Installing the operators using the Openshift console

IBM Cloud Pak® for Integration operators are installed and managed using the Operator Lifecycle Manager (OLM) in Red Hat OpenShift. After you install the operators using the Openshift web console, you can use them to deploy capabilities and runtimes.

Operators extend a Kubernetes cluster by adding and managing additional resource types in the Kubernetes API. This enables the installation and management of software using standard Kubernetes tools. To learn more, see Understanding Operators in the Red Hat OpenShift documentation.

Operators available to install
Guidelines for installing operators
Installing with the OpenShift console

Operators available to install

Below is a list of operators available to use in Installing operators, step 4. You can install any combination of operators. Any dependencies will be pulled in automatically.

IBM recommends installing the operators for Platform Navigator, Automation Foundation assets, and Operations Dashboard because they assist in the deployment and management of the other capabilities.

Note: A "(z)" next to an operator name indicates that it is also available on Linux for IBM Z.

IBM Cloud Pak for Integration (z): Top level Cloud Pak for Integration operator that will install all other Cloud Pak for Integration operators automatically. Use this to install the whole Cloud Pak in one operation.
IBM Cloud Pak for Integration Platform Navigator (z): Provides a dashboard and central services for other Cloud Pak for Integration capabilities. Should be installed for most Cloud Pak for Integration installations.
IBM Automation Foundation assets: Stores, manages, retrieves and searches for integration assets for use within the IBM Cloud Pak for Integration and its capabilities.
IBM Cloud Pak for Integration Operations Dashboard: Integration tracing across capabilities and runtimes to allow troubleshooting and investigation of errors and latency issues.
IBM API Connect: Provides the API management and Event Endpoint Management capabilities.

Note: You can deploy one instance of each API Connect into a particular namespace. If you want to deploy additional instances, you must deploy them into different namespaces.
IBM App Connect (z - for Dashboard only, not Designer): Provides application integration capabilities and a means to easily create and export flows that run in an App Connect instance.
IBM Aspera HSTS (z): Provides high speed transfer server runtimes.
IBM DataPower Gateway: Provides gateway runtimes.
IBM Event Streams (z): Provides Event Streams runtimes.
IBM MQ (z): Provides messaging runtimes.

Guidelines for installing operators

When installing Cloud Pak for Integration operators, follow these guidelines. For additional details and deployment recommendations, see Structuring your deployment.

Important: OpenShift restricts the use of default namespaces for installing non-cluster services. The following namespaces cannot be used to install Cloud Pak for Integration operators: default, kube-system, kube-public,openshift-node, openshift-infra, openshift.

Note: In the list below, the term namespace (Kubernetes) is used to mean the same thing as project (OpenShift).

Roles and permissions:

Typically, a cluster administrator installs the operators, and an automation administrator creates the customer resources (installed instance of the operator) and configures the capabilities and runtimes. See Roles for more information.

Installation modes When installing operators, you can choose to install an operator in one of two modes:

All namespaces on the cluster mode runs the operator in the openshift-operators namespace and can process resources within any namespace on the cluster. This is the default installation mode.
A specific namespace on the cluster mode runs the operator in the selected namespace, and the operator only processes resources created in that namespace.

When installing the CP4I operators, only use one of these installation modes. If you combine the two installation modes, Operator Lifecycle Manager (OLM) will not pick up the latest operator version.

Cloud Pak for Integration operators, in general:

Operators can be installed at cluster scope (in all namespaces in the cluster) or at namespace scope (in an individual namespace).
- If the operators are installed at cluster scope, the entire cluster effectively behaves as one large tenant.
- If the operators are installed at namespace scope, each namespace effectively behaves as a different tenant.
Install all operators in the same mode, whether All namespaces on the cluster or A specific namespace on the cluster; do not combine the two modes.
When operators are installed in the All namespaces on the cluster installation mode, each operator must be installed in the openshift-operators namespace.

Installing multiple Cloud Paks:

All IBM Cloud Paks installed in a cluster must be installed in the same mode, whether All namespaces on the cluster or A specific namespace on the cluster. If you are installing one of more Cloud Paks with Cloud Pak for Integration, you can't use both mode types together.

Cloud Pak for Integration operator:

Cloud Pak for Integration can be installed in either of two installation modes: All namespaces on the cluster or A specific namespace on the cluster.
When Cloud Pak for Integration is installed in either mode, operators still need a small set of cluster level permissions to allow manipulation of resources defined at cluster scope, such as reading custom resource definitions (CRDs). See Cluster-scoped permissions for information about the permissions required.

