OpenShift sandboxed containers user guide

OpenShift Sandboxed Containers 1.5

For OpenShift Container Platform

Red Hat Customer Content Services

Abstract

Information about OpenShift sandboxed containers operators and their usage

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Chapter 1. Understanding OpenShift sandboxed containers

OpenShift sandboxed containers support for Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform provides you with built-in support for running Kata Containers as an additional optional runtime. The new runtime supports containers in dedicated virtual machines (VMs), providing improved workload isolation. This is particularly useful for performing the following tasks:

Run privileged or untrusted workloads

OpenShift sandboxed containers (OSC) makes it possible to safely run workloads that require specific privileges, without having to risk compromising cluster nodes by running privileged containers. Workloads that require special privileges include the following:

  • Workloads that require special capabilities from the kernel, beyond the default ones granted by standard container runtimes such as CRI-O, for example to access low-level networking features.
  • Workloads that need elevated root privileges, for example to access a specific physical device. With OpenShift sandboxed containers, it is possible to pass only a specific device through to the VM, ensuring that the workload cannot access or misconfigure the rest of the system.
  • Workloads for installing or using set-uid root binaries. These binaries grant special privileges and, as such, can present a security risk. With OpenShift sandboxed containers, additional privileges are restricted to the virtual machines, and grant no special access to the cluster nodes.

Some workloads may require privileges specifically for configuring the cluster nodes. Such workloads should still use privileged containers, because running on a virtual machine would prevent them from functioning.

Ensure kernel isolation for each workload
OpenShift sandboxed containers supports workloads that require custom kernel tuning (such as sysctl, scheduler changes, or cache tuning) and the creation of custom kernel modules (such as out of tree or special arguments).
Share the same workload across tenants
OpenShift sandboxed containers enables you to support multiple users (tenants) from different organizations sharing the same OpenShift cluster. The system also lets you run third-party workloads from multiple vendors, such as container network functions (CNFs) and enterprise applications. Third-party CNFs, for example, may not want their custom settings interfering with packet tuning or with sysctl variables set by other applications. Running inside a completely isolated kernel is helpful in preventing "noisy neighbor" configuration problems.
Ensure proper isolation and sandboxing for testing software
You can use OpenShift sandboxed containers to run a containerized workload with known vulnerabilities or to handle an issue in a legacy application. This isolation also enables administrators to give developers administrative control over pods, which is useful when the developer wants to test or validate configurations beyond those an administrator would typically grant. Administrators can, for example, safely and securely delegate kernel packet filtering (eBPF) to developers. Kernel packet filtering requires CAP_ADMIN or CAP_BPF privileges, and is therefore not allowed under a standard CRI-O configuration, as this would grant access to every process on the Container Host worker node. Similarly, administrators can grant access to intrusive tools such as SystemTap, or support the loading of custom kernel modules during their development.
Ensure default resource containment through VM boundaries
By default, resources such as CPU, memory, storage, or networking are managed in a more robust and secure way in OpenShift sandboxed containers. Since OpenShift sandboxed containers are deployed on VMs, additional layers of isolation and security give a finer-grained access control to the resource. For example, an errant container will not be able to allocate more memory than is available to the VM. Conversely, a container that needs dedicated access to a network card or to a disk can take complete control over that device without getting any access to other devices.

1.1. OpenShift sandboxed containers supported platforms

You can install OpenShift sandboxed containers on a bare-metal server or on an Amazon Web Services (AWS) bare-metal instance. Bare-metal instances offered by other cloud providers are not supported.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux CoreOS (RHCOS) is the only supported operating system for OpenShift sandboxed containers.

OpenShift sandboxed containers 1.5 is compatible with all supported versions of Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform. See the Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform Platform Life Cycle Policy for details.

1.2. OpenShift sandboxed containers common terms

The following terms are used throughout the documentation.

Sandbox

A sandbox is an isolated environment where programs can run. In a sandbox, you can run untested or untrusted programs without risking harm to the host machine or the operating system.

In the context of OpenShift sandboxed containers, sandboxing is achieved by running workloads in a different kernel using virtualization, providing enhanced control over the interactions between multiple workloads that run on the same host.

Pod

A pod is a construct that is inherited from Kubernetes and OpenShift Container Platform. It represents resources where containers can be deployed. Containers run inside of pods, and pods are used to specify resources that can be shared between multiple containers.

In the context of OpenShift sandboxed containers, a pod is implemented as a virtual machine. Several containers can run in the same pod on the same virtual machine.

OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator

An Operator is a software component that automates operations, which are actions that a human operator could do on the system.

The OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator is tasked with managing the lifecycle of sandboxed containers on a cluster. You can use the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator to perform tasks such as the installation and removal of sandboxed containers, software updates, and status monitoring.

Kata Containers
Kata Containers is a core upstream project that is used to build OpenShift sandboxed containers. OpenShift sandboxed containers integrate Kata Containers with OpenShift Container Platform.
KataConfig
KataConfig objects represent configurations of sandboxed containers. They store information about the state of the cluster, such as the nodes on which the software is deployed.
Runtime class
A RuntimeClass object describes which runtime can be used to run a given workload. A runtime class that is named kata is installed and deployed by the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator. The runtime class contains information about the runtime that describes resources that the runtime needs to operate, such as the pod overhead.
Peer pod
A peer pod in OpenShift sandboxed containers extends the concept of a standard pod. Unlike a standard sandboxed container, where the virtual machine is created on the worker node itself, in a peer pod, the virtual machine is created through a remote hypervisor using any supported hypervisor or cloud provider API. The peer pod acts as a regular pod on the worker node, with its corresponding VM running elsewhere. The remote location of the VM is transparent to the user and is specified by the runtime class in the pod specification. The peer pod design circumvents the need for nested virtualization.

1.3. OpenShift sandboxed containers workload management

OpenShift sandboxed containers provides the following features for enhancing workload management and allocation:

1.3.1. OpenShift sandboxed containers building blocks

The OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator encapsulates all of the components from Kata containers. It manages installation, lifecycle, and configuration tasks.

The OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator is packaged in the Operator bundle format as two container images. The bundle image contains metadata and is required to make the operator OLM-ready. The second container image contains the actual controller that monitors and manages the KataConfig resource.

1.3.2. RHCOS extensions

The OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator is based on the Red Hat Enterprise Linux CoreOS (RHCOS) extensions concept. RHCOS extensions are a mechanism to install optional OpenShift Container Platform software. The OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator uses this mechanism to deploy sandboxed containers on a cluster.

The sandboxed containers RHCOS extension contains RPMs for Kata, QEMU, and its dependencies. You can enable them by using the MachineConfig resources that the Machine Config Operator provides.

Additional resources

1.3.3. OpenShift Virtualization and OpenShift sandboxed containers

You can use OpenShift sandboxed containers on clusters with OpenShift Virtualization.

To run OpenShift Virtualization and OpenShift sandboxed containers at the same time, you must enable VMs to migrate, so that they do not block node reboots. Configure the following parameters on your VM:

  • Use ocs-storagecluster-ceph-rbd as the storage class.
  • Set the evictionStrategy parameter to LiveMigrate in the VM.

1.4. Understanding compliance and risk management

OpenShift Container Platform is designed for FIPS. When running Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) or Red Hat Enterprise Linux CoreOS (RHCOS) booted in FIPS mode, OpenShift Container Platform core components use the RHEL cryptographic libraries that have been submitted to NIST for FIPS 140-2/140-3 Validation on only the x86_64, ppc64le, and s390x architectures.

For more information about the NIST validation program, see Cryptographic Module Validation Program. For the latest NIST status for the individual versions of RHEL cryptographic libraries that have been submitted for validation, see Compliance Activities and Government Standards.

OpenShift sandboxed containers can be used on FIPS enabled clusters.

When running in FIPS mode, OpenShift sandboxed containers components, VMs, and VM images are adapted to comply with FIPS.

Note

FIPS compliance for OpenShift sandboxed containers only applies to the kata runtime class. The new peer pods runtime class kata-remote is not yet fully supported, and has not been tested for FIPS compliance.

FIPS compliance is one of the most critical components required in highly secure environments, to ensure that only supported cryptographic technologies are allowed on nodes.

Important

The use of FIPS Validated / Modules in Process cryptographic libraries is only supported on OpenShift Container Platform deployments on the x86_64 architecture.

To understand Red Hat’s view of OpenShift Container Platform compliance frameworks, refer to the Risk Management and Regulatory Readiness chapter of the OpenShift Security Guide Book.

Chapter 2. Deploying OpenShift sandboxed containers workloads

You can install the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator using either the web console or OpenShift CLI (oc). Before installing the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator, you must prepare your OpenShift Container Platform cluster.

2.1. Prerequisites

Before you install OpenShift sandboxed containers, ensure that your OpenShift Container Platform cluster meets the following requirements:

  • Your cluster must be installed on on-premise bare-metal infrastructure with Red Hat Enterprise Linux CoreOS (RHCOS) workers. You can use any installation method including user-provisioned, installer-provisioned, or assisted installer to deploy your cluster.

    Note
    • OpenShift sandboxed containers only supports RHCOS worker nodes. RHEL nodes are not supported.
    • Nested virtualization is not supported.
  • You can install OpenShift sandboxed containers on Amazon Web Services (AWS) bare-metal instances. Bare-metal instances offered by other cloud providers are not supported.

2.1.1. Resource requirements for OpenShift sandboxed containers

OpenShift sandboxed containers lets users run workloads on their OpenShift Container Platform clusters inside a sandboxed runtime (Kata). Each pod is represented by a virtual machine (VM). Each VM runs in a QEMU process and hosts a kata-agent process that acts as a supervisor for managing container workloads, and the processes running in those containers. Two additional processes add more overhead:

  • containerd-shim-kata-v2 is used to communicate with the pod.
  • virtiofsd handles host file system access on behalf of the guest.

Each VM is configured with a default amount of memory. Additional memory is hot-plugged into the VM for containers that explicitly request memory.

A container running without a memory resource consumes free memory until the total memory used by the VM reaches the default allocation. The guest and its I/O buffers also consume memory.

If a container is given a specific amount of memory, then that memory is hot-plugged into the VM before the container starts.

When a memory limit is specified, the workload is terminated if it consumes more memory than the limit. If no memory limit is specified, the kernel running on the VM might run out of memory. If the kernel runs out of memory, it might terminate other processes on the VM.

Default memory sizes

The following table lists some the default values for resource allocation.

ResourceValue

Memory allocated by default to a virtual machine

2Gi

Guest Linux kernel memory usage at boot

~110Mi

Memory used by the QEMU process (excluding VM memory)

~30Mi

Memory used by the virtiofsd process (excluding VM I/O buffers)

~10Mi

Memory used by the containerd-shim-kata-v2 process

~20Mi

File buffer cache data after running dnf install on Fedora

~300Mi* [1]

File buffers appear and are accounted for in multiple locations:

  • In the guest where it appears as file buffer cache.
  • In the virtiofsd daemon that maps allowed user-space file I/O operations.
  • In the QEMU process as guest memory.
Note

Total memory usage is properly accounted for by the memory utilization metrics, which only count that memory once.

Pod overhead describes the amount of system resources that a pod on a node uses. You can get the current pod overhead for the Kata runtime by using oc describe runtimeclass kata as shown below.

Example

$ oc describe runtimeclass kata

Example output

kind: RuntimeClass
apiVersion: node.k8s.io/v1
metadata:
  name: kata
overhead:
  podFixed:
    memory: "500Mi"
    cpu: "500m"

You can change the pod overhead by changing the spec.overhead field for a RuntimeClass. For example, if the configuration that you run for your containers consumes more than 350Mi of memory for the QEMU process and guest kernel data, you can alter the RuntimeClass overhead to suit your needs.

Note

The specified default overhead values are supported by Red Hat. Changing default overhead values is not supported and can result in technical issues.

When performing any kind of file system I/O in the guest, file buffers are allocated in the guest kernel. The file buffers are also mapped in the QEMU process on the host, as well as in the virtiofsd process.

For example, if you use 300Mi of file buffer cache in the guest, both QEMU and virtiofsd appear to use 300Mi additional memory. However, the same memory is being used in all three cases. In other words, the total memory usage is only 300Mi, mapped in three different places. This is correctly accounted for when reporting the memory utilization metrics.

2.1.2. Checking whether cluster nodes are eligible to run OpenShift sandboxed containers

Before running OpenShift sandboxed containers, you can check whether the nodes in your cluster are eligible to run Kata containers. Some cluster nodes might not comply with sandboxed containers' minimum requirements. The most common reason for node ineligibility is the lack of virtualization support on the node. If you attempt to run sandboxed workloads on ineligible nodes, you will experience errors. You can use the Node Feature Discovery (NFD) Operator and a NodeFeatureDiscovery resource to automatically check node eligibility.

Note

If you want to install the Kata runtime on only selected worker nodes that you know are eligible, apply the feature.node.kubernetes.io/runtime.kata=true label to the selected nodes and set checkNodeEligibility: true in the KataConfig resource.

Alternatively, to install the Kata runtime on all worker nodes, set checkNodeEligibility: false in the KataConfig resource.

In both these scenarios, you do not need to create the NodeFeatureDiscovery resource. You should only apply the feature.node.kubernetes.io/runtime.kata=true label manually if you are sure that the node is eligible to run Kata containers.

The following procedure applies the feature.node.kubernetes.io/runtime.kata=true label to all eligible nodes and configures the KataConfig resource to check for node eligibility.

Prerequisites

  • Install the OpenShift CLI (oc).
  • Log in as a user with cluster-admin privileges.
  • Install the Node Feature Discovery (NFD) Operator.

