Installing the operators

Install operators so that you can use them to deploy instances.

For more information about operators, see Operator reference.

This task must be completed by a OpenShift cluster administrator. For information about this role, see OpenShift roles and permissions.

Before you begin

Decide which installation mode to use. You must use the same mode for all IBM Cloud® Pak operators (IBM Cloud Pak for Integration, IBM Cloud Pak foundational services, and any other IBM Cloud Paks that you are installing on the same OpenShift cluster). Do not combine the two installation modes.

All namespaces on the cluster

In this mode, the operator runs in the openshift-operators namespace and can process resources within any namespace on the cluster. This is the default setting. If in doubt, select this mode.

  • This mode provides a single point from which you can control operators.

  • You can deploy different versions of instances in each namespace, all managed by the same operator.

  • After you install the IBM Cloud Pak for Integration operator, you can install only one Platform UI instance on your OpenShift cluster. That Platform UI instance manages all the other deployed instances.

A specific namespace on the cluster

In this mode, the operator runs in the specified namespace, and processes only resources that are created in that namespace.

  • Use this mode if you are installing multiple Cloud Paks on the same OpenShift cluster. You must install all the operators for the other Cloud Paks in this mode. For more information, see Deploying multiple IBM Cloud Paks on the same OpenShift cluster.

  • This mode is useful for separating different operator upgrades (for example, for development, test, or production environments) across different namespaces on the same OpenShift cluster.

  • After installing the IBM Cloud Pak for Integration operator, you can install one Platform UI in each namespace, and that Platform UI manages only the deployed instances in that namespace.

  • This option might result in conflicts with operator CustomResourceDefinition objects because these resources affect the whole cluster and are not unique to a namespace.

Procedure

You can install Cloud Pak for Integration operators by using either the UI or the CLI: