Third-party CNI in OSD, ROSA, and ARO

Solution In Progress - Updated -

Environment

  • Red Hat OpenShift Service on AWS (ROSA)
    • 4 classic
    • 4 HCP
  • Red Hat OpenShift Dedicated (OSD)
    • 4
  • Azure Red Hat OpenShift (ARO)
    • 4

Issue

  • Can I install third-party Container Network Interface (CNI) like Calico or Cilium in OSD, ROSA, and ARO?
  • I found KCS:5436171, will it apply to OSD, ROSA, and ARO?

Resolution

In managed OpenShift environments—Red Hat OpenShift Dedicated (OSD), Red Hat OpenShift Service on AWS (ROSA), and Azure Red Hat OpenShift (ARO)—the default Container Network Interfaces (CNIs) are:

  • OVN-Kubernetes: Default for clusters running OpenShift version 4.11 and above.
  • OpenShift-SDN: Default for clusters running OpenShift version 4.10 and below.

By default, third-party CNIs like Calico or Cilium are not supported in these managed services. However, for ROSA with Hosted Control Planes (HCP), there is an option to deploy a cluster without a CNI plugin, allowing you to install a third-party CNI of your choice post-deployment.

It's important to note that if you choose to use your own CNI for ROSA with HCP clusters, it is strongly recommended that you obtain commercial support from the plugin vendor before creating your clusters. Red Hat support cannot assist with CNI-related issues such as pod-to-pod traffic for customers who choose to use their own CNI plugin.

For detailed guidance on creating a ROSA with HCP cluster without a CNI plugin, refer to the official Red Hat documentation. [0]

[0] ROSA with HCP clusters without a CNI plugin

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