Procedure

  1. Create a NodeFeatureDiscovery resource to detect node capabilities suitable for running Kata containers:

    1. Save the following YAML in the nfd.yaml file:

      apiVersion: nfd.openshift.io/v1
      kind: NodeFeatureDiscovery
      metadata:
        name: nfd-kata
        namespace: openshift-nfd
      spec:
        operand:
          image: quay.io/openshift/origin-node-feature-discovery:4.10
          imagePullPolicy: Always
          servicePort: 12000
        workerConfig:
          configData: |
            sources:
               custom:
                 - name: "feature.node.kubernetes.io/runtime.kata"
                   matchOn:
                     - cpuId: ["SSE4", "VMX"]
                       loadedKMod: ["kvm", "kvm_intel"]
                     - cpuId: ["SSE4", "SVM"]
                       loadedKMod: ["kvm", "kvm_amd"]
    2. Create the NodeFeatureDiscovery custom resource (CR):

      $ oc create -f nfd.yaml

      Example output

      nodefeaturediscovery.nfd.openshift.io/nfd-kata created

      A feature.node.kubernetes.io/runtime.kata=true label is applied to all qualifying worker nodes.

  2. Set the checkNodeEligibility field to true in the KataConfig resource to enable the feature, for example:

    1. Save the following YAML in the kata-config.yaml file:

      apiVersion: kataconfiguration.openshift.io/v1
      kind: KataConfig
      metadata:
        name: example-kataconfig
      spec:
        checkNodeEligibility: true
    2. Create the KataConfig CR:

      $ oc create -f kata-config.yaml

      Example output

      kataconfig.kataconfiguration.openshift.io/example-kataconfig created

Verification

  • Verify that qualifying nodes in the cluster have the correct label applied:

    $ oc get nodes --selector='feature.node.kubernetes.io/runtime.kata=true'

    Example output

    NAME                           STATUS                     ROLES    AGE     VERSION
    compute-3.example.com          Ready                      worker   4h38m   v1.25.0
    compute-2.example.com          Ready                      worker   4h35m   v1.25.0

Additional resources

  • For more information about installing the Node Feature Discovery (NFD) Operator, see Installing NFD.

2.2. Deploying OpenShift sandboxed containers workloads using the web console

You can deploy OpenShift sandboxed containers workloads from the web console. First, you must install the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator, then create the KataConfig custom resource (CR). Once you are ready to deploy a workload in a sandboxed container, you must manually add kata as the runtimeClassName to the workload YAML file.

2.2.1. Installing the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator using the web console

You can install the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator from the OpenShift Container Platform web console.

Prerequisites

  • You have OpenShift Container Platform 4.15 installed.
  • You have access to the cluster as a user with the cluster-admin role.

Procedure

  1. From the Administrator perspective in the web console, navigate to OperatorsOperatorHub.
  2. In the Filter by keyword field, type OpenShift sandboxed containers.
  3. Select the OpenShift sandboxed containers tile.
  4. Read the information about the Operator and click Install.
  5. On the Install Operator page:

    1. Select stable from the list of available Update Channel options.
    2. Verify that Operator recommended Namespace is selected for Installed Namespace. This installs the Operator in the mandatory openshift-sandboxed-containers-operator namespace. If this namespace does not yet exist, it is automatically created.

      Note

      Attempting to install the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator in a namespace other than openshift-sandboxed-containers-operator causes the installation to fail.

    3. Verify that Automatic is selected for Approval Strategy. Automatic is the default value, and enables automatic updates to OpenShift sandboxed containers when a new z-stream release is available.
  6. Click Install.

The OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator is now installed on your cluster.

Verification

  1. From the Administrator perspective in the web console, navigate to OperatorsInstalled Operators.
  2. Verify that the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator is listed in the in operators list.

2.2.2. Creating the KataConfig custom resource in the web console

You must create one KataConfig custom resource (CR) to enable installing kata as a RuntimeClass on your cluster nodes.

Important

Creating the KataConfig CR automatically reboots the worker nodes. The reboot can take from 10 to more than 60 minutes. Factors that impede reboot time are as follows:

  • A larger OpenShift Container Platform deployment with a greater number of worker nodes.
  • Activation of the BIOS and Diagnostics utility.
  • Deployment on a hard disk drive rather than an SSD.
  • Deployment on physical nodes such as bare metal, rather than on virtual nodes.
  • A slow CPU and network.

Prerequisites

  • You have installed OpenShift Container Platform 4.15 on your cluster.
  • You have access to the cluster as a user with the cluster-admin role.
  • You have installed the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator.
Note

Kata is installed on all worker nodes by default. If you want to install kata as a RuntimeClass only on specific nodes, you can add labels to those nodes, then define the label in the KataConfig CR when you create it.

Procedure

  1. From the Administrator perspective in the web console, navigate to OperatorsInstalled Operators.
  2. Select the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator from the list of operators.
  3. In the KataConfig tab, click Create KataConfig.
  4. In the Create KataConfig page, enter the following details:

    • Name: Enter a name for the KataConfig resource. By default, the name is defined as example-kataconfig.
    • Labels (Optional): Enter any relevant, identifying attributes to the KataConfig resource. Each label represents a key-value pair.
    • checkNodeEligibility (Optional, not relevant for peer pods): Select this checkbox to use the Node Feature Discovery Operator (NFD) to detect node eligibility to run kata as a RuntimeClass. For more information, see "Checking whether cluster nodes are eligible to run OpenShift sandboxed containers".
    • enablePeerPods (For peer pods): Select this checkbox to enable peer pods and use OpenShift sandboxed containers in a public cloud environment.
    • kataConfigPoolSelector: By default, kata is installed as a RuntimeClass on all nodes. If you want to install kata as a RuntimeClass only on selected nodes, you must add a matchExpression:

      1. Expand the kataConfigPoolSelector area.
      2. In the kataConfigPoolSelector, expand matchExpressions. This is a list of label selector requirements.
      3. Click Add matchExpressions.
      4. In the key field, add the label key the selector applies to.
      5. In the operator field, add the key’s relationship to the label values. Valid operators are In, NotIn, Exists, and DoesNotExist.
      6. Expand the values area, and then click Add value.
      7. In the Value field, enter true or false for key label value.
    • logLevel: Define the level of log data retrieved for nodes running kata as a RuntimeClass. For more information, see "Collecting OpenShift sandboxed containers data".
  5. Click Create.

The new KataConfig CR is created and begins to install kata as a RuntimeClass on the worker nodes. Wait for the kata installation to complete and the worker nodes to reboot before continuing to the next step.

Important

OpenShift sandboxed containers installs kata only as a secondary, optional runtime on the cluster and not as the primary runtime.

Verification

  1. In the KataConfig tab, select the new KataConfig CR.
  2. In the KataConfig page, select the YAML tab.
  3. Monitor the status field.

    A message appears each time there is an update. Click Reload to view the updated KataConfig CR.

    The status field has conditions and kataNodes subfields. The kataNodes subfield is a collection of node lists, each of which lists nodes in a particular state of kata installation.

    When all workers under kataNodes are listed as installed, and the condition InProgress is False without specifying a reason, this indicates that kata is installed on the cluster. For more information, see "Installation and uninstall transitions".

2.2.3. Deploying a workload in a sandboxed container using the web console

OpenShift sandboxed containers installs Kata as a secondary, optional runtime on your cluster, and not as the primary runtime.

To deploy a pod-templated workload in a sandboxed container, you must manually add kata as the runtimeClassName to the workload YAML file.

Prerequisites

  • You have installed OpenShift Container Platform 4.15 on your cluster.
  • You have access to the cluster as a user with the cluster-admin role.
  • You have installed the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator.
  • You have created a KataConfig custom resource (CR).

Procedure

  1. From the Administrator perspective in the web console, expand Workloads and select the type of workload you want to create.
  2. In the workload page, click to create the workload.
  3. In the YAML file for the workload, in the spec field where the container is listed, add runtimeClassName: kata.

    Example for Pod object

    apiVersion: v1
    kind: Pod
    metadata:
      name: hello-openshift
      labels:
        app: hello-openshift
    spec:
      runtimeClassName: kata
      containers:
        - name: hello-openshift
          image: quay.io/openshift/origin-hello-openshift
          ports:
            - containerPort: 8888
          securityContext:
            privileged: false
            allowPrivilegeEscalation: false
            runAsNonRoot: true
            runAsUser: 1001
            capabilities:
              drop:
                - ALL
            seccompProfile:
              type: RuntimeDefault

  4. Click Save.

OpenShift Container Platform creates the workload and begins scheduling it.

2.3. Deploying OpenShift sandboxed containers workloads using the CLI

You can deploy OpenShift sandboxed containers workloads using the CLI. First, you must install the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator, then create the KataConfig custom resource. Once you are ready to deploy a workload in a sandboxed container, you must add kata as the runtimeClassName to the workload YAML file.

2.3.1. Installing the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator using the CLI

You can install the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator using the OpenShift Container Platform CLI.

Prerequisites

  • You have OpenShift Container Platform 4.15 installed on your cluster.
  • For installations on IBM Z or IBM® LinuxONE, you must have OpenShift Container Platform 4.14 or later installed.

    Important

    Deploying OpenShift sandboxed containers workloads on IBM Z using peer pods is a Technology Preview feature only. Technology Preview features are not supported with Red Hat production service level agreements (SLAs) and might not be functionally complete. Red Hat does not recommend using them in production. These features provide early access to upcoming product features, enabling customers to test functionality and provide feedback during the development process.

    For more information about the support scope of Red Hat Technology Preview features, see Technology Preview Features Support Scope.

  • You have installed the OpenShift CLI (oc).
  • You have access to the cluster as a user with the cluster-admin role.
  • You have subscribed to the OpenShift sandboxed containers catalog.

    Note

    Subscribing to the OpenShift sandboxed containers catalog provides openshift-sandboxed-containers-operator namespace access to the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator.

Procedure

  1. Create the Namespace object for the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator.

    1. Create a Namespace object YAML file that contains the following manifest:

      apiVersion: v1
      kind: Namespace
      metadata:
        name: openshift-sandboxed-containers-operator
    2. Create the Namespace object:

      $ oc create -f Namespace.yaml
  2. Create the OperatorGroup object for the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator.

    1. Create an OperatorGroup object YAML file that contains the following manifest:

      apiVersion: operators.coreos.com/v1
      kind: OperatorGroup
      metadata:
        name: openshift-sandboxed-containers-operator
        namespace: openshift-sandboxed-containers-operator
      spec:
        targetNamespaces:
        - openshift-sandboxed-containers-operator
    2. Create the OperatorGroup object:

      $ oc create -f OperatorGroup.yaml
  3. Create the Subscription object to subscribe the Namespace to the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator.

    1. Create a Subscription object YAML file that contains the following manifest:

      apiVersion: operators.coreos.com/v1alpha1
      kind: Subscription
      metadata:
        name: openshift-sandboxed-containers-operator
        namespace: openshift-sandboxed-containers-operator
      spec:
        channel: stable
        installPlanApproval: Automatic
        name: sandboxed-containers-operator
        source: redhat-operators
        sourceNamespace: openshift-marketplace
        startingCSV: sandboxed-containers-operator.v1.5.3
    2. Create the Subscription object:

      $ oc create -f Subscription.yaml

The OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator is now installed on your cluster.

Note

All the object file names listed above are suggestions. You can create the object YAML files using other names.

Verification

  • Ensure that the Operator is correctly installed:

    $ oc get csv -n openshift-sandboxed-containers-operator

    Example output

    NAME                             DISPLAY                                  VERSION  REPLACES     PHASE
    openshift-sandboxed-containers   openshift-sandboxed-containers-operator  1.5.3    1.5.2        Succeeded

2.3.2. Creating the KataConfig custom resource using the CLI

You must create one KataConfig custom resource (CR) to install kata as a RuntimeClass on your nodes. Creating the KataConfig CR triggers the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator to do the following:

  • Install the needed RHCOS extensions, such as QEMU and kata-containers, on your RHCOS node.
  • Ensure that the CRI-O runtime is configured with the correct runtime handlers.
  • Create a RuntimeClass CR named kata with a default configuration. This enables users to configure workloads to use kata as the runtime by referencing the CR in the RuntimeClassName field. This CR also specifies the resource overhead for the runtime.
Note

Kata is installed on all worker nodes by default. If you want to install kata as a RuntimeClass only on specific nodes, you can add labels to those nodes, and then define the label in the KataConfig CR when you create it.

Prerequisites

  • You have installed OpenShift Container Platform 4.15 on your cluster.
  • You have installed the OpenShift CLI (oc).
  • You have access to the cluster as a user with the cluster-admin role.
  • You have installed the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator.
Important

Creating the KataConfig CR automatically reboots the worker nodes. The reboot can take from 10 to more than 60 minutes. Factors that impede reboot time are as follows:

  • A larger OpenShift Container Platform deployment with a greater number of worker nodes.
  • Activation of the BIOS and Diagnostics utility.
  • Deployment on a hard disk drive rather than an SSD.
  • Deployment on physical nodes such as bare metal, rather than on virtual nodes.
  • A slow CPU and network.

Procedure

  1. Create a YAML file with the following manifest:

    apiVersion: kataconfiguration.openshift.io/v1
    kind: KataConfig
    metadata:
      name: cluster-kataconfig
    spec:
      checkNodeEligibility: false 1
      logLevel: info
    1
    Set`checkNodeEligibility` to true to detect node eligibility to run kata as a RuntimeClass. For more information, see "Checking whether cluster nodes are eligible to run OpenShift sandboxed containers".
  2. (Optional) If you want to install kata as a RuntimeClass only on selected nodes, create a YAML file that includes the label in the manifest:

    apiVersion: kataconfiguration.openshift.io/v1
    kind: KataConfig
    metadata:
      name: cluster-kataconfig
    spec:
      checkNodeEligibility: false
      logLevel: info
      kataConfigPoolSelector:
        matchLabels:
          <label_key>: '<label_value>' 1
    1
    Labels in kataConfigPoolSelector only support single values; nodeSelector syntax is not supported.
  3. Create the KataConfig resource:

    $ oc create -f cluster-kataconfig.yaml

The new KataConfig CR is created and begins to install kata as a RuntimeClass on the worker nodes. Wait for the kata installation to complete and the worker nodes to reboot before continuing to the next step.

Important

OpenShift sandboxed containers installs kata only as a secondary, optional runtime on the cluster and not as the primary runtime.

