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Updating installed Operators

As a cluster administrator, you can update Operators that have been previously installed using Operator Lifecycle Manager (OLM) on your OpenShift Container Platform cluster.

Preparing for an Operator update

The subscription of an installed Operator specifies an update channel that tracks and receives updates for the Operator. You can change the update channel to start tracking and receiving updates from a newer channel.

The names of update channels in a subscription can differ between Operators, but the naming scheme typically follows a common convention within a given Operator. For example, channel names might follow a minor release update stream for the application provided by the Operator (1.2, 1.3) or a release frequency (stable, fast).

You cannot change installed Operators to a channel that is older than the current channel.

Red Hat Customer Portal Labs include the following application that helps administrators prepare to update their Operators:

You can use the application to search for Operator Lifecycle Manager-based Operators and verify the available Operator version per update channel across different versions of OpenShift Container Platform. Cluster Version Operator-based Operators are not included.

Changing the update channel for an Operator

You can change the update channel for an Operator by using the OpenShift Container Platform web console.

If the approval strategy in the subscription is set to Automatic, the update process initiates as soon as a new Operator version is available in the selected channel. If the approval strategy is set to Manual, you must manually approve pending updates.
Prerequisites

  • An Operator previously installed using Operator Lifecycle Manager (OLM).

Procedure

  1. In the Administrator perspective of the web console, navigate to Operators → Installed Operators.

  2. Click the name of the Operator you want to change the update channel for.

  3. Click the Subscription tab.

  4. Click the name of the update channel under Channel.

  5. Click the newer update channel that you want to change to, then click Save.

  6. For subscriptions with an Automatic approval strategy, the update begins automatically. Navigate back to the Operators → Installed Operators page to monitor the progress of the update. When complete, the status changes to Succeeded and Up to date.

    For subscriptions with a Manual approval strategy, you can manually approve the update from the Subscription tab.

Manually approving a pending Operator update

If an installed Operator has the approval strategy in its subscription set to Manual, when new updates are released in its current update channel, the update must be manually approved before installation can begin.

Prerequisites

  • An Operator previously installed using Operator Lifecycle Manager (OLM).

Procedure

  1. In the Administrator perspective of the OpenShift Container Platform web console, navigate to Operators → Installed Operators.

  2. Operators that have a pending update display a status with Upgrade available. Click the name of the Operator you want to update.

  3. Click the Subscription tab. Any update requiring approval are displayed next to Upgrade Status. For example, it might display 1 requires approval.

  4. Click 1 requires approval, then click Preview Install Plan.

  5. Review the resources that are listed as available for update. When satisfied, click Approve.

  6. Navigate back to the Operators → Installed Operators page to monitor the progress of the update. When complete, the status changes to Succeeded and Up to date.