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Preparing to install on vSphere

Prerequisites

Choosing a method to install OpenShift Container Platform on vSphere

You can install OpenShift Container Platform with the Assisted Installer. This method requires no setup for the installer, and is ideal for connected environments like vSphere. Installing with the Assisted Installer also provides integration with vSphere, enabling autoscaling. See Installing an on-premise cluster using the Assisted Installer for additional details.

You can also install OpenShift Container Platform on vSphere by using installer-provisioned or user-provisioned infrastructure. Installer-provisioned infrastructure is ideal for installing in environments with air-gapped/restricted networks, where the installation program provisions the underlying infrastructure for the cluster. You can also install OpenShift Container Platform on infrastructure that you provide. If you do not use infrastructure that the installation program provisions, you must manage and maintain the cluster resources yourself.

See the Installation process for more information about installer-provisioned and user-provisioned installation processes.

The steps for performing a user-provisioned infrastructure installation are provided as an example only. Installing a cluster with infrastructure you provide requires knowledge of the vSphere platform and the installation process of OpenShift Container Platform. Use the user-provisioned infrastructure installation instructions as a guide; you are free to create the required resources through other methods.

Installer-provisioned infrastructure installation of OpenShift Container Platform on vSphere

Installer-provisioned infrastructure allows the installation program to preconfigure and automate the provisioning of resources required by OpenShift Container Platform.

  • Installing a cluster on vSphere: You can install OpenShift Container Platform on vSphere by using installer-provisioned infrastructure installation with no customization.

  • Installing a cluster on vSphere with customizations: You can install OpenShift Container Platform on vSphere by using installer-provisioned infrastructure installation with the default customization options.

  • Installing a cluster on vSphere with network customizations: You can install OpenShift Container Platform on installer-provisioned vSphere infrastructure, with network customizations. You can customize your OpenShift Container Platform network configuration during installation, so that your cluster can coexist with your existing IP address allocations and adhere to your network requirements.

  • Installing a cluster on vSphere in a restricted network: You can install a cluster on VMware vSphere infrastructure in a restricted network by creating an internal mirror of the installation