Verification

  • Monitor the installation progress:

    $ watch "oc describe kataconfig | sed -n /^Status:/,/^Events/p"

    When all workers under kataNodes are listed as installed, and the condition InProgress is False without specifying a reason, this indicates that kata is installed on the cluster. For more information, see "Installation and uninstall transitions".

2.3.3. Deploying a workload in a sandboxed container using the CLI

OpenShift sandboxed containers installs Kata as a secondary, optional runtime on your cluster, and not as the primary runtime.

To deploy a pod-templated workload in a sandboxed container, you must add kata as the runtimeClassName to the workload YAML file.

Prerequisites

  • You have installed OpenShift Container Platform 4.15 on your cluster.
  • You have installed the OpenShift CLI (oc).
  • You have access to the cluster as a user with the cluster-admin role.
  • You have installed the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator.
  • You have created a KataConfig custom resource (CR).

Procedure

  • Add runtimeClassName: kata to any pod-templated object:

    • Pod objects
    • ReplicaSet objects
    • ReplicationController objects
    • StatefulSet objects
    • Deployment objects
    • DeploymentConfig objects

    .Example for Pod object

    apiVersion: v1
    kind: Pod
    metadata:
      name: hello-openshift
      labels:
        app: hello-openshift
    spec:
      runtimeClassName: kata
      containers:
        - name: hello-openshift
          image: quay.io/openshift/origin-hello-openshift
          ports:
            - containerPort: 8888
          securityContext:
            privileged: false
            allowPrivilegeEscalation: false
            runAsNonRoot: true
            runAsUser: 1001
            capabilities:
              drop:
                - ALL
            seccompProfile:
              type: RuntimeDefault

OpenShift Container Platform creates the workload and begins scheduling it.

Verification

  • Inspect the runtimeClassName field on a pod-templated object. If the runtimeClassName is kata, then the workload is running on OpenShift sandboxed containers.

2.4. Installation and uninstall transitions

The following table displays the key installation and uninstall transitions for a cluster with two worker nodes:

Table 2.1. Installation transitions

StatusDescription

Initial installation

When a KataConfig instance is created to start the installation on both workers the status looks like this for a second or two.

 conditions:
    message: Performing initial installation of kata on cluster
    reason: Installing
    status: 'True'
    type: InProgress
 kataNodes:
   nodeCount: 0
   readyNodeCount: 0

Installing

Within a few seconds the status changes.

 kataNodes:
   nodeCount: 2
   readyNodeCount: 0
   waitingToInstall:
   - worker-0
   - worker-1

Installing (Worker-1 installation starting)

For a short period of time, the status changes, signifying that one node has initiated the installation of kata, while the other is in a waiting state. This is because only one node can be unavailable at any given time. The nodeCount remains at 2 because both nodes will eventually receive kata, but the readyNodeCount is currently 0 as neither of them has reached that state yet.

 kataNodes:
   installing:
   - worker-1
   nodeCount: 2
   readyNodeCount: 0
   waitingToInstall:
   - worker-0

Installing (Worker-1 installed, worker-0 installation started)

After some time, worker-1 will complete its installation, causing a change in the status. The readyNodeCount is updated to 1, indicating that worker-1 is now prepared to execute kata workloads. You can not schedule and run kata workloads until the kata runtimeClass is created, which occurs only at the end of the installation process.

 kataNodes:
   installed:
   - worker-1
   installing:
   - worker-0
   nodeCount: 2
   readyNodeCount: 1

Installed

When installed, both workers are listed as installed, and the InProgress condition transitions to False without specifying a reason, indicating the successful installation of kata on the cluster.

 conditions:
    message: ""
    reason: ""
    status: 'False'
    type: InProgress
 kataNodes:
   installed:
   - worker-0
   - worker-1
   nodeCount: 2
   readyNodeCount: 2

Table 2.2. Uninstall transitions

StatusDescription

Initial uninstall

If kata is installed on both workers, and you delete the KataConfig to remove kata from the cluster, similar to the installation process, both workers will briefly enter a waiting state for a few seconds.

 conditions:
    message: Removing kata from cluster
    reason: Uninstalling
    status: 'True'
    type: InProgress
 kataNodes:
   nodeCount: 0
   readyNodeCount: 0
   waitingToUninstall:
   - worker-0
   - worker-1

Uninstalling

After some time one of the workers starts uninstalling.

 kataNodes:
   nodeCount: 0
   readyNodeCount: 0
   uninstalling:
   - worker-1
   waitingToUninstall:
   - worker-0

Uninstalling

worker-1 finishes, worker-0 starts uninstalling.

 kataNodes:
   nodeCount: 0
   readyNodeCount: 0
   uninstalling:
   - worker-0
Note

The reason field can also report the following:

  • Failed: This is reported if the node cannot finish its transition. The status reports True and the message is Node <node_name> Degraded: <error_message_from_the_node>.
  • BlockedByExistingKataPods: This is reported if there are pods running on a cluster that use the kata runtime while kata is being uninstalled. The status field is False and the message is Existing pods using "kata" RuntimeClass found. Please delete the pods manually for KataConfig deletion to proceed. There could also be a technical error message reported like Failed to list kata pods: <error_message> if communication with the cluster control plane fails.

2.5. Additional resources

Chapter 3. Deploying OpenShift sandboxed containers workloads using peer pods

You can install the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator using either the web console or OpenShift CLI (oc). Before installing the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator, you must prepare your OpenShift Container Platform cluster.

3.1. Prerequisites

Before you install OpenShift sandboxed containers and enable peer pods, you must meet the following requirements:

  • You have OpenShift Container Platform 4.15 installed on AWS or Azure.
  • For installations on IBM Z or IBM® LinuxONE, you must have OpenShift Container Platform 4.14 or later installed.

    Important

    Deploying OpenShift sandboxed containers workloads on IBM Z using peer pods is a Technology Preview feature only. Technology Preview features are not supported with Red Hat production service level agreements (SLAs) and might not be functionally complete. Red Hat does not recommend using them in production. These features provide early access to upcoming product features, enabling customers to test functionality and provide feedback during the development process.

    For more information about the support scope of Red Hat Technology Preview features, see Technology Preview Features Support Scope.

  • You have installed the OpenShift CLI (oc).
  • You have access to the cluster as a user with the cluster-admin role.

3.1.1. About peer pod resource requirements in OpenShift sandboxed containers

A peer pod uses resources in two locations:

  • The worker node. The worker node stores metadata, Kata shim resources (containerd-shim-kata-v2), remote-hypervisor resources (cloud-api-adaptor), and the tunnel setup between the worker nodes and the peer-pod virtual machine (VM).
  • The cloud instance. This is the actual peer-pod VM running in the cloud.

The CPU and memory resources used in the Kubernetes worker node are handled by the pod overhead included in the RuntimeClass (kata-remote) definition used for creating peer pods.

The total number of peer-pod VMs running in the cloud is defined as Kubernetes Node extended resources. This limit is per node and is set by the limit attribute in the peerpodConfig custom resource (CR). The peerpodConfig CR, named peerpodconfig-openshift, is created when you create the kataConfig CR and enable peer pods, and is located in the openshift-sandboxed-containers-operator namespace.

The following peerpodConfig CR example displays the default spec values:

apiVersion: confidentialcontainers.org/v1alpha1
kind: PeerPodConfig
metadata:
  name: peerpodconfig-openshift
  namespace: openshift-sandboxed-containers-operator
spec:
  cloudSecretName: peer-pods-secret
  configMapName: peer-pods-cm
  limit: "10" 1
  nodeSelector:
    node-role.kubernetes.io/kata-oc: ""
1
The default limit is 10 VMs per node.

The extended resource is named kata.peerpods.io/vm, and enables the Kubernetes scheduler to handle capacity tracking and accounting.

You can edit the limit per node based on the requirements for your environment. See Modifying the VM limit per node in peer pods for more information.

A mutating webhook adds the extended resource kata.peerpods.io/vm to the pod specification. It also removes any resource-specific entries from the pod specification, if present. This enables the Kubernetes scheduler to account for these extended resources, ensuring the peer-pod is only scheduled when resources are available.

The mutating webhook modifies a Kubernetes pod as follows:

  • The mutating webhook checks the pod for the expected RuntimeClassName value, specified in the TARGET_RUNTIME_CLASS environment variable. If the value in the pod specification does not match the value in the TARGET_RUNTIME_CLASS, the webhook exits without modifying the pod.
  • If the RuntimeClassName values match, the webhook makes the following changes to the pod spec:

    1. The webhook removes every resource specification from the resources field of all containers and init containers in the pod.
    2. The webhook adds the extended resource (kata.peerpods.io/vm) to the spec by modifying the resources field of the first container in the pod. The extended resource kata.peerpods.io/vm is used by the Kubernetes scheduler for accounting purposes.
Note

The mutating webhook excludes specific system namespaces in OpenShift Container Platform from mutation. If a peer-pod is created in those system namespaces, then resource accounting using Kubernetes extended resources does not work unless the pod spec includes the extended resource.

As a best practice, define a cluster-wide policy to only allow peer-pod creation in specific namespaces.

3.1.1.1. Modifying the peer pod VM limit per node

You can change the limit of peer pod VMs per node by editing the peerpodConfig custom resource (CR).

Procedure

  1. Check the current limit by running the following command:

    $ oc get peerpodconfig peerpodconfig-openshift -n openshift-sandboxed-containers-operator \
    -o jsonpath='{.spec.limit}{"\n"}'
  2. Modify the limit attribute of the peerpodConfig CR by running the following command:

    $ oc patch peerpodconfig peerpodconfig-openshift -n openshift-sandboxed-containers-operator \
    --type merge --patch '{"spec":{"limit":"<value>"}}' 1
    1
    Replace <value> with the limit you want to define.

3.1.2. Prerequisites for peer-pods using AWS

If you are using AWS to create peer pods, you must ensure the following requirements:

  • Your OpenShift Container Platform cluster must be installed on AWS, with at least one worker node.
  • You have access to AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID and AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY credentials. These are used to create additional cloud instances in the same virtual private cloud (VPC) of the cluster.
  • You must have the AWS CLI tool installed and configured.
  • You must enable internal cluster communication on ports 15150 and 9000.

    You can enable these ports in either the AWS web console or using the CLI.

3.1.2.1. Enable ports 15150 and 9000 for AWS

Procedure

  1. Retrieve the Instance ID:

    $ INSTANCE_ID=$(oc get nodes -l 'node-role.kubernetes.io/worker' -o jsonpath='{.items[0].spec.providerID}' | sed 's#[^ ]*/##g')
  2. Retrieve the AWS region:

    $ AWS_REGION=$(oc get infrastructure/cluster -o jsonpath='{.status.platformStatus.aws.region}')
  3. Retrieve the security groups:

    $ SG=$(aws ec2 describe-instances --instance-ids ${INSTANCE_ID} --query 'Reservations[*].Instances[*].SecurityGroups[*].GroupId' --output text --region ${AWS_REGION})
  4. Authorize the peer-pods shim and to access kata-agent communication. Run the following command:

    $ aws ec2 authorize-security-group-ingress --group-id ${SG} --protocol tcp --port 15150 --source-group ${SG} --region ${AWS_REGION}
  5. Set up the peer-pods tunnel. Run the following command:

    $ aws ec2 authorize-security-group-ingress --group-id ${SG} --protocol tcp --port 9000 --source-group ${SG} --region ${AWS_REGION}

The ports are now enabled.

3.1.3. Prerequisites for peer-pods using Azure

If you are using Microsoft Azure to create peer pods, you must ensure the following requirements:

  • Your OpenShift Container Platform cluster must be installed on Azure, with at least one worker node.
  • You have access to the following credentials and subscription details:

    • AZURE_SUBSCRIPTION_ID
    • AZURE_CLIENT_ID
    • AZURE_CLIENT_SECRET
    • AZURE_TENANT_ID

    These are used to create additional cloud instances in the same virtual private cloud (VPC) of the cluster.

  • You must have the Azure CLI tool installed and configured.

3.1.4. Prerequisites for peer pods using IBM Z or IBM(R) LinuxONE with RHEL KVM

You can install the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator on IBM Z using the OpenShift CLI (oc).

Note

While this document refers only to IBM Z, all information in it also applies to IBM® LinuxONE.

If you are using IBM Z to create peer pods, you must ensure the following requirements:

  • Your OpenShift Container Platform cluster must be installed on IBM Z, with at least one compute node.
  • You have installed the following tools on the IBM Z KVM host

    • libvirt
    • podman
    • git
    • tar
    • virt-customize
  • You must have the oc CLI tool installed and configured.

If you want to test peer pods in a non-production environment, the following requirements must be met:

  • Your OpenShift Container Platform cluster must be version 4.14 or later.
  • You have a multi-node OpenShift Container Platform cluster with three control nodes and two compute nodes set up.
  • Cluster nodes and peer pods must run on a single IBM Z KVM host logical partition (LPAR).
  • Your cluster setup ensures that peer pod virtual machines (VMs) and cluster nodes are part of the same subnet, allowing connection between node and peer pod VM.

3.2. Deploying OpenShift sandboxed containers workloads using peer pods with the web console

You can deploy OpenShift sandboxed containers workloads from the web console. First, you must install the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator, then create a secret object, the VM image, and a peer-pod ConfigMap. The secret object and ConfigMap are unique, depending on your cloud provider. Finally, you must create the KataConfig custom resource (CR). Once you are ready to deploy a workload in a sandboxed container, you must manually add kata-remote as the runtimeClassName to the workload YAML file.

3.2.1. Installing the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator using the web console

You can install the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator from the OpenShift Container Platform web console.

Prerequisites

  • You have OpenShift Container Platform 4.15 installed.
  • You have access to the cluster as a user with the cluster-admin role.

