OpenShift Container Platform with IBM Fusion Lab

These labs revolve around the integration and management capabilities provided by the IBM Storage Fusion GUI on top of the OpenShift platform.

Access the Platform: Log in to the IBM Storage Fusion HCI system using the provided URL and credentials.
System Overview: Navigate to the main dashboard to view the overall health, capacity, and status of the OpenShift Container Platform cluster, including compute, storage, and networking resources.
Management Features: Explore the dedicated sections for managing the system, which often include:
- Nodes: Checking the status of the bare metal worker nodes.
- Networking: Review the configured networks for OpenShift and the internal storage network.
- Storage: View the IBM Storage Fusion Data Foundation cluster health and capacity.

OpenShift Web Console: Access the underlying Red Hat OpenShift Web Console directly from the Fusion GUI for deep-dive cluster management.
OperatorHub: Demonstrate the installation of necessary operators, such as IBM Storage Fusion Data Foundation Operator or OpenShift Virtualization Operator, by searching the OperatorHub and following the installation steps (e.g., selecting the correct namespace and update approval strategy).

Run VMs and containers side-by-side:

Deploy an Operator: Install the OpenShift Virtualization Operator from the OperatorHub.
Create a Virtual Machine (VM):
- Navigate to the Virtualization section in the OpenShift console.
- Create a new VM, often using a pre-configured YAML file or a wizard, to deploy a guest operating system (like a RHEL or LAMP stack demo).
- Verify the VM is running and interact with its console.
Workload Deployment: Demonstrate deploying a containerized application alongside the VM to show the unified platform for both workload types.

Data Foundation Health: Verify the Storage Cluster and Data Resiliency are showing a healthy status within the IBM Storage Fusion or OpenShift console.
Backup/Restore: Create a backup policy and execute a backup for an application or VM running on the cluster.
Disaster Recovery (DR): Configure and monitor Disaster Recovery configurations between two IBM Storage Fusion environments.

Lab Title	OpenShift Virtualization on IBM Fusion HCI: Unifying VMs and Containers
Audience	Cloud Architects, SREs, OpenShift Administrators
Duration	45 Minutes
Goals & Objectives	• Understand the integration between IBM Fusion and OpenShift. • Successfully provision a Virtual Machine and a containerized app. • Verify storage class provisioning with Fusion Data Foundation.
Prerequisites	• A web browser (Chrome/Firefox). • Access credentials.

Step	Instruction	Notes
1.1 Login to OpenShift	Open the provided OpenShift Web Console URL.	URL: https://console-openshift...
	Enter the login credentials and click Log in.	Username: instructor provided Password: instructor provided
1.2 Verify Environment Health	Navigate to the Home > Overview page in the OpenShift console.	Check for green status indicators on all core cluster components.
	Verify that IBM Fusion is listed under Installed Operators.	Navigate to Operators > Installed Operators and ensure the status is Succeeded.
	Verify that Web Terminal is listed under Installed Operators.	Navigate to Operators > Installed Operators and ensure the status is Succeeded. If not, install the Web Terminal operator and log out and back into the OpenShift Console to ensure you can access the command line (CLI).

Step	Instruction	Notes
2.1.1 Access Fusion UI	In the OpenShift console, click the Application Switcher icon (9 dots) and select IBM Storage Fusion.	This launches the separate Fusion Management console.
2.1.2 Verify Storage Health	Navigate to the Data Foundation dashboard.	Confirm that Storage Cluster and Data Resiliency health status is OK.
2.1.3 Review Storage Classes	Return to the OpenShift console and go to Storage > StorageClasses.	Identify the StorageClass provided by IBM Fusion Data Foundation (e.g., fusion-sc).

Step	Instruction	Notes
2.2.1 Enable Virtualization	Navigate to Operators > Installed Operators and confirm the OpenShift Virtualization Operator is installed.	If not installed, guide the user to OperatorHub to install it first.
2.2.2 Create a VM from YAML	Go to Virtualization > VirtualMachines and click Create VirtualMachine. Select With YAML.	Paste the provided YAML (e.g., a small RHEL VM configuration) into the editor and click Create.
2.2.3 Interact with the VM	Click on the name of the new VM and open the Console tab.	Log in to the VM using the default credentials (root / redhat) to confirm it is running.

Step	Instruction	Notes
2.3.1 Create a Project	Go to Home > Projects and create a new project called fusion-app-lab.	This is where the containerized frontend will live.
2.3.2 Deploy the Frontend App	Navigate to Developer > Topology. Click +Add and select YAML.	Paste the deployment YAML for a sample application (e.g., a Node.js frontend) and click Create.
2.3.3 Verify Connectivity	After the pod is deployed, click on the application icon in the topology view and click the Open URL link.	Verify the application is accessible and running.

Step	Instruction	Notes
3.1 Summary	Briefly summarize what was accomplished.	We successfully used IBM Fusion to manage a highly-available OpenShift environment, running both traditional VMs and modern containers on a single platform.
3.2 Key Takeaways	Reinforce the main value points.	1. Unified Platform: Manage VMs and Containers from the same Kubernetes API. 2. Built-in Storage: Seamless persistent storage via Fusion Data Foundation. 3. Simplified Operations: Reduced operational complexity and skill silos.
3.3 Cleanup (if necessary)	Delete the created project and VMs to clear the lab environment.	Navigate to Home > Projects, select the project, and click Delete Project.