OpenShift Virtualization

An OpenShift Virtualization resource handler connects Cloud Management Platform (CMP) to a Red Hat OpenShift cluster and manages the virtual machines OpenShift Virtualization runs there

6 minute read

Each imported OpenShift namespace becomes a CMP environment. CMP builds servers from OpenShift Virtualization templates and persistent volume claims (PVCs).

Before you begin

OpenShift Virtualization is disabled by default. If its tile is missing from the technology picker, enable the resource handler.
The cluster’s base domain and network access from CMP to its API, which listens on port 6443 by default.
A service account token that can list namespaces, or the username and password of an OpenShift account.

Add an OpenShift Virtualization resource handler

Go to Admin > Resource Handlers, select Add, then select OpenShift Virtualization under Private Cloud.
Complete the credentials fields described below, then select Continue. CMP checks the connection at this point.

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Enter a Name, complete any of the optional settings described below, then select Done.

Field	Description
Protocol	HTTPS (the default) or HTTP.
IP address	The cluster’s base domain, for example, `cluster.example.com` for a cluster whose API is at `api.cluster.example.com`. CMP adds the `api.` prefix and the port, so leave out the protocol, `api.`, and the port. Enter a domain rather than an IP address.
Port	The OpenShift API port. Defaults to `6443`.
Authentication Type	Service Account Token (the default) or Account Credentials. The fields below change to match.
Service Account Token	Shown for Service Account Token. Paste the token. When you edit the handler’s credentials later, paste it again: the field is not filled in from the saved handler.
Account username and Password	Shown for Account Credentials. If the password vault feature is enabled, Password offers Locally Stored or Vault Managed. Select Vault Managed to read the secret from a configured vault provider. See Use password vaults.

The settings dialog also includes:

VM Names to Ignore: comma-separated regular expressions. Matching VMs are left out of syncs.
VM Tags to Include: comma-separated regular expressions. When set, CMP syncs only VMs with a matching tag; when empty, it syncs all of them.
Filesystem Overhead Data (JSON): the filesystem overhead values from the cluster’s CDIConfig, which CMP subtracts when it reports a disk’s usable size. Rather than typing them, select Sync Filesystem Overhead on the handler’s Overview tab to fetch them from the cluster.

Import namespaces

A new handler has no environments until you import a namespace. CMP creates one environment for each selected namespace.

On the handler, open the Namespaces tab and select Import Namespaces.
Select namespaces, then select Import selected namespaces.

To add another environment for an imported namespace, select the plus icon beside it and select Create. To give an environment networks, open it, then on its Networks tab select Import Subnets.

Import templates and PVCs

An environment builds servers from the templates and PVCs you import and link to it.

On the handler, open the Templates tab and select Import Templates. The list shows templates that reference a bootable data source, including custom templates created in your cluster alongside the built-in ones.
Select templates, then select Import selected Templates.
To import PVCs, select Import Persistent Volume Claims. Choose a Namespace and select Apply to list its PVCs; the dialog opens with openshift-virtualization-os-images when that namespace exists.
Select PVCs, then select Import selected PVCs.
In the OS Build Environments column, select the edit icon for a template or PVC and choose the environments that may use it.

A custom template can declare parameters that CMP cannot supply. When one does, CMP names the parameters that need a default value, so you can set them on the template in your cluster before ordering it.

Sync VMs

CMP syncs virtual machines only from namespaces you have imported.

On the handler, open the Servers tab.
Select Sync VMs from followed by the handler’s name. The Dry-run Sync VMs from button beside it previews the sync without making any changes.

Manage servers

From a server’s page in CMP, you can:

Power it off and on, and reboot it.
Change its CPUs and memory with Change Resources.
Add, extend, and delete disks, and add network interfaces.
Take a snapshot with Create Snapshot. CMP keeps one snapshot per server and replaces it each time.
Run scripts with Ad Hoc Script.

The resource handler page

A handler’s page has the following tabs:

Tab	What it offers
Overview	Edit Credentials, Edit Settings, Delete, Verify Connection, and Sync Filesystem Overhead. The RDP/SSH Terminal switch turns browser-based remote access to this handler’s servers on or off; it is disabled by default. See Remote server access.
Namespaces	The imported namespaces and their environments.
Templates	Imported templates and PVCs, with their OS builds, environments, and credentials.
Servers	The handler’s servers and the sync buttons.
Compute Limits	Make Changes sets limits on CPUs, memory, disk, and servers.
History	Changes made to the handler.
Tags	Add creates a tag from a server attribute. Each tag can be edited, deleted, or set to sync.