Procedure

  1. From the Administrator perspective in the web console, navigate to OperatorsOperatorHub.
  2. In the Filter by keyword field, type OpenShift sandboxed containers.
  3. Select the OpenShift sandboxed containers tile.
  4. Read the information about the Operator and click Install.
  5. On the Install Operator page:

    1. Select stable from the list of available Update Channel options.
    2. Verify that Operator recommended Namespace is selected for Installed Namespace. This installs the Operator in the mandatory openshift-sandboxed-containers-operator namespace. If this namespace does not yet exist, it is automatically created.

      Note

      Attempting to install the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator in a namespace other than openshift-sandboxed-containers-operator causes the installation to fail.

    3. Verify that Automatic is selected for Approval Strategy. Automatic is the default value, and enables automatic updates to OpenShift sandboxed containers when a new z-stream release is available.
  6. Click Install.

The OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator is now installed on your cluster.

Verification

  1. From the Administrator perspective in the web console, navigate to OperatorsInstalled Operators.
  2. Verify that the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator is listed in the in operators list.

3.2.2. Configuring peer-pod parameters for AWS using the web console

You must create a secret object and a ConfigMap to deploy OpenShift sandboxed containers using peer pods on AWS.

After creating the secret object, you must still create the KataConfig custom resource (CR) to deploy OpenShift sandboxed containers using peer pods.

Prerequisites

  • You have installed OpenShift Container Platform 4.15 on your cluster.
  • You have access to the cluster as a user with the cluster-admin role.
  • You have installed the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator.

3.2.2.1. Creating a secret object for AWS using the web console

Set your AWS access keys and configure your network in a secret object. The secret object is used to create the pod VM image and used by peer pods.

When creating a secret object for AWS, you must set specific environment values. You can retrieve some of these values before creating the secret object. Retrieving these values must be done using the CLI. For more information, see Creating a secret object for AWS using the CLI.

In addition, in the AWS web console, you must generate and save the following values:

  • AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID
  • AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY

Procedure

  1. From the Administrator perspective in the web console, navigate to OperatorsInstalled Operators.
  2. Select the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator from the list of operators.
  3. Click the Import icon (+) in the top right corner.
  4. In the Import YAML window, paste the following YAML manifest:

    apiVersion: v1
    kind: Secret
    metadata:
      name: peer-pods-secret
      namespace: openshift-sandboxed-containers-operator
    type: Opaque
    stringData:
      AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID: "<enter value>" 1
      AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY: "<enter value>" 2
      AWS_REGION: "<enter value>" 3
      AWS_SUBNET_ID: "<enter value>" 4
      AWS_VPC_ID: "<enter value>" 5
      AWS_SG_IDS: "<enter value>" 6
    1
    Enter the AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID value you prepared before you began.
    2
    Enter the AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY value you prepared before you began.
    3
    Enter the AWS_REGION value you retrieved.
    4
    Enter the AWS_SUBNET_ID value you retrieved.
    5
    Enter the AWS_VPC_ID value you retrieved.
    6
    Enter the AWS_SG_IDS value you retrieved.
  5. Click Create.

The secret object is created. You can see it listed under WorkloadsSecrets.

3.2.2.2. Creating a peer-pod ConfigMap for AWS using the web console

You can create a peer-pod ConfigMap for AWS using the web console.

Procedure

  1. From the Administrator perspective in the web console, navigate to OperatorsInstalled Operators.
  2. Select the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator from the list of operators.
  3. Click the Import icon (+) in the top right corner.
  4. In the Import YAML window, paste the following YAML manifest:

    apiVersion: v1
    kind: ConfigMap
    metadata:
      name: peer-pods-cm
      namespace: openshift-sandboxed-containers-operator
    data:
      CLOUD_PROVIDER: "aws"
      VXLAN_PORT: "9000"
      PODVM_INSTANCE_TYPE: "t3.medium" 1
      PODVM_INSTANCE_TYPES: "t2.small,t2.medium,t3.large" 2
      PROXY_TIMEOUT: "5m"
    1
    Defines the default instance type that is used when a type is not defined in the workload.
    2
    Lists all of the instance types you can specify when creating the pod. This allows you to define smaller instances for workloads that need less memory and CPU, or larger instances for larger workloads.
  5. Click Create.

The ConfigMap object is created. You can see it listed under WorkloadsConfigMaps.

Once you create the KataConfig CR, you can run OpenShift sandboxed containers using peer pods on AWS.

3.2.3. Configuring peer-pod parameters for Azure using the web console

You must create a secret object and a ConfigMap in order to deploy OpenShift sandboxed containers using peer pods on Microsoft Azure.

After creating the secret object, you must still create the KataConfig custom resource (CR) to deploy OpenShift sandboxed containers using peer pods.

Prerequisites

  • You have installed OpenShift Container Platform 4.15 on your cluster.
  • You have access to the cluster as a user with the cluster-admin role.
  • You have installed the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator.

3.2.3.1. Creating a secret object for Azure using the web console

Set your Azure access keys and configure your network in a secret object. The secret object is used to create the pod VM image and used by peer pods.

When creating a secret object for Azure, you must set specific environment values. You can retrieve these values before creating the secret object. Retrieving these values must be done using the CLI. For more information, see Creating a secret object for Azure using the CLI.

Procedure

  1. From the Administrator perspective in the web console, navigate to OperatorsInstalled Operators.
  2. Select the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator from the list of operators.
  3. Click the Import icon (+) in the top right corner.
  4. In the Import YAML window, paste the following YAML manifest:

    apiVersion: v1
    kind: Secret
    metadata:
      name: peer-pods-secret
      namespace: openshift-sandboxed-containers-operator
    type: Opaque
    stringData:
      AZURE_CLIENT_ID: "<enter value>" 1
      AZURE_CLIENT_SECRET: "<enter value>" 2
      AZURE_TENANT_ID: "<enter value>" 3
      AZURE_SUBSCRIPTION_ID: "<enter value>" 4
      AZURE_REGION: "<enter value>" 5
      AZURE_RESOURCE_GROUP: "<enter value>" 6
    1
    Enter the AZURE_CLIENT_ID value you generated in the RBAC file.
    2
    Enter the AZURE_CLIENT_SECRET value you generated in the RBAC file.
    3
    Enter the AZURE_TENANT_ID value you generated in the RBAC file.
    4
    Enter the AZURE_SUBSCRIPTION_ID value you retrieved.
    5
    Enter the AZURE_REGION value you retrieved.
    6
    Enter the AZURE_RESOURCE_GROUP value you retrieved.
  5. Click Create.

The secret object is created. You can see it listed under WorkloadsSecrets.

3.2.3.2. Creating a peer-pod ConfigMap for Azure using the web console

You can create a peer-pod ConfigMap for Azure using the web console.

Procedure

  1. From the Administrator perspective in the web console, navigate to OperatorsInstalled Operators.
  2. Select the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator from the list of operators.
  3. Click the Import icon (+) in the top right corner.
  4. In the Import YAML window, paste the following YAML manifest:

    apiVersion: v1
    kind: ConfigMap
    metadata:
      name: peer-pods-cm
      namespace: openshift-sandboxed-containers-operator
    data:
      CLOUD_PROVIDER: "azure"
      VXLAN_PORT: "9000"
      AZURE_INSTANCE_SIZE: "Standard_B2als_v2" 1
      AZURE_INSTANCE_SIZES: "Standard_DC2as_v5,Standard_DC4as_v5,Standard_DC8as_v5" 2
      AZURE_SUBNET_ID: "<enter value>" 3
      AZURE_NSG_ID: "<enter value>" 4
      PROXY_TIMEOUT: "5m"
      DISABLECVM: "true"
    1
    Defines the default instance size that is used when an instance is not defined in the workload.
    2
    List all of the instance sizes you can specify when creating the pod. This allows you to define smaller instances for workloads that need less memory and CPU, or larger instances for larger workloads.
    3
    Enter the AZURE_SUBNET_ID value that you retrieved.
    4
    Enter the AZURE_NSG_ID value that you retrieved.
  5. Click Create.

The ConfigMap` object is created. You can see it listed under WorkloadsConfigMaps.

3.2.3.3. Creating an SSH key secret object for Azure using the web console

You must create an SSH key secret object to use peer pods with Azure. If you do not already have an SSH key to create the object, you must generate one using the CLI. Fo more information, see

Procedure

  1. From the Administrator perspective in the web console, navigate to WorkloadsSecrets.
  2. In the Secrets window, in the top left corner, verify that you are in the openshift-sandboxed-containers-operator project.
  3. Click Create and select Key/value secret from the list.
  4. In the Secret name field, enter ssh-key-secret.
  5. In the Key field, enter id_rsa.pub.
  6. In the Value field, paste your public SSH key.
  7. Click Create.

The SSH key secret object is created. You can see it listed under WorkloadsSecrets.

Once you create the KataConfig CR, you can run OpenShift sandboxed containers using peer pods on Azure.

3.2.4. Creating the KataConfig custom resource in the web console

You must create one KataConfig custom resource (CR) to enable installing kata-remote as a RuntimeClass on your cluster nodes.

Important

Creating the KataConfig CR automatically reboots the worker nodes. The reboot can take from 10 to more than 60 minutes. Factors that impede reboot time are as follows:

  • A larger OpenShift Container Platform deployment with a greater number of worker nodes.
  • Activation of the BIOS and Diagnostics utility.
  • Deployment on a hard disk drive rather than an SSD.
  • Deployment on physical nodes such as bare metal, rather than on virtual nodes.
  • A slow CPU and network.

Prerequisites

  • You have installed OpenShift Container Platform 4.15 on your cluster.
  • You have access to the cluster as a user with the cluster-admin role.
  • You have installed the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator.
Note

Kata for peer pods is installed on all worker nodes by default. If you want to install kata-remote as a RuntimeClass only on specific nodes, you can add labels to those nodes, then define the label in the KataConfig CR when you create it.

Procedure

  1. From the Administrator perspective in the web console, navigate to OperatorsInstalled Operators.
  2. Select the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator from the list of operators.
  3. In the KataConfig tab, click Create KataConfig.
  4. In the Create KataConfig page, enter the following details:

    • Name: Enter a name for the KataConfig resource. By default, the name is defined as example-kataconfig.
    • Labels (Optional): Enter any relevant, identifying attributes to the KataConfig resource. Each label represents a key-value pair.
    • checkNodeEligibility (Optional, not relevant for peer pods): Select this checkbox to use the Node Feature Discovery Operator (NFD) to detect node eligibility to run kata as a RuntimeClass. For more information, see "Checking whether cluster nodes are eligible to run OpenShift sandboxed containers".
    • enablePeerPods (For peer pods): Select this checkbox to enable peer pods and use OpenShift sandboxed containers in a public cloud environment.
    • kataConfigPoolSelector: By default, kata-remote is installed as a RuntimeClass on all nodes. If you want to install kata-remote as a RuntimeClass only on selected nodes, you must add a matchExpression:

      1. Expand the kataConfigPoolSelector area.
      2. In the kataConfigPoolSelector, expand matchExpressions. This is a list of label selector requirements.
      3. Click Add matchExpressions.
      4. In the key field, add the label key the selector applies to.
      5. In the operator field, add the key’s relationship to the label values. Valid operators are In, NotIn, Exists, and DoesNotExist.
      6. Expand the values area, and then click Add value.
      7. In the Value field, enter true or false for key label value.
    • logLevel: Define the level of log data retrieved for nodes running kata-remote as a RuntimeClass. For more information, see "Collecting OpenShift sandboxed containers data".
  5. Click Create.

The new KataConfig CR is created and begins to install kata-remote as a RuntimeClass on the worker nodes. Wait for the installation to complete and the worker nodes to reboot before continuing to the next step.

Note

When you run the CR, the VM image is created. The image creation is done through the cloud provider and it may use additional resources.

Important

OpenShift sandboxed containers installs kata-remote only as a secondary, optional runtime on the cluster and not as the primary runtime.

Verification

  1. In the KataConfig tab, select the new KataConfig CR.
  2. In the KataConfig page, select the YAML tab.
  3. Monitor the status field.

    A message appears each time there is an update. Click Reload to view the updated KataConfig CR.

    The status field has conditions and kataNodes subfields. The kataNodes subfield is a collection of node lists, each of which lists nodes in a particular state of kata installation.

    When all workers under kataNodes are listed as installed, and the condition InProgress is False without specifying a reason, this indicates that kata is installed on the cluster. For more information, see "Installation and uninstall transitions".

3.2.5. Deploying a workload with peer pods in a sandboxed container using the web console

OpenShift sandboxed containers installs Kata as a secondary, optional runtime on your cluster, and not as the primary runtime.

To deploy a pod-templated workload using peer pods in a sandboxed container, you must manually add kata-remote as the runtimeClassName to the workload YAML file.

You must also define whether the workload should be deployed using a default instance size or type which you previously defined in the ConfigMap by adding an annotation to the YAML file. The use of an instance size or an instance type depends on your cloud provider. If you do not want to define the instance size or type manually, you must add an annotation to define the use of an automatic instance size or type, based on the memory available.

Prerequisites

  • You have installed OpenShift Container Platform 4.15 on your cluster.
  • You have access to the cluster as a user with the cluster-admin role.
  • You have installed the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator.
  • You have created a secret object and peer-pod ConfigMap unique to your cloud provider.
  • You have created a KataConfig custom resource (CR).

Procedure

  1. From the Administrator perspective in the web console, expand Workloads and select the type of workload you want to create.
  2. In the workload page, click to create the workload.
  3. In the YAML file for the workload, in the spec field where the container is listed, add runtimeClassName: kata-remote.
  4. In the YAML file for the workload, add an annotation to define whether to use a default instance size or type, or an automatic instance size or type. Instance size is used for specific cloud providers, while instance type is used for other cloud providers.

    • For a specific instance size type, add the following annotation:

      io.katacontainers.config.hypervisor.machine_type: <instance type/instance size>

      Define which instance size or type the workload should use. You pre-defined these default sizes or types previously when creating the ConfigMap for peer pods. Choose from one of those.

    • For an automatic instance size or type, add the following annotations:

      io.katacontainers.config.hypervisor.default_vcpus: <vcpus>
      io.katacontainers.config.hypervisor.default_memory: <memory>

      Define the amount of memory available for the workload to use. The workload will run on an automatic instance size or type based on the amount of memory available.

