators guide to using Operator Lifecycle Manager on restricted networks to be able to update Red Hat OpenShift Data Foundation as well as Local Storage Operator when in use.
    2. Update Red Hat OpenShift Container Storage operator version 4.8 to version 4.9 by installing the Red Hat OpenShift Data Foundation operator from the OperatorHub on OpenShift Container Platform web console. See Updating Red Hat OpenShift Container Storage 4.8 to Red Hat OpenShift Data Foundation 4.9.
    3. Update Red Hat OpenShift Data Foundation from 4.9.x to 4.9.y. See Updating Red Hat OpenShift Data Foundation 4.9.x to 4.9.y.
    4. For updating external mode deployments, you must also perform the steps from section Updating the OpenShift Data Foundation external secret.

    5. If you use local storage:

      1. Update the Local Storage operator.

        See Checking for Local Storage Operator deployments if you are unsure.

      2. Perform post-update configuration changes for clusters backed by local storage.

        See Post-update configuration for clusters backed by local storage for details.

Update considerations

Review the following important considerations before you begin.

  • Red Hat recommends using the same version of Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform with Red Hat OpenShift Data Foundation.

    See the Interoperability Matrix for more information about supported combinations of OpenShift Container Platform and Red Hat OpenShift Data Foundation.

  • The Local Storage Operator is fully supported only when the Local Storage Operator version matches the Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform version.
  • The flexible scaling feature is available only in new deployments of Red Hat OpenShift Data Foundation versions 4.7 and later. Storage clusters upgraded from a previous version to version 4.7 or later do not support flexible scaling. For more information, see Flexible scaling of OpenShift Container Storage cluster in the New features section of 4.7 Release Notes.

16.2. Updating Red Hat OpenShift Container Storage 4.8 to Red Hat OpenShift Data Foundation 4.9

This chapter helps you to upgrade between the z-stream release for all Red Hat OpenShift Data Foundation deployments (Internal, Internal-Attached and External). The upgrade process remains the same for all deployments. The Only difference is what gets upgraded and what’s not.

  • For Internal and Internal-attached deployments, upgrading OpenShift Container Storage upgrades all OpenShift Container Storage services including the backend Ceph Storage cluster.

  • For External mode deployments, upgrading OpenShift Container Storage only upgrades the OpenShift Container Storage service while the backend Ceph storage cluster remains untouched and needs to be upgraded separately.

    We recommend upgrading RHCS along with OpenShift Container Storage in order to get new feature support, security fixes, and other bug fixes. Since we do not have a strong dependency on RHCS upgrade, you can upgrade the OpenShift Data Foundation operator first followed by RHCS upgrade or vice-versa. See solution to know more about Red Hat Ceph Storage releases.

Important

Upgrading to 4.9 directly from any version older than 4.8 is unsupported.

Prerequisites

  • Ensure that the OpenShift Container Platform cluster has been updated to the latest stable release of version 4.9.X, see Updating Clusters.

  • Ensure that the OpenShift Container Storage cluster is healthy and data is resilient.

    • Navigate to Storage → Overview and check both Block and File and Object tabs for the green tick on the status card. Green tick indicates that the storage cluster, object service and data resiliency are all healthy.

  • Ensure that all OpenShift Container Storage Pods, including the operator pods, are in Running state in the openshift-storage namespace.

    To view the state of the pods, on the OpenShift Web Console, click Workloads → Pods. Select openshift-storage from the Project drop-down list.

    Note

    If the Show default projects option is disabled, use the toggle button to list all the default projects.

  • Ensure that you have sufficient time to complete the OpenShift Data Foundation update process, as the update time varies depending on the number of OSDs that run in the cluster.

Procedure

  1. On the OpenShift Web Console, navigate to OperatorHub.
  2. Search for OpenShift Data Foundation using the Filter by keyword box and click on the OpenShift Data Foundation tile.
  3. Click Install.

  4. On the install Operator page, click Install. Wait for the Operator installation to complete.

    Note

    We recommend using all default settings. Changing it may result in unexpected behavior. Alter only if you are aware of its result.

Verification steps

  1. Verify that the page displays Succeeded message along with the option to Create StorageSystem.

    Note

    For the upgraded clusters, since the storage system is automatically created, do not create it again.

  2. On the notification popup, click Refresh web console link to reflect the OpenShift Data Foundation changes in the OpenShift console.

  3. Verify the state of the pods on the OpenShift Web Console.

    • Click Workloads → Pods.

    • Select openshift-storage from the Project drop-down list.

      Note

      If the Show default projects option is disabled, use the toggle button to list all the default projects.

      Wait for all the pods in the openshift-storage namespace to restart and reach Running state.

