Installing and Managing Red Hat OpenStack Platform
Starting on June 27, 2018, Red Hat OpenStack Platform director is the required deployment tool for every new installation of Red Hat OpenStack Platform to receive full support for a Red Hat OpenStack Platform environment, unless a support exception is granted. This is valid for all versions of Red Hat OpenStack Platform from version 7 onward. Please note that this policy:
- Does not apply retroactively to existing deployments and
- Does not apply to partners which are embedding OpenStack in a larger solution that has its own installer.
Different installers are designed for different use cases, and using an install method for a different use-case can lead to a sub-optimal experience or non-supportable environment. Red Hat supports only deployment and management of OpenStack through Red Hat OpenStack Platform director, all other installers are not guaranteed to work (no active maintenance).
In case of any queries with regards to alternative deployment tools usage please contact Red Hat Support which will help with reviewing a support exception request.
For more details about this policy update, please read our official announcement.
|
Use Case |
Red Hat OpenStack Platform Director (version 7+) Fully Suported |
RHEL OpenStack Platform Installer (version 5 & 6)Not Supported |
Packstack (all versions) |
Manual Not Supported (1) |
Other Installers Not Supported (1) |
|
Resulting installation supported |
✔ |
✔ |
✔ (2) |
✔ (2) |
✔ (2)(3) |
|
Installer (in itself) supported |
✔ |
✔ (already end of life) |
_ |
_ |
_ |
|
All in one deployment — single-machine (for developer or small demo usage only) |
— |
— |
✔ |
manual |
? |
|
Distributed deployment — multi-machine |
✔ |
✔ |
— |
manual |
? |
|
Developer environment |
✔ |
— |
✔ |
— |
? |
|
Proof of concept deployment (smaller, out-of-box deployments) |
✔ |
✔ |
✔ |
— |
? |
|
Production grade deployment (larger, customized) |
✔ |
✔ |
— |
manual |
? |
|
User customizations |
✔ |
manual |
manual |
✔ (typically heavy) |
? |
|
Hardware management |
✔ |
✔ |
— |
— |
? |
|
High Availability |
✔ |
✔ |
— |
manual |
? |
|
Integration with 3rd party software |
✔ |
limited |
limited |
manual |
? |
|
Minor updates of packages |
✔ |
— |
— |
manual |
? |
|
Major upgrades between versions |
✔ |
— |
— |
manual |
? |
|
Scaling of nodes |
✔ |
limited (compute) |
— |
manual |
? |
|
API driven |
✔ |
— |
— |
— |
? |
|
Command Line Interface |
✔ |
— |
✔ |
— |
? |
|
Graphical User Interface |
✔ |
✔ |
— |
— |
? |
- Manual installs are never recommended except for specific use cases where other installers cannot be used. Please consult with Red Hat prior to attempting a manual install.
- Please validate with support the architecture of the resulting deployment, and HA model in particular, as we cannot test all combinations and would rather document the configurations in use so that we can increase our test coverage.
- Starting with the general availability of Red Hat OpenStack Platform 13, director will be required for deployment and lifecycle management of every new deployment of Red Hat OpenStack Platform in order to receive full support from Red Hat. This policy currently applies only to new deployments and will not impact existing environments. (https://access.redhat.com/announcements/3499841)
** Note: Regardless of initial deployment method, essential life-cycle management activity such as the manual installation of bug-fix (RHBA) and security (RHSA) updates is always supported in Red Hat OpenStack Platform and all Red Hat products.**
Installer Definitions
Red Hat OpenStack Platform director
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux OpenStack Platform 7
- Red Hat OpenStack Platform 8+
As the only supported deployment and management tool, Red Hat OpenStack Platform director offers the most advanced and flexible method of installation, including the use of automated platform-wide upgrades and updates. Built upon upstream, fully open source OpenStack projects, it offers an enterprise tool for deployment and orchestration, as well as capabilities for more advanced, production-level deployments, including high availability. In nearly all installation scenarios, Red Hat best practices will require customers use Red Hat OpenStack Platform director over any other install method.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux OpenStack Platform Installer (end of life)
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux OpenStack Platform 5
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux OpenStack Platform 6
The Red Hat Enterprise Linux OpenStack Platform Installer is the primary install method in Red Hat Enterprise Linux OpenStack Platform versions 5 and 6. The OpenStack Installer is based on Red Hat Satellite 6 and is specific only to versions 5 and 6 of Red Hat Enterprise Linux OpenStack Platform. Starting with Red Hat OpenStack Platform 7, this installation method is no longer used.
Packstack (not supported)
This installation method is intended only for small, non-production environments. Use Packstack for single-machine, all-in-one environments or very small environments (up to 3 servers) intended for developer testing, or small proof-of-concept deployments that do not require enterprise-level configurations, such as High Availability.
Usage of Packstackis not recommended since there's no active development nor maintenance of the project.
Manual (not supported)
A manual install is where an operator hand configures each different component, configuration and setting of Red Hat OpenStack Platform. This method is intended only for very complex and highly customized environments done by advanced, experienced OpenStack operators, and is never recommended for production environments. Manual installations are not recommended, except in very unique or special circumstances.
If a customer attempts a manual install where another install method will accomplish a customer's goals, Red Hat will require the alternate install method - primarily Red Hat OpenStack Platform director - over a manual install.
Ansible
In October 2015, Red Hat announced acquisition of Ansible. While the Red Hat OpenStack Platform director currently leverages Ansible within a portion of the installation process, Red Hat is currently investigating additional customer benefits of integrating Ansible into more installation and deployment processes.
Red Hat OpenStack Platform director has leveraged the Ansible integration in deployment, minor updates, major upgrades, pre-deployment validations and many other areas within Red Hat OpenStack Platform. For details, please refer to documentation.
Stay tuned for more information as we continue to incorporate Ansible into our engineering roadmaps.
Questions
In case of any questions, contact Red Hat Support which will help with finding answers for you.
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