    Example for Pod object

    apiVersion: v1
    kind: Pod
    metadata:
      name: hello-openshift
      labels:
        app: hello-openshift
      annotations:
        io.katacontainers.config.hypervisor.machine_type: Standard_DC4as_v5 1
    spec:
      runtimeClassName: kata-remote
      containers:
        - name: hello-openshift
          image: quay.io/openshift/origin-hello-openshift
          ports:
            - containerPort: 8888
          securityContext:
            privileged: false
            allowPrivilegeEscalation: false
            runAsNonRoot: true
            runAsUser: 1001
            capabilities:
              drop:
                - ALL
            seccompProfile:
              type: RuntimeDefault

    1
    This example uses a previously defined instance size for peer pods using Azure. Peer pods using AWS use instance types.
  5. Click Save.

OpenShift Container Platform creates the workload and begins scheduling it.

3.3. Deploying OpenShift sandboxed containers workloads using peer pods with the CLI

You can deploy OpenShift sandboxed containers workloads using the CLI. First, you must install the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator, then create the KataConfig custom resource. Once you are ready to deploy a workload in a sandboxed container, you must add kata-remote as the runtimeClassName to the workload YAML file.

3.3.1. Installing the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator using the CLI

You can install the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator using the OpenShift Container Platform CLI.

Prerequisites

  • You have OpenShift Container Platform 4.15 installed on your cluster.
  • For installations on IBM Z or IBM® LinuxONE, you must have OpenShift Container Platform 4.14 or later installed.

    Important

    Deploying OpenShift sandboxed containers workloads on IBM Z using peer pods is a Technology Preview feature only. Technology Preview features are not supported with Red Hat production service level agreements (SLAs) and might not be functionally complete. Red Hat does not recommend using them in production. These features provide early access to upcoming product features, enabling customers to test functionality and provide feedback during the development process.

    For more information about the support scope of Red Hat Technology Preview features, see Technology Preview Features Support Scope.

  • You have installed the OpenShift CLI (oc).
  • You have access to the cluster as a user with the cluster-admin role.
  • You have subscribed to the OpenShift sandboxed containers catalog.

    Note

    Subscribing to the OpenShift sandboxed containers catalog provides openshift-sandboxed-containers-operator namespace access to the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator.

Procedure

  1. Create the Namespace object for the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator.

    1. Create a Namespace object YAML file that contains the following manifest:

      apiVersion: v1
      kind: Namespace
      metadata:
        name: openshift-sandboxed-containers-operator
    2. Create the Namespace object:

      $ oc create -f Namespace.yaml
  2. Create the OperatorGroup object for the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator.

    1. Create an OperatorGroup object YAML file that contains the following manifest:

      apiVersion: operators.coreos.com/v1
      kind: OperatorGroup
      metadata:
        name: openshift-sandboxed-containers-operator
        namespace: openshift-sandboxed-containers-operator
      spec:
        targetNamespaces:
        - openshift-sandboxed-containers-operator
    2. Create the OperatorGroup object:

      $ oc create -f OperatorGroup.yaml
  3. Create the Subscription object to subscribe the Namespace to the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator.

    1. Create a Subscription object YAML file that contains the following manifest:

      apiVersion: operators.coreos.com/v1alpha1
      kind: Subscription
      metadata:
        name: openshift-sandboxed-containers-operator
        namespace: openshift-sandboxed-containers-operator
      spec:
        channel: stable
        installPlanApproval: Automatic
        name: sandboxed-containers-operator
        source: redhat-operators
        sourceNamespace: openshift-marketplace
        startingCSV: sandboxed-containers-operator.v1.5.3
    2. Create the Subscription object:

      $ oc create -f Subscription.yaml

The OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator is now installed on your cluster.

Note

All the object file names listed above are suggestions. You can create the object YAML files using other names.

Verification

  • Ensure that the Operator is correctly installed:

    $ oc get csv -n openshift-sandboxed-containers-operator

    Example output

    NAME                             DISPLAY                                  VERSION  REPLACES     PHASE
    openshift-sandboxed-containers   openshift-sandboxed-containers-operator  1.5.3    1.5.2        Succeeded

3.3.2. Setting up peer pods for AWS using the CLI

To set up peer pods for use on AWS, you must create a secret object, an AWS image VM (AMI), and a peer-pod ConfigMap.

After setting up peer pods for AWS, you must still create the KataConfig custom resource (CR) to deploy OpenShift sandboxed containers using peer pods.

Prerequisites

  • You have installed OpenShift Container Platform 4.15 on your cluster.
  • You have installed the OpenShift CLI (oc).
  • You have access to the cluster as a user with the cluster-admin role.
  • You have installed the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator.

3.3.2.1. Creating a secret object for AWS using the CLI

Set your AWS access keys and configure your network in a secret object. The secret object is used to create the pod VM image and used by peer pods.

When creating a secret object for AWS, you must set specific environment values. You can retrieve some of these values before creating the secret object. However, you must have the following values prepared:

  • AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID
  • AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY

You can generate these values in the AWS console.

Procedure

  1. Collect the necessary parameter values for the secret object. Make sure to write down each value.

    1. Retrieve the instance ID:

      $ INSTANCE_ID=$(oc get nodes -l 'node-role.kubernetes.io/worker' -o jsonpath='{.items[0].spec.providerID}' | sed 's#[^ ]*/##g')

      This value is not needed for the secret object itself, but is used to retrieve other values for the secret object.

    2. Retrieve the AWS region:

      $ AWS_REGION=$(oc get infrastructure/cluster -o jsonpath='{.status.platformStatus.aws.region}') && echo "AWS_REGION: \"$AWS_REGION\""
    3. Retrieve the AWS subnet ID:

      $ AWS_SUBNET_ID=$(aws ec2 describe-instances --instance-ids ${INSTANCE_ID} --query 'Reservations[*].Instances[*].SubnetId' --region ${AWS_REGION} --output text) && echo "AWS_SUBNET_ID: \"$AWS_SUBNET_ID\""
    4. Retrieve the AWS VPC ID:

      $ AWS_VPC_ID=$(aws ec2 describe-instances --instance-ids ${INSTANCE_ID} --query 'Reservations[*].Instances[*].VpcId' --region ${AWS_REGION} --output text) && echo "AWS_VPC_ID: \"$AWS_VPC_ID\""
    5. Retrieve the AWS security group IDs:

      $ AWS_SG_IDS=$(aws ec2 describe-instances --instance-ids ${INSTANCE_ID} --query 'Reservations[*].Instances[*].SecurityGroups[*].GroupId' --region ${AWS_REGION} --output text)
      && echo "AWS_SG_IDS: \"$AWS_SG_IDS\""
  2. Create a YAML file with the following manifest:

    apiVersion: v1
    kind: Secret
    metadata:
      name: peer-pods-secret
      namespace: openshift-sandboxed-containers-operator
    type: Opaque
    stringData:
      AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID: "<enter value>" 1
      AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY: "<enter value>" 2
      AWS_REGION: "<enter value>" 3
      AWS_SUBNET_ID: "<enter value>" 4
      AWS_VPC_ID: "<enter value>" 5
      AWS_SG_IDS: "<enter value>" 6
    1
    Enter the AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID value you prepared before you began.
    2
    Enter the AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY value you prepared before you began.
    3
    Enter the AWS_REGION value you retrieved.
    4
    Enter the AWS_SUBNET_ID value you retrieved.
    5
    Enter the AWS_VPC_ID value you retrieved.
    6
    Enter the AWS_SG_IDS value you retrieved.
  3. Apply the secret object:

    $ oc apply -f peer-pods-secret.yaml

The secret object is applied.

3.3.2.2. Creating a peer-pod ConfigMap for AWS using the CLI

When creating a ConfigMap for AWS, you must set the AMI ID. You can retrieve this value before you create the ConfigMap.

Procedure

  1. Create a YAML file with the following manifest:

    apiVersion: v1
    kind: ConfigMap
    metadata:
      name: peer-pods-cm
      namespace: openshift-sandboxed-containers-operator
    data:
      CLOUD_PROVIDER: "aws"
      VXLAN_PORT: "9000"
      PODVM_INSTANCE_TYPE: "t3.medium" 1
      PODVM_INSTANCE_TYPES: "t2.small,t2.medium,t3.large" 2
      PROXY_TIMEOUT: "5m"
    1
    Defines the default instance type that is used when a type is not defined in the workload.
    2
    Lists all of the instance types you can specify when creating the pod. This allows you to define smaller instances for workloads that need less memory and CPU, or larger instances for larger workloads.
  2. Apply the ConfigMap:

    $ oc apply -f peer-pods-cm.yaml

The ConfigMap is applied. Once you create the KataConfig CR, you can run OpenShift sandboxed containers using peer pods on AWS.

3.3.3. Setting up peer pods for Azure using the CLI

To set up peer pods for use on Microsoft Azure, you must create a secret object, an Azure image VM, a peer-pod ConfigMap, and an SSH key secret object.

After setting up peer pods for Azure, you must still create the KataConfig custom resource (CR) to deploy OpenShift sandboxed containers using peer pods.

Prerequisites

  • You have installed OpenShift Container Platform 4.15 on your cluster.
  • You have installed the OpenShift CLI (oc).
  • You have access to the cluster as a user with the cluster-admin role.
  • You have installed the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator.
  • You must have the Azure CLI tool installed and configured.

3.3.3.1. Creating a secret object for Azure using the CLI

Set your Azure access keys and configure your network in a secret object. The secret object is used to create the pod VM image and used by peer pods.

When creating a secret object for Azure, you must set specific environment values. You can retrieve these values before creating the secret object. In addition, you must create a role-based access control (RBAC) file. This file generates the following values:

  • AZURE_CLIENT_ID
  • AZURE_CLIENT_SECRET
  • AZURE_TENANT_ID

Procedure

  1. Retrieve the Azure subscription ID:

    $ AZURE_SUBSCRIPTION_ID=$(az account list --query "[?isDefault].id" -o tsv) && echo "AZURE_SUBSCRIPTION_ID: \"$AZURE_SUBSCRIPTION_ID\""
  2. Generate the RBAC content. This generates the client ID, client secret, and the tenant ID:

    $ az ad sp create-for-rbac --role Contributor --scopes /subscriptions/$AZURE_SUBSCRIPTION_ID --query "{ client_id: appId, client_secret: password, tenant_id: tenant }

    The following output appears:

    {
      "client_id": `AZURE_CLIENT_ID`,
      "client_secret": `AZURE_CLIENT_SECRET`,
      "tenant_id": `AZURE_TENANT_ID`
    }
  3. Save the values in the RBAC output to use in the secret object.
  4. Collect the additional parameter values for the secret object. Make sure to write down each value.

    1. Retrieve the resource group:

      $ AZURE_RESOURCE_GROUP=$(oc get infrastructure/cluster -o jsonpath='{.status.platformStatus.azure.resourceGroupName}') && echo "AZURE_RESOURCE_GROUP: \"$AZURE_RESOURCE_GROUP\""
    2. Retrieve the Azure region:

      $ AZURE_REGION=$(az group show --resource-group ${AZURE_RESOURCE_GROUP} --query "{Location:location}" --output tsv) && echo "AZURE_REGION: \"$AZURE_REGION\""
  5. Create a YAML file with the following manifest:

    apiVersion: v1
    kind: Secret
    metadata:
      name: peer-pods-secret
      namespace: openshift-sandboxed-containers-operator
    type: Opaque
    stringData:
      AZURE_CLIENT_ID: "<enter value>" 1
      AZURE_CLIENT_SECRET: "<enter value>" 2
      AZURE_TENANT_ID: "<enter value>" 3
      AZURE_SUBSCRIPTION_ID: "<enter value>" 4
      AZURE_REGION: "<enter value>" 5
      AZURE_RESOURCE_GROUP: "<enter value>" 6
    1
    Enter the AZURE_CLIENT_ID value you generated in the RBAC file.
    2
    Enter the AZURE_CLIENT_SECRET value you generated in the RBAC file.
    3
    Enter the AZURE_TENANT_ID value you generated in the RBAC file.
    4
    Enter the AZURE_SUBSCRIPTION_ID value you retrieved.
    5
    Enter the AZURE_REGION value you retrieved.
    6
    Enter the AZURE_RESOURCE_GROUP value you retrieved.
  6. Apply the secret object:

    $ oc apply -f peer-pods-secret.yaml

The secret object is applied.

3.3.3.2. Creating a peer-pod ConfigMap for Azure using the CLI

When creating a ConfigMap for Azure, you must set specific configuration values. You can retrieve these values before you create the ConfigMap.

Procedure

  1. Collect the configuration values for the Azure peer-pod ConfigMap. Make sure to write down each value.

    1. Retrieve the Azure VNet name:

      $ AZURE_VNET_NAME=$(az network vnet list --resource-group ${AZURE_RESOURCE_GROUP} --query "[].{Name:name}" --output tsv)

      This value is not needed for the ConfigMap, but is used to retrieve the Azure subnet ID.

