Red Hat mixed entitlement FAQ

Find answers to questions about the following two approaches to managing IBM Cloud Pak® mixed entitlement environments.

  • Option 1: IBM Cloud Pak solutions with restricted Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform entitlements can be deployed and run in separate clusters. If this approach meets your needs, no further action is needed to manage compliance scenarios associated with mixed IBM Cloud Pak restricted license Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform environments.

    The separation of Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform workloads in separate clusters
  • Option 2: Multiple IBM Cloud Pak restricted and unrestricted Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform configurations in a mixed environment. The IBM License Service can be used to manage these environments. For more details about how to manage this scenario, continue reading this FAQ.

    The separation of Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform workloads in separate clusters

Getting started

What do the terms "restricted" and "unrestricted" mean in this context?
Restricted Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform can be used only in support of the software bundle it was sold with. Other applications and workloads that are not included in the software bundle cannot be run on the restricted Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform. Unrestricted Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform permits any type of workload to be run.
Why does this FAQ document reference IBM Cloud Pak for X/Y and IBM Cloud Pak for Applications?
IBM Cloud Pak for Applications uses an unrestricted Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform, permitting any workload to run on it. All other current IBM Cloud Pak offerings use a restricted Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform, permitting only compatible IBM Cloud Pak software to run on it. In this FAQ, all references to IBM Cloud Pak for X/Y indicate a restricted Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform.

Unrestricted Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform

I have IBM Cloud Pak for Applications (unrestricted Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform) and I'd like to add Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform cores to my existing IBM Cloud Pak for Applications Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform cluster. Is this action supported by IBM and Red Hat?
Yes. No product restrictions exist that prevent the mixing of IBM Cloud Pak for Applications and Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform entitlements in the same cluster. Both are unrestrictedRed Hat OpenShift Container Platform and can equally support any workload that the customer introduces. With IBM supporting Cloud Pak Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform and Red Hat supporting Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform, the support workflow is more complex than if the workloads were run in separate clusters.

Restricted OpenShift Container Platform

I have IBM Cloud Pak for X and IBM Cloud Pak for Y, both with restricted Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform. Can I run both of these IBM Cloud Pak workloads within the same Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform cluster?
Yes, any compatible IBM Cloud Pak software can be combined to run on restricted Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform within a single cluster.
I have a restricted Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform with IBM Cloud Pak for X subscription. Can I run non-IBM Cloud Pak for X workloads on this restricted Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform?
No, you can only run compatible IBM Cloud Pak workloads on your restricted IBM Cloud Pak for X Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform.

Mix of restricted and unrestricted Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform

I have unrestricted Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform, can I run a Cloud Pak workload on unrestricted Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform cores?
Yes, any workload can be run on unrestricted Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform.
I have Cloud Pak for Applications (unrestricted Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform) and a restricted Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform for IBM Cloud Pak for X. Can I run IBM Cloud Pak for X in the same cluster as Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform for IBM Cloud Pak for Applications?
Yes, you can run any workload on an unrestricted Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform. You must ensure that your restricted Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform cores run only IBM Cloud Pak for X workloads, as permitted by the IBM Cloud Pak terms.
I configured my Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform cluster to run both restricted and unrestricted workloads, but some available cores remain. How can I determine the available Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform core capacity for both the restricted and unrestricted cores within the cluster?
You can use the IBM Cloud Pak foundational services License Service that is included in all of the IBM Cloud Paks. License Service collects and measures the license usage of IBM Cloud Paks at the cluster level. IBM Cloud Pak customers can use License Service and the Red Hat Customer Portal to manually calculate the available capacity of both restricted use and unrestricted use entitlements of Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform and IBM Cloud Paks. For more information about monitoring core capacity, see Determining Available Capacity for OpenShift Container Platform and IBM Cloud Paks through Subscription Watch External link icon. For more information about the License Service, see IBM Cloud Pak foundational services License Service.
I configured my Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform cluster to run both restricted and unrestricted workloads but available cores remain. How can I determine the available Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform core capacity for both the restricted and unrestricted cores within the cluster?
IBM provides a License Service as part of IBM Cloud Pak foundational services, which is included in all IBM Cloud Pak solutions. IBM License Service collects and measures the license usage of IBM Cloud Pak solutions at the cluster level. Cloud Pak customers can use IBM License Service and the Red Hat Customer Portal to manually calculate the available capacity of both restricted use and unrestricted use entitlements of Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform and IBM Cloud Pak solutions.
If I have a Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform cluster configured for high availability, how do I remain in compliance of restricted Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform if a node failover occurs?
The IBM Cloud Pak license terms stipulate that Red Hat subscriptions are supported only in support of the IBM Cloud Pak for which they were entitled. The best way for customers to remain definitely in compliance is to run separately restricted Red Hat OpenShift subscriptions in separate clusters. If two Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform clusters are running at the same time (in a hot standby configuration), they cannot use the same entitlements.
If I run any IBM Cloud Pak workloads within a Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform cluster, how will this impact my Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform support experience?
Because IBM supports Cloud Pak solutions Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform and Red Hat supports Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform, the support workflow is more complex than if the workloads were run in separate clusters. In this configuration, support cases might be closed and you might be redirected to open a new case with the other support team. For the most streamlined support experience, run these workloads in separate clusters.