  4. Verify that the OpenShift Data Foundation cluster is healthy and data is resilient.

    • Navigate to Storage → OpenShift Data foundation → Storage Systems tab and then click on the storage system name.
    • Check both Block and File and Object tabs for the green tick on the status card. Green tick indicates that the storage cluster, object service and data resiliency are all healthy.
Important

Additional Resources

If you face any issues while updating OpenShift Data Foundation, see the Commonly required logs for troubleshooting section in the Troubleshooting guide.

16.3. Updating Red Hat OpenShift Data Foundation 4.9.x to 4.9.y

This chapter helps you to upgrade between the z-stream release for all Red Hat OpenShift Data Foundation deployments (Internal, Internal-Attached and External). The upgrade process remains the same for all deployments. The Only difference is what gets upgraded and what’s not.

  • For Internal and Internal-attached deployments, upgrading OpenShift Container Storage upgrades all OpenShift Container Storage services including the backend Ceph Storage cluster.

  • For External mode deployments, upgrading OpenShift Container Storage only upgrades the OpenShift Container Storage service while the backend Ceph storage cluster remains untouched and needs to be upgraded separately.

    Hence, we recommend upgrading RHCS along with OpenShift Container Storage in order to get new feature support, security fixes, and other bug fixes. Since we do not have a strong dependency on RHCS upgrade, you can upgrade the OpenShift Data Foundation operator first followed by RHCS upgrade or vice-versa. See solution to know more about Red Hat Ceph Storage releases.

When a new z-stream release becomes available, the upgrade process triggers automatically if the update strategy was set to Automatic. If the update strategy is set to Manual then use the following procedure.

Prerequisites

  • Ensure that the OpenShift Container Platform cluster has been updated to the latest stable release of version 4.9.X, see Updating Clusters.

  • Ensure that the OpenShift Data Foundation cluster is healthy and data is resilient.

    • Navigate to Storage → OpenShift Data Foundation → Storage Systems tab and then click on the storage system name.
    • Check for the green tick on the status card of Overview - Block and File and Object tabs. Green tick indicates that the storage cluster, object service and data resiliency is healthy.

  • Ensure that all OpenShift Data Foundation Pods, including the operator pods, are in Running state in the openshift-storage namespace.

    To view the state of the pods, on the OpenShift Web Console, click Workloads → Pods. Select openshift-storage from the Project drop-down list.

    Note

    If the Show default projects option is disabled, use the toggle button to list all the default projects.

  • Ensure that you have sufficient time to complete the OpenShift Data Foundation update process, as the update time varies depending on the number of OSDs that run in the cluster.

Procedure

  1. On the OpenShift Web Console, navigate to Operators → Installed Operators.

  2. Select openshift-storage project.

    Note

    If the Show default projects option is disabled, use the toggle button to list all the default projects.

  3. Click the OpenShift Data Foundation operator name.
  4. Click the Subscription tab.
  5. If the Upgrade Status shows require approval, click on requires approval link.
  6. On the InstallPlan Details page, click Preview Install Plan.
  7. Review the install plan and click Approve.
  8. Wait for the Status to change from Unknown to Created.

Verification steps

  • Verify that the Version below the OpenShift Data Foundation name and the operator status is the latest version.

    • Navigate to Operators → Installed Operators and select the openshift-storage project.
    • When the upgrade completes, the version updates to a new version number for OpenShift Data Foundation and status changes to Succeeded with a green tick.

  • Verify that the OpenShift Data Foundation cluster is healthy and data is resilient.

    • Navigate to Storage → OpenShift Data Foundation → Storage Systems tab and then click on the storage system name.
    • Check for the green tick on the status card of Overview - Block and File and Object tabs. Green tick indicates that the storage cluster, object service and data resiliency is healthy
Important

In case the console plugin option was not automatically enabled after you installed the OpenShift Data Foundation Operator, you need to enable it.

For more information on how to enable the console plugin, see Enabling the Red Hat OpenShift Data Foundation console plugin.

16.4. Changing the update approval strategy

To ensure that the storage system gets updated automatically when a new update is available in the same channel, we recommend keeping the update approval strategy to Automatic. Changing the update approval strategy to Manual will need manual approval for each upgrade.

Procedure

  1. Navigate to Operators → Installed Operators.

  2. Select openshift-storage from the Project drop-down list.

    Note

    If the Show default projects option is disabled, use the toggle button to list all the default projects.

  3. Click on OpenShift Data Foundation operator name
  4. Go to the Subscription tab.
  5. Click on the pencil icon for changing the Update approval.
  6. Select the update approval strategy and click Save.

Verification steps

  • Verify that the Update approval shows the newly selected approval strategy below it.