    2. Retrieve the Azure subnet ID:

      $ AZURE_SUBNET_ID=$(az network vnet subnet list --resource-group ${AZURE_RESOURCE_GROUP} --vnet-name $AZURE_VNET_NAME --query "[].{Id:id} | [? contains(Id, 'worker')]" --output tsv) && echo "AZURE_SUBNET_ID: \"$AZURE_SUBNET_ID\""
    3. Retrieve the Azure network security group (NSG) ID:

      $ AZURE_NSG_ID=$(az network nsg list --resource-group ${AZURE_RESOURCE_GROUP} --query "[].{Id:id}" --output tsv) && echo "AZURE_NSG_ID: \"$AZURE_NSG_ID\""
  2. Create a YAML file with the following manifest:

    apiVersion: v1
    kind: ConfigMap
    metadata:
      name: peer-pods-cm
      namespace: openshift-sandboxed-containers-operator
    data:
      CLOUD_PROVIDER: "azure"
      VXLAN_PORT: "9000"
      AZURE_INSTANCE_SIZE: "Standard_B2als_v2" 1
      AZURE_INSTANCE_SIZES: "Standard_DC2as_v5,Standard_DC4as_v5,Standard_DC8as_v5" 2
      AZURE_SUBNET_ID: "<enter value>" 3
      AZURE_NSG_ID: "<enter value>" 4
      PROXY_TIMEOUT: "5m"
      DISABLECVM: "true"
    1
    Defines the default instance size that is used when an instance is not defined in the workload.
    2
    List all of the instance sizes you can specify when creating the pod. This allows you to define smaller instances for workloads that need less memory and CPU, or larger instances for larger workloads.
    3
    Enter the AZURE_SUBNET_ID value that you retrieved.
    4
    Enter the AZURE_NSG_ID value that you retrieved.
  3. Apply the ConfigMap:

    $ oc apply -f peer-pods-cm.yaml

The ConfigMap is deployed.

3.3.3.3. Creating an SSH key secret object for Azure using the CLI

You must generate an SSH key and create an SSH key secret object to use peer pods with Azure.

Procedure

  1. Generate the SSH key:

    $ ssh-keygen -f ./id_rsa -N ""
  2. Create the SSH secret object:

    $ oc create secret generic ssh-key-secret -n openshift-sandboxed-containers-operator --from-file=id_rsa.pub=./id_rsa.pub --from-file=id_rsa=./id_rsa

The SSH key is created and the SSH key secret object is created. Once you create the KataConfig CR, you can run OpenShift sandboxed containers using peer pods on Azure.

3.3.4. Setting up peer pods for IBM Z using the CLI

To set up peer pods for use on an OpenShift Container Platform cluster running on IBM Z, you must create a secret object, a RHEL KVM image VM, and a peer-pod ConfigMap, which hold the credentials that are required for the communication between libvirt and the KVM host.

After setting up peer pods for IBM Z, you must create the KataConfig custom resource (CR) to deploy OpenShift sandboxed containers using peer pods.

Prerequisites

  • You have installed OpenShift Container Platform 4.14 or later on your cluster.
  • You have installed the OpenShift CLI (oc).
  • You have access to the cluster as a user with the cluster-admin role.
  • You have installed the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator.
  • You have libvirt installed on your KVM host and you have administrator privileges.

3.3.4.1. Setting up libvirt on the KVM host

You must set up libvirt on the KVM host. Peer pods on IBM Z use the libvirt provider of the cloud API Adaptor to create and manage virtual machines.

Procedure

  1. Log in to IBM Z KVM host and set the shell variables to be used by libvirt for storage management.

    1. Set the name of the libvirt pool by running the following command:

      $ export LIBVIRT_POOL=<name_of_libvirt_pool_to_create>
    2. Set the name of the libvirt pool by running the following command:

      $ export LIBVIRT_VOL_NAME=<name_of_libvirt_volume_to_create>
    3. Set the path of the default storage pool location, by running the following command:

      $ export LIBVIRT_POOL_DIRECTORY=<name_of_target_directory> 1
      1
      To ensure libvirt has read and write access permissions, use a subdirectory of libvirt’s storage directory. The default is /var/lib/libvirt/images/.
  2. Create a libvirt pool by running the following command:

    $ virsh pool-define-as $LIBVIRT_POOL --type dir --target "$LIBVIRT_POOL_DIRECTORY"
  3. Start the libvirt pool by running the following command:

    $ virsh pool-start $LIBVIRT_POOL
  4. Create a libvirt volume for the pool by running the following command:

    $ virsh -c qemu:///system \
      vol-create-as --pool $LIBVIRT_POOL \
      --name $LIBVIRT_VOL_NAME \
      --capacity 20G \
      --allocation 2G \
      --prealloc-metadata \
      --format qcow2

3.3.4.2. Creating a peer-pod VM image for IBM Z

To run OpenShift sandboxed containers using peer pods on IBM Z, you must first create a KVM guest from which the libvirt provider starts the peer-pod VM.

Once the image is created, upload the image to the volume that you created in the previous step.

Prerequisites

  • IBM z15 or later, or IBM® LinuxONE III or later.
  • At least one LPAR running on RHEL 9 or later with KVM.

Procedure

  1. Set the RHEL ORG_ID and ACTIVATION_KEY shell variables for your system.

    1. When using a subscribed RHEL system, set the shell environment variables to the files holding the organization ID and the activation key for Red Hat Subscription Management (RHSM) by running the following commands:

      $ export ORG_ID=$(cat ~/.rh_subscription/orgid)
      
      $ export ACTIVATION_KEY=$(cat ~/.rh_subscription/activation_key)
    2. When using an unsubscribed RHEL system, set the appropriate subscription values by running the following commands:

      $ export ORG_ID=<RHEL_ORGID_VALUE>
      
      $ export ACTIVATION_KEY=<RHEL_ACVTIVATION_KEY>
  2. Log in to your IBM Z system and perform the following steps:

    1. Download an s390x RHEL KVM guest image from the Red Hat Customer Portal to your libvirt storage directory to grant libvirt correct access. The default directory is /var/lib/libvirt/images. The image is used to generate the peer pod VM image, which will include the relevant binaries.
    2. Set the IMAGE_URL shell environment variable for the downloaded image by running the following command:

      $ export IMAGE_URL=<location_of_downloaded_KVM_guest_image> 1
      1
      Enter the path of the KVM guest image that you downloaded in the previous step.
    3. Register the guest KVM image by running the following command:

      $ export REGISTER_CMD="subscription-manager register --org=${ORG_ID} \
        --activationkey=${ACTIVATION_KEY}"
    4. Customize the guest KVM image by running the following command:

      $ virt-customize -v -x -a ${IMAGE_URL} --run-command "${REGISTER_CMD}"
    5. Set the checksum of the image by running the following command:

      $ export IMAGE_CHECKSUM=$(sha256sum ${IMAGE_URL} | awk '{ print $1 }')
3.3.4.2.1. Building the peer-pod VM QCOW2 image

To run OpenShift sandboxed containers using peer pods on IBM Z, you must build a peer-pod VM QCOW2 image.

Procedure

  1. Clone the cloud-api-adaptor repository onto your build workstation by running the following command:

    $ git clone --single-branch https://github.com/confidential-containers/cloud-api-adaptor.git
  2. Change into the podvm directory by running the following command:

    $ cd cloud-api-adaptor && git checkout 8577093
  3. Create a builder image from which the final QCOW2 image is generated.

    1. When using a subscribed RHEL system, run the following command:

      $ podman build -t podvm_builder_rhel_s390x \
        --build-arg ARCH="s390x" \
        --build-arg GO_VERSION="1.21.3" \
        --build-arg PROTOC_VERSION="25.1" \
        --build-arg PACKER_VERSION="v1.9.4" \
        --build-arg RUST_VERSION="1.72.0" \
        --build-arg YQ_VERSION="v4.35.1" \
        --build-arg YQ_CHECKSUM="sha256:4e6324d08630e7df733894a11830412a43703682d65a76f1fc925aac08268a45" \
        -f podvm/Dockerfile.podvm_builder.rhel .
    2. When using an unsubscribed RHEL system, run the following command:

      $ podman build -t podvm_builder_rhel_s390x \
        --build-arg ORG_ID=$ORG_ID \
        --build-arg ACTIVATION_KEY=$ACTIVATION_KEY \
        --build-arg ARCH="s390x" \
        --build-arg GO_VERSION="1.21.3" \
        --build-arg PROTOC_VERSION="25.1" \
        --build-arg PACKER_VERSION="v1.9.4" \
        --build-arg RUST_VERSION="1.72.0" \
        --build-arg YQ_VERSION="v4.35.1" \
        --build-arg YQ_CHECKSUM="sha256:4e6324d08630e7df733894a11830412a43703682d65a76f1fc925aac08268a45" \
        -f podvm/Dockerfile.podvm_builder.rhel .
  4. Generate an intermediate image package with the required binaries for running peer pods by running the following command:

    $ podman build -t podvm_binaries_rhel_s390x \
      --build-arg BUILDER_IMG="podvm_builder_rhel_s390x:latest" \
      --build-arg ARCH=s390x \
      -f podvm/Dockerfile.podvm_binaries.rhel .
    Note

    This process is expected to take significant time.

  5. Extract the binaries and build the peer-pod QCOW2 image by running the following command:

    $ podman build -t podvm_rhel_s390x \
      --build-arg ARCH=s390x \
      --build-arg CLOUD_PROVIDER=libvirt \
      --build-arg BUILDER_IMG="localhost/podvm_builder_rhel_s390x:latest" \
      --build-arg BINARIES_IMG="localhost/podvm_binaries_rhel_s390x:latest" \
      -v ${IMAGE_URL}:/tmp/rhel.qcow2:Z \
      --build-arg IMAGE_URL="/tmp/rhel.qcow2" \
      --build-arg IMAGE_CHECKSUM=${IMAGE_CHECKSUM} \
      -f podvm/Dockerfile.podvm.rhel .
  6. Extract the peer pod QCOW2 image to a directory of your choice by running the following commands:

    $ export IMAGE_OUTPUT_DIR=<image_output_directory> 1
    
    $ mkdir -p $IMAGE_OUTPUT_DIR
    
    $ podman save podvm_rhel_s390x | tar -xO --no-wildcards-match-slash '*.tar' | tar -x -C ${IMAGE_OUTPUT_DIR}
    1
    Enter the image_output_directory where to extract the final QCOW image.
  7. Upload the peer pod QCOW2 image to your libvirt volume:

    $ virsh -c qemu:///system vol-upload \
      --vol $ LIBVIRT_VOL_NAME \
      $IMAGE_OUTPUT_DIR/podvm-*.qcow2 \
      --pool $LIBVIRT_POOL --sparse

3.3.4.3. Creating a RHEL secret for peer-pod credentials

When creating a secret object for IBM Z, you must set specific environment values. You can retrieve some of these values before creating the secret object. However, you must have the following values prepared:

  • LIBVIRT_POOL
  • LIBVIRT_VOL_NAME
  • LIBVIRT_URI

LIBVIRT_URI is the default gateway IP address of your libvirt network. Check your libvirt network setup to obtain this value.

Note

If your libvirt installation is using the default bridge virtual network, you can obtain the LIBVIRT_URI by running the following commands:

$ virtint=$(bridge_line=$(virsh net-info default | grep Bridge);  echo "${bridge_line//Bridge:/}" | tr -d [:blank:])

$ LIBVIRT_URI=$( ip -4 addr show $virtint | grep -oP '(?<=inet\s)\d+(\.\d+){3}')

Procedure

  1. Create a YAML file peer-pods-secret.yaml with the following manifest:

    apiVersion: v1
    kind: Secret
    metadata:
      name: peer-pods-secret
      namespace: openshift-sandboxed-containers-operator
    type: Opaque
    stringData:
      CLOUD_PROVIDER: "libvirt" 1
      LIBVIRT_URI: "<libvirt_gateway_uri>" 2
      LIBVIRT_POOL: "<libvirt_pool>" 3
      LIBVIRT_VOL_NAME: "<libvirt_volume>" 4
    1
    Enter libvirt as the cloud provider.
    2
    Enter the libvirt_gateway_uri value you retrieved.
    3
    Enter the libvirt_pool value you retrieved.
    4
    Enter the libvirt_volume value you retrieved.
  2. Create the secret object:

    $ oc apply -f peer-pods-secret.yaml

The secret object is applied.

3.3.4.4. Creating a peer-pod ConfigMap for IBM Z using the CLI

When creating a ConfigMap for IBM Z, you must use the libvirt provider.

Procedure

  1. Create a YAML file peer-pods-cm.yaml with the following manifest:

    apiVersion: v1
    kind: ConfigMap
    metadata:
      name: peer-pods-cm
      namespace: openshift-sandboxed-containers-operator
    data:
      CLOUD_PROVIDER: "libvirt"
      PROXY_TIMEOUT: "15m"
  2. Apply the ConfigMap:

    $ oc apply -f peer-pods-cm.yaml

The ConfigMap is applied.

3.3.4.5. Creating an SSH key secret object for IBM Z using the CLI

You must generate an SSH key pair and create an SSH key secret object to use peer pods with IBM Z.

Procedure

  1. Generate the SSH key:

    $ ssh-keygen -f ./id_rsa -N ""
  2. Copy the SSH public key to your KVM host:

    $ ssh-copy-id -i ./id_rsa.pub <KVM_HOST_ADDRESS> 1
    1
    Enter the IP address of your KVM host.
  3. Create the secret object:

    $ oc create secret generic ssh-key-secret \
        -n openshift-sandboxed-containers-operator \
        --from-file=id_rsa.pub=./id_rsa.pub \
        --from-file=id_rsa=./id_rsa
  4. Delete the SSH keys:

    $ shred –remove id_rsa.pub id_rsa

The secret object is created. Once you create the KataConfig CR, you can run OpenShift sandboxed containers using peer pods on IBM Z.

3.3.5. Creating the KataConfig custom resource using the CLI

You must create one KataConfig custom resource (CR) to install kata-remote as a RuntimeClass on your nodes. Creating the KataConfig CR triggers the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator to do the following:

  • Install the needed RHCOS extensions, such as QEMU and kata-containers, on your RHCOS node.
  • Ensure that the CRI-O runtime is configured with the correct runtime handlers.
  • Create a RuntimeClass CR named kata-remote with a default configuration. This enables users to configure workloads to use kata-remote as the runtime by referencing the CR in the RuntimeClassName field. This CR also specifies the resource overhead for the runtime.
Note

Kata for peer pods is installed on all worker nodes by default. If you want to install kata-remote as a RuntimeClass only on specific nodes, you can add labels to those nodes, and then define the label in the KataConfig CR when you create it.

Prerequisites

  • You have installed OpenShift Container Platform 4.15 on your cluster.
  • You have installed the OpenShift CLI (oc).
  • You have access to the cluster as a user with the cluster-admin role.
  • You have installed the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator.
Important

Creating the KataConfig CR automatically reboots the worker nodes. The reboot can take from 10 to more than 60 minutes. Factors that impede reboot time are as follows:

  • A larger OpenShift Container Platform deployment with a greater number of worker nodes.
  • Activation of the BIOS and Diagnostics utility.
  • Deployment on a hard disk drive rather than an SSD.
  • Deployment on physical nodes such as bare metal, rather than on virtual nodes.
  • A slow CPU and network.

Procedure

  1. Create a YAML file with the following manifest:

    apiVersion: kataconfiguration.openshift.io/v1
    kind: KataConfig
    metadata:
      name: cluster-kataconfig
    spec:
      enablePeerPods: true
      logLevel: info
  2. (Optional) If you want to install kata-remote as a RuntimeClass only on selected nodes, create a YAML file that includes the label in the manifest:

    apiVersion: kataconfiguration.openshift.io/v1
    kind: KataConfig
    metadata:
      name: cluster-kataconfig
    spec:
      enablePeerPods: true
      logLevel: info
      kataConfigPoolSelector:
        matchLabels:
          <label_key>: '<label_value>' 1
    1
    Labels in kataConfigPoolSelector only support single values; nodeSelector syntax is not supported.
  3. Create the KataConfig resource:

    $ oc create -f cluster-kataconfig.yaml

The new KataConfig CR is created and begins to install kata-remote as a RuntimeClass on the worker nodes. Wait for the kata-remote installation to complete and the worker nodes to reboot before continuing to the next step.

Note

When you run the CR, the VM image is created. The image creation is done through the cloud provider and it may use additional resources.

Important

OpenShift sandboxed containers installs kata-remote only as a secondary, optional runtime on the cluster and not as the primary runtime.

Verification

  • Monitor the installation progress:

    $ watch "oc describe kataconfig | sed -n /^Status:/,/^Events/p"

    When all workers under kataNodes are listed as installed, and the condition InProgress is False without specifying a reason, this indicates that kata is installed on the cluster. For more information, see "Installation and uninstall transitions".

3.3.6. Deploying a workload with peer pods in a sandboxed container using the CLI

OpenShift sandboxed containers installs Kata as a secondary, optional runtime on your cluster, and not as the primary runtime.

To deploy a pod-templated workload using peer pods in a sandboxed container, you must add kata-remote as the runtimeClassName to the workload YAML file.

You must also define whether the workload should be deployed using a default instance size or type which you previously defined in the ConfigMap by adding an annotation to the YAML file. The use of an instance size or an instance type depends on your cloud provider. If you do not want to define the instance size or type manually, you must add an annotation to define the use of an automatic instance size or type, based on the memory available.

Prerequisites

  • You have installed OpenShift Container Platform 4.15 on your cluster.
  • You have installed the OpenShift CLI (oc).
  • You have access to the cluster as a user with the cluster-admin role.
  • You have installed the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator.
  • You have created a secret object and peer-pod ConfigMap unique to your cloud provider.
  • You have created a KataConfig custom resource (CR).

Procedure

  1. Add runtimeClassName: kata-remote to any pod-templated object:

    • Pod objects
    • ReplicaSet objects
    • ReplicationController objects
    • StatefulSet objects
    • Deployment objects
    • DeploymentConfig objects
  2. Add an annotation to the pod-templated object, defining whether to use a specific instance size or type, or an automatic instance size or type. Instance size is used for specific cloud providers, while instance type is used for other cloud providers.

    • For a specific instance size or type, add the following annotation:

      io.katacontainers.config.hypervisor.machine_type: <instance type/instance size>

      Define which instance size or type the workload should use. You pre-defined these default sizes or types previously when creating the ConfigMap for peer pods. Choose from one of those.

    • For an automatic instance size or type, add the following annotations:

      io.katacontainers.config.hypervisor.default_vcpus: <vcpus>
      io.katacontainers.config.hypervisor.default_memory: <memory>

      Define the amount of memory available for the workload to use. The workload will run on an automatic instance size or type based on the amount of memory available.

    Example for Pod object

    apiVersion: v1
    kind: Pod
    metadata:
      name: hello-openshift
      labels:
        app: hello-openshift
      annotations:
        io.katacontainers.config.hypervisor.machine_type: Standard_DC4as_v5 1
    spec:
      runtimeClassName: kata-remote
      containers:
        - name: hello-openshift
          image: quay.io/openshift/origin-hello-openshift
          ports:
            - containerPort: 8888
          securityContext:
            privileged: false
            allowPrivilegeEscalation: false
            runAsNonRoot: true
            runAsUser: 1001
            capabilities:
              drop:
                - ALL
            seccompProfile:
              type: RuntimeDefault

    1
    This example uses a previously defined instance size for peer pods using Azure. Peer pods using AWS use instance types.

OpenShift Container Platform creates the workload and begins scheduling it.

Verification

  • Inspect the runtimeClassName field on a pod-templated object. If the runtimeClassName is kata-remote, then the workload is running on OpenShift sandboxed containers, using peer pods.

3.4. Additional resources

Chapter 4. Monitoring OpenShift sandboxed containers

You can use the OpenShift Container Platform web console to monitor metrics related to the health status of your sandboxed workloads and nodes.

OpenShift sandboxed containers has a pre-configured dashboard available in the web console, and administrators can also access and query raw metrics through Prometheus.

4.1. About OpenShift sandboxed containers metrics

OpenShift sandboxed containers metrics enable administrators to monitor how their sandboxed containers are running. You can query for these metrics in Metrics UI in the web console.

OpenShift sandboxed containers metrics are collected for the following categories:

Kata agent metrics
Kata agent metrics display information about the kata agent process running in the VM embedded in your sandboxed containers. These metrics include data from /proc/<pid>/[io, stat, status].
Kata guest OS metrics
Kata guest OS metrics display data from the guest OS running in your sandboxed containers. These metrics include data from /proc/[stats, diskstats, meminfo, vmstats] and /proc/net/dev.
Hypervisor metrics
Hypervisor metrics display data regarding the hypervisor running the VM embedded in your sandboxed containers. These metrics mainly include data from /proc/<pid>/[io, stat, status].
Kata monitor metrics
Kata monitor is the process that gathers metric data and makes it available to Prometheus. The kata monitor metrics display detailed information about the resource usage of the kata-monitor process itself. These metrics also include counters from Prometheus data collection.
Kata containerd shim v2 metrics
Kata containerd shim v2 metrics display detailed information about the kata shim process. These metrics include data from /proc/<pid>/[io, stat, status] and detailed resource usage metrics.

4.2. Viewing metrics for OpenShift sandboxed containers

You can access the metrics for OpenShift sandboxed containers in the Metrics page in the web console.

Prerequisites

  • You have OpenShift Container Platform 4.15 installed.
  • You have OpenShift sandboxed containers installed.
  • You have access to the cluster as a user with the cluster-admin role or with view permissions for all projects.

Procedure

  1. From the Administrator perspective in the web console, navigate to ObserveMetrics.
  2. In the input field, enter the query for the metric you want to observe.

    All kata-related metrics begin with kata. Typing kata will display a list with all of the available kata metrics.

The metrics from your query are visualized on the page.

Additional resources

  • For more information about creating PromQL queries to view metrics, see Querying metrics.

4.3. Viewing the OpenShift sandboxed containers dashboard

You can access the OpenShift sandboxed containers dashboard in the Dashboards page in the web console.

Prerequisites

  • You have OpenShift Container Platform 4.15 installed.
  • You have OpenShift sandboxed containers installed.
  • You have access to the cluster as a user with the cluster-admin role or with view permissions for all projects.

Procedure

  1. From the Administrator perspective in the web console, navigate to ObserveDashboards.
  2. From the Dashboard drop-down list, select the Sandboxed Containers dashboard.
  3. Optional: Select a time range for the graphs in the Time Range list.

    • Select a pre-defined time period.
    • Set a custom time range by selecting Custom time range in the Time Range list.

      1. Define the date and time range for the data you want to view.
      2. Click Save to save the custom time range.
  4. Optional: Select a Refresh Interval.

The dashboard appears on the page with the following metrics from the Kata guest OS category:

Number of running VMs
Displays the total number of sandboxed containers running on your cluster.
CPU Usage (per VM)
Displays the CPU usage for each individual sandboxed container.
Memory Usage (per VM)
Displays the memory usage for each individual sandboxed container.

Hover over each of the graphs within a dashboard to display detailed information about specific items.

4.4. Additional resources

Chapter 5. Uninstalling OpenShift sandboxed containers

You can uninstall OpenShift sandboxed containers by using either the OpenShift Container Platform web console or OpenShift CLI (oc). Both procedures are explained below.

5.1. Uninstalling OpenShift sandboxed containers using the web console

Use the OpenShift Container Platform web console to delete the relevant OpenShift sandboxed containers pods, resources, and namespace.

5.1.1. Deleting OpenShift sandboxed containers pods using the web console

To uninstall OpenShift sandboxed containers, you must first delete all running pods that use kata as the runtimeClass.

Prerequisites

  • You have OpenShift Container Platform 4.15 installed on your cluster.
  • You have access to the cluster as a user with the cluster-admin role.
  • You have a list of the pods that use kata as the runtimeClass.

Procedure

  1. From the Administrator perspective, navigate to WorkloadsPods.
  2. Search for the pod that you want to delete using the Search by name field.
  3. Click the pod name to open it.
  4. On the Details page, check that kata is displayed for Runtime class.
  5. Click the Actions menu and select Delete Pod.
  6. Click Delete in the confirmation window.

Additional resources

You can retrieve a list of running pods that use kata as the runtimeClass from the OpenShift CLI. For details, see Deleting OpenShift sandboxed containers pods.

5.1.2. Deleting the KataConfig custom resource using the web console

Deleting the KataConfig custom resource (CR) removes and uninstalls the kata runtime and its related resources from your cluster.

Important

Deleting the KataConfig CR automatically reboots the worker nodes. The reboot can take from 10 to more than 60 minutes. Factors that impede reboot time are as follows:

  • A larger OpenShift Container Platform deployment with a greater number of worker nodes.
  • Activation of the BIOS and Diagnostics utility.
  • Deployment on a hard drive rather than an SSD.
  • Deployment on physical nodes such as bare metal, rather than on virtual nodes.
  • A slow CPU and network.

Prerequisites

  • You have OpenShift Container Platform 4.15 installed on your cluster.
  • You have access to the cluster as a user with the cluster-admin role.
  • You have no running pods that use kata as the runtimeClass.

Procedure

  1. From the Administrator perspective, navigate to OperatorsInstalled Operators.
  2. Search for the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator using the Search by name field.
  3. Click the Operator to open it, and then select the KataConfig tab.
  4. Click the Options menu kebab for the KataConfig resource, and then select Delete KataConfig.
  5. Click Delete in the confirmation window.

Wait for the kata runtime and resources to uninstall and for the worker nodes to reboot before continuing to the next step.

5.1.3. Deleting the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator using the web console

Deleting the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator removes the catalog subscription, Operator group, and cluster service version (CSV) for that Operator.

Prerequisites

  • You have OpenShift Container Platform 4.15 installed on your cluster.
  • You have access to the cluster as a user with the cluster-admin role.

Procedure

  1. From the Administrator perspective, navigate to OperatorsInstalled Operators.
  2. Search for the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator using the Search by name field.
  3. Click the Options menu kebab for the Operator and select Uninstall Operator.
  4. Click Uninstall in the confirmation window.

5.1.4. Deleting the OpenShift sandboxed containers namespace using the web console

After you run the preceding commands, your cluster is restored to the state that it was prior to the installation process. You can now revoke namespace access to the Operator by deleting the openshift-sandboxed-containers-operator namespace.

Prerequisites

  • You have OpenShift Container Platform 4.15 installed on your cluster.
  • You have access to the cluster as a user with the cluster-admin role.

Procedure

  1. From the Administrator perspective, navigate to AdministrationNamespaces.
  2. Search for the openshift-sandboxed-containers-operator namespace using the Search by name field.
  3. Click the Options menu kebab for the namespace and select Delete Namespace.

    Note

    If the Delete Namespace option is not available, you do not have permission to delete the namespace.

  4. In the Delete Namespace pane, enter openshift-sandboxed-containers-operator and click Delete.
  5. Click Delete.

5.1.5. Deleting the KataConfig custom resource definition using the web console

The KataConfig custom resource definition (CRD) lets you define the KataConfig CR. To complete the uninstall process, delete the KataConfig CRD from your cluster.

Prerequisites

  • You have OpenShift Container Platform 4.15 installed on your cluster.
  • You have access to the cluster as a user with the cluster-admin role.
  • You have removed the KataConfig CR from your cluster.
  • You have removed the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator from your cluster.

Procedure

  1. From the Administrator perspective, navigate to AdministrationCustomResourceDefinitions.
  2. Search for KataConfig using the Search by name field.
  3. Click the Options menu kebab for the KataConfig CRD, and then select Delete CustomResourceDefinition.
  4. Click Delete in the confirmation window.
  5. Wait for the KataConfig CRD to disappear from the list. This can take several minutes.

5.2. Uninstalling OpenShift sandboxed containers using the CLI

You can uninstall OpenShift sandboxed containers by using the OpenShift Container Platform command-line interface (CLI). Follow the steps below in the order that they are presented.

5.2.1. Deleting OpenShift sandboxed containers pods using the CLI

To uninstall OpenShift sandboxed containers, you must first delete all running pods that use kata as the runtimeClass.

Prerequisites

  • You have installed the OpenShift CLI (oc).
  • You have the command-line JSON processor (jq) installed.

Procedure

  1. Search for pods that use kata as the runtimeClass by running the following command:

    $ oc get pods -A -o json | jq -r '.items[] | select(.spec.runtimeClassName == "kata").metadata.name'
  2. To delete each pod, run the following command:

    $ oc delete pod <pod-name>

5.2.2. Deleting the KataConfig custom resource using the CLI

Remove and uninstall the kata runtime and all its related resources, such as CRI-O config and RuntimeClass, from your cluster.

Prerequisites

  • You have OpenShift Container Platform 4.15 installed on your cluster.
  • You have installed the OpenShift CLI (oc).
  • You have access to the cluster as a user with the cluster-admin role.
Important

Deleting the KataConfig CR automatically reboots the worker nodes. The reboot can take from 10 to more than 60 minutes. Factors that impede reboot time are as follows:

  • A larger OpenShift Container Platform deployment with a greater number of worker nodes.
  • Activation of the BIOS and Diagnostics utility.
  • Deployment on a hard drive rather than an SSD.
  • Deployment on physical nodes such as bare metal, rather than on virtual nodes.
  • A slow CPU and network.

Procedure

  1. Delete the KataConfig custom resource by running the following command:

    $ oc delete kataconfig <KataConfig_CR_Name>

The OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator removes all resources that were initially created to enable the runtime on your cluster.

Important

During deletion, the CLI stops responding until all worker nodes reboot. Wait for the process to complete before performing the verification or continuing to the next procedure.

Verification

  • To verify that the KataConfig custom resource is deleted, run the following command:

    $ oc get kataconfig <KataConfig_CR_Name>

    Example output

    No KataConfig instances exist

5.2.3. Deleting the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator using the CLI

Remove the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator from your cluster by deleting the Operator subscription, Operator group, cluster service version (CSV), and namespace.

Prerequisites

  • You have OpenShift Container Platform 4.10 installed on your cluster.
  • You have installed the OpenShift CLI (oc).
  • You have installed the comand-line JSON processor (jq).
  • You have access to the cluster as a user with the cluster-admin role.

Procedure

  1. Fetch the cluster service version (CSV) name for OpenShift sandboxed containers from the subscription by running the following command:

    CSV_NAME=$(oc get csv -n openshift-sandboxed-containers-operator -o=custom-columns=:metadata.name)
  2. Delete the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator subscription from Operator Lifecyle Manager (OLM) by running the following command:

    $ oc delete subscription sandboxed-containers-operator -n openshift-sandboxed-containers-operator
  3. Delete the CSV name for OpenShift sandboxed containers by running the following command:

    $ oc delete csv ${CSV_NAME} -n openshift-sandboxed-containers-operator
  4. Fetch the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator group name by running the following command:

    $ OG_NAME=$(oc get operatorgroup -n openshift-sandboxed-containers-operator -o=jsonpath={..name})
  5. Delete the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator group name by running the following command:

    $ oc delete operatorgroup ${OG_NAME} -n openshift-sandboxed-containers-operator
  6. Delete the OpenShift sandboxed containers namespace by running the following command:

    $ oc delete namespace openshift-sandboxed-containers-operator

5.2.4. Deleting the KataConfig custom resource definition using the CLI

The KataConfig custom resource definition (CRD) lets you define the KataConfig CR. Delete the KataConfig CRD from your cluster.

Prerequisites

  • You have installed the OpenShift CLI (oc).
  • You have access to the cluster as a user with the cluster-admin role.
  • You have removed the KataConfig CR from your cluster.
  • You have removed the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator from your cluster.

Procedure

  1. Delete the KataConfig CRD by running the following command:

    $ oc delete crd kataconfigs.kataconfiguration.openshift.io

Verification

  • To verify that the KataConfig CRD is deleted, run the following command:

    $ oc get crd kataconfigs.kataconfiguration.openshift.io

    Example output

    Unknown CR KataConfig

Chapter 6. Upgrading OpenShift sandboxed containers

The upgrade of the OpenShift sandboxed containers components consists of the following three steps:

  • Upgrading OpenShift Container Platform to update the Kata runtime and its dependencies.
  • Upgrading the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator to update the Operator subscription.
  • Manually patching the KataConfig custom resource (CR) to update the monitor pods.

You can upgrade OpenShift Container Platform before or after the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator upgrade, with the one exception noted below. Always apply the KataConfig patch immediately after upgrading OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator.

Important

If you are upgrading to OpenShift Container Platform 4.11 with OpenShift sandboxed containers 1.3, the recommended order is to first upgrade OpenShift sandboxed containers from 1.2 to 1.3, and then upgrade OpenShift Container Platform from 4.10 to 4.11.

6.1. Upgrading the OpenShift sandboxed containers resources

The OpenShift sandboxed containers resources are deployed onto the cluster using Red Hat Enterprise Linux CoreOS (RHCOS) extensions.

The RHCOS extension sandboxed containers contains the required components to run Kata Containers such as the Kata containers runtime, the hypervisor QEMU, and other dependencies. You upgrade the extension by upgrading the cluster to a new release of OpenShift Container Platform.

For more information about upgrading OpenShift Container Platform, see Updating Clusters.

6.2. Upgrading the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator

Use Operator Lifecycle Manager (OLM) to upgrade the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator either manually or automatically. Selecting between manual or automatic upgrade during the initial deployment determines the future upgrade mode. For manual upgrades, the web console shows the available updates that can be installed by the cluster administrator.

For more information about upgrading the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator in Operator Lifecycle Manager (OLM), see Updating installed Operators.

6.3. Upgrading the OpenShift sandboxed containers monitor pods

After upgrading OpenShift sandboxed containers, you need to update the monitor image in the KataConfig CR to upgrade the monitor pods. Otherwise, the monitor pods will continue running images from the previous version.

You can perform the update using the web console or the CLI.

6.3.1. Upgrading the monitor pods using the web console

The KataConfig YAML file in the OpenShift Container Platform contains the version number for the monitor image. Update the version number with the correct version.

Prerequisites

  • You have OpenShift Container Platform 4.15 installed on your cluster.
  • You have access to the cluster as a user with the cluster-admin role.

Procedure

  1. From the Administrator perspective of OpenShift Container Platform, navigate to OperatorsInstalled Operators.
  2. Select the OpenShift sandboxed containers Operator and go to the KataConfig tab.
  3. Search for the KataConfig resource using the Search by name field. The default name for the KataConfig resource is example-kataconfig.
  4. Select the KataConfig resource and go to the KataConfig tab.
  5. Modify the version number for kataMonitorImage:

        checkNodeEligibility: false
        kataConfigPoolSelector: null
        kataMonitorImage: 'registry.redhat.io/openshift-sandboxed-containers/osc-monitor-rhel8:1.3.0'
  6. Click Save.

6.3.2. Upgrading the monitor pods using the CLI

You can manually patch the monitor image in the KataConfig CR to update the monitor pods.

Prerequisites

  • You have OpenShift Container Platform 4.15 installed on your cluster.
  • You have installed the OpenShift CLI (oc).
  • You have access to the cluster as a user with the cluster-admin role.

Procedure

  • In the OpenShift Container Platform CLI, run the following command:

    $ oc patch kataconfig <kataconfig_name> --type merge --patch
    '{"spec":{"kataMonitorImage":"registry.redhat.io/openshift-sandboxed-containers/osc-monitor-rhel8:1.3.0"}}'

    where: <kataconfig_name>:: specifies the name of your Kata configuration file, such as example-kataconfig.

Chapter 7. Collecting OpenShift sandboxed containers data

When troubleshooting OpenShift sandboxed containers, you can open a support case and provide debugging information using the must-gather tool.

If you are a cluster administrator, you can also review logs on your own, enabling a more detailed level of logs.

7.1. Collecting OpenShift sandboxed containers data for Red Hat Support

When opening a support case, it is helpful to provide debugging information about your cluster to Red Hat Support.

The must-gather tool enables you to collect diagnostic information about your OpenShift Container Platform cluster, including virtual machines and other data related to OpenShift sandboxed containers.

For prompt support, supply diagnostic information for both OpenShift Container Platform and OpenShift sandboxed containers.

7.1.1. Using the must-gather tool

The oc adm must-gather CLI command collects the information from your cluster that is most likely needed for debugging issues, including:

  • Resource definitions
  • Service logs

By default, the oc adm must-gather command uses the default plugin image and writes into ./must-gather.local.

Alternatively, you can collect specific information by running the command with the appropriate arguments as described in the following sections:

  • To collect data related to one or more specific features, use the --image argument with an image, as listed in a following section.

    For example:

    $ oc adm must-gather --image=registry.redhat.io/openshift-sandboxed-containers/osc-must-gather-rhel9:1.5.3
  • To collect the audit logs, use the -- /usr/bin/gather_audit_logs argument, as described in a following section.

    For example:

    $ oc adm must-gather -- /usr/bin/gather_audit_logs
    Note

    Audit logs are not collected as part of the default set of information to reduce the size of the files.

When you run oc adm must-gather, a new pod with a random name is created in a new project on the cluster. The data is collected on that pod and saved in a new directory that starts with must-gather.local. This directory is created in the current working directory.

For example:

NAMESPACE                      NAME                 READY   STATUS      RESTARTS      AGE
...
openshift-must-gather-5drcj    must-gather-bklx4    2/2     Running     0             72s
openshift-must-gather-5drcj    must-gather-s8sdh    2/2     Running     0             72s
...

Optionally, you can run the oc adm must-gather command in a specific namespace by using the --run-namespace option.

For example:

$ oc adm must-gather --run-namespace <namespace> --image=registry.redhat.io/openshift-sandboxed-containers/osc-must-gather-rhel9:1.5.3

7.2. About OpenShift sandboxed containers log data

When you collect log data about your cluster, the following features and objects are associated with OpenShift sandboxed containers:

  • All namespaces and their child objects that belong to any OpenShift sandboxed containers resources
  • All OpenShift sandboxed containers custom resource definitions (CRDs)

The following OpenShift sandboxed containers component logs are collected for each pod running with the kata runtime:

  • Kata agent logs
  • Kata runtime logs
  • QEMU logs
  • Audit logs
  • CRI-O logs

7.3. Enabling debug logs for OpenShift sandboxed containers

As a cluster administrator, you can collect a more detailed level of logs for OpenShift sandboxed containers. You can also enhance logging by changing the logLevel field in the KataConfig CR. This changes the log_level in the CRI-O runtime for the worker nodes running OpenShift sandboxed containers.

Procedure

  1. Change the logLevel field in your existing KataConfig CR to debug:
$ oc patch kataconfig <name_of_kataconfig_file> --type merge --patch '{"spec":{"logLevel":"debug"}}'
Note

When running this command, reference the name of your KataConfig CR. This is the name you used to create the CR when setting up OpenShift sandboxed containers.

Verification

  1. Monitor the kata-oc machine config pool until the UPDATED field appears as True, meaning all worker nodes are updated:

    $ oc get mcp kata-oc

    Example output

    NAME     CONFIG                 UPDATED  UPDATING  DEGRADED  MACHINECOUNT  READYMACHINECOUNT  UPDATEDMACHINECOUNT  DEGRADEDMACHINECOUNT  AGE
    kata-oc  rendered-kata-oc-169   False    True      False     3             1                  1                    0                     9h

  2. Verify that the log_level was updated in CRI-O:

    1. Open an oc debug session to a node in the machine config pool and run chroot /host.

      $ oc debug node/<node_name>
      sh-4.4# chroot /host
    2. Verify the changes in the crio.conf file:

      sh-4.4# crio config | egrep 'log_level

      Example output

      log_level = "debug"

7.3.1. Viewing debug logs for OpenShift sandboxed containers

Cluster administrators can use the enhanced debug logs for OpenShift sandboxed containers to troubleshoot issues. The logs for each node are printed to the node journal.

You can review the logs for the following OpenShift sandboxed containers components:

  • Kata agent
  • Kata runtime (containerd-shim-kata-v2)
  • virtiofsd

QEMU only generates warning and error logs. These warnings and errors print to the node journal in both the Kata runtime logs and the CRI-O logs with an extra qemuPid field.

Example of QEMU logs

Mar 11 11:57:28 openshift-worker-0 kata[2241647]: time="2023-03-11T11:57:28.587116986Z" level=info msg="Start logging QEMU (qemuPid=2241693)" name=containerd-shim-v2 pid=2241647 sandbox=d1d4d68efc35e5ccb4331af73da459c13f46269b512774aa6bde7da34db48987 source=virtcontainers/hypervisor subsystem=qemu

Mar 11 11:57:28 openshift-worker-0 kata[2241647]: time="2023-03-11T11:57:28.607339014Z" level=error msg="qemu-kvm: -machine q35,accel=kvm,kernel_irqchip=split,foo: Expected '=' after parameter 'foo'" name=containerd-shim-v2 pid=2241647 qemuPid=2241693 sandbox=d1d4d68efc35e5ccb4331af73da459c13f46269b512774aa6bde7da34db48987 source=virtcontainers/hypervisor subsystem=qemu

Mar 11 11:57:28 openshift-worker-0 kata[2241647]: time="2023-03-11T11:57:28.60890737Z" level=info msg="Stop logging QEMU (qemuPid=2241693)" name=containerd-shim-v2 pid=2241647 sandbox=d1d4d68efc35e5ccb4331af73da459c13f46269b512774aa6bde7da34db48987 source=virtcontainers/hypervisor subsystem=qemu

The Kata runtime prints Start logging QEMU when QEMU starts, and Stop Logging QEMU when QEMU stops. The error appears in between these two log messages with the qemuPid field. The actual error message from QEMU appears in red.

The console of the QEMU guest is printed to the node journal as well. You can view the guest console logs together with the Kata agent logs.

Prerequisites

  • You have installed the OpenShift CLI (oc).
  • You have access to the cluster as a user with the cluster-admin role.

Procedure

  • To review the Kata agent logs and guest console logs, run:

    $ oc debug node/<nodename> -- journalctl -D /host/var/log/journal -t kata -g “reading guest console”
  • To review the kata runtime logs, run:

    $ oc debug node/<nodename> -- journalctl -D /host/var/log/journal -t kata
  • To review the virtiofsd logs, run:

    $ oc debug node/<nodename> -- journalctl -D /host/var/log/journal -t virtiofsd
  • To review the QEMU logs, run:

    $ oc debug node/<nodename> -- journalctl -D /host/var/log/journal -t kata -g "qemuPid=\d+"

7.4. Additional resources

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