Platform Navigator operator:

When Cloud Pak for Integration is installed in the All namespaces on the cluster installation mode, there can be only one Platform Navigator installed per cluster, and all Cloud Pak instances are owned by that Platform Navigator.
When Cloud Pak for Integration is installed in A specific namespace on the cluster mode, there can be one Platform Navigator installed in each namespace, and that Platform Navigator owns only the instances in that namespace.

Common services operator:

For both installation modes, by default a single instance of IBM Cloud Pak foundational services is installed in the ibm-common-services namespace if the foundational services operator is not already installed on the cluster. The foundational services operator must be installed in the same mode as the Cloud Pak operators. However, regardless of the mode with which it is installed, by default the foundational services operator will install the Operand Deployment Lifecycle Manager operator in the A specific namespace on the cluster mode in the ibm-common-services namespace. While the Operand Deployment Lifecycle Manager operator is installed in this mode, it will extend its permissions to manage foundational services resources in all the namespaces where capabilities and runtimes of the Cloud Pak are installed. To use a custom namespace for foundational services, see Installing in a custom namespace before installing Cloud Pak for Integration operators.

Approval considerations:

If you need the entire Cloud Pak for Integration (or only certain of its capabilities and runtimes) to use manual approval—and not update automatically—see Restricting automatic updates with an approval strategy.

Installing with the Red Hat OpenShift console

Installing operators
Validating an installed operator
Restricting automatic updates with an approval strategy
Common services approval strategies

Installing operators

Log into the OpenShift web console with your OpenShift cluster admin credentials.
Make sure the Administrator view is selected.
Click Operators > OperatorHub > Integration & Delivery.
Click the tile for the operator you want to install, for example, IBM Cloud Pak for Integration.
Click Install.
In the Install Operator pane:
- Select the desired operator channel. See Operator channel versions for IBM Cloud Pak for Integration releases for more information.
- Select the option to install Cloud Pak for Integration in one namespace or in all namespaces in your cluster. See "Guidelines for installing operators" below for more information.
- Select an approval strategy. You can select the automatic or manual option. For more information about a manual approval strategy, see Restricting automatic updates with an approval strategy.
Click Install.

Validating installation of an operator

To validate that an operator is installed:

Log into the OpenShift web console.
In the navigation menu, click Operators > Installed Operators.
Select the project in which the operator was installed. If you installed the operator using the All namespaces on the cluster installation mode, the operator pod is located in the openshift-operators project.
Locate your Operator in the table and examine the status column. When the Operator is ready, it will have the message Succeeded. You can now proceed to install other Cloud Pak for Integration operators.

Restricting automatic updates with an approval strategy

Operators can be upgraded automatically when new compatible versions are available. However, in some situations this automatic upgrade may be undesirable. You can control whether or not an operator is upgraded automatically by setting an approval strategy, either:

When the operator is installed.
After installation, by modifying its subscription.

The available approval strategies are:

Automatic (default): As new operator versions are made available on the subscription channel, they are installed automatically.
Manual: As new operator versions are made available on the subscription channel, the subscription indicates that there is an update available, but you have to approve the update manually.

To confirm or update the approval strategy for an operator in the OpenShift console:

Expand the Operators section in the navigation bar on the left, and select Installed Operators. Ensure you select the project that contains the operators you intend to confirm or modify.
Click the operator you want to confirm or modify.
Click the Subscription tab.
The Subscription Details at the top of the tab will show you the Channel referenced by the subscription, what the Approval strategy is, and what the Upgrade Status is.
- If the Approval strategy is set to Automatic, the Upgrade Status should show Up to date.
- If the Approval strategy is set to Manual, the Upgrade Status may show Upgrade available. In this case, there may be an available control that allows you to approve the InstallPlan that upgrades the operator.

You can also change the approval strategy by clicking the Subscription tab, then selecting the Approval strategy value. A Change Update Approval Strategy dialog appears and allows you to select a different strategy.

Note: After you install the operators, you should consider the resources (sizing) for foundational services. See Sizing for foundational services for more information.

IBM Cloud Pak foundational services approval strategies

The approval strategy for foundational services is managed using the CommonService configuration resource. By default, foundational services is installed in a separate namespace, which means that its approval strategy must be set separately. However, if you choose to install foundational services in the same namespace as your other operators, it inherits the approval strategy selected for your other operators.

For more information, see Approval strategy in "Configuring IBM Cloud Pak foundational services by using the CommonService custom resource".