OpenShift Virtualization extends the power of Kubernetes by enabling you to run and manage both containerized and virtual machine (VM) workloads on a single platform. This allows organizations to modernize at their own pace, supporting existing VM-based applications alongside cloud-native applications.
What is OpenShift Virtualization?
OpenShift Virtualization is a feature of Red Hat OpenShift that leverages KubeVirt to run virtual machines as Kubernetes-native resources. It provides a unified platform for running VMs and containers side by side, simplifying infrastructure management and accelerating application modernization.
Why Use OpenShift Virtualization?
Many organizations still rely on VM-based workloads for critical applications. OpenShift Virtualization helps bridge the gap between traditional virtualization and cloud-native architectures by:
- Consolidating Infrastructure: Manage VMs and containers in the same OpenShift cluster.
- Simplifying Operations: Use Kubernetes tools and APIs to manage VMs just like containers.
- Supporting Modernization: Gradually refactor or replatform legacy VM-based applications into containers.
- Reducing Costs: Eliminate the need for separate virtualization platforms.
Key Features
- VM Management: Create, start, stop, and migrate VMs directly from OpenShift.
- Networking & Storage Integration: Use OpenShift’s networking and storage capabilities with VMs.
- Live Migration: Move VMs between nodes without downtime.
- Security & Compliance: Leverage OpenShift’s built-in security policies and role-based access control.
Common Use Cases
- Running legacy applications that cannot be containerized immediately.
- Consolidating infrastructure by hosting both VMs and containers on one platform.
- Building hybrid applications that use both containers and VMs.
- Migrating workloads from traditional hypervisors to Kubernetes.
Benefits of a Unified Platform
By running containers and VMs together, teams can:
- Simplify operations with a single set of tools.
- Modernize incrementally without disrupting existing services.
- Enable DevOps practices for VM-based workloads.
Next Steps
To get started with OpenShift Virtualization:
- Install and enable OpenShift Virtualization on your cluster.
- Create a test VM to explore how it integrates with Kubernetes tools.
- Assess which VM workloads can move to OpenShift for consolidation.
Future posts will cover advanced topics like migrating VMs from traditional hypervisors, integrating virtualization with CI/CD pipelines, and building hybrid applications using both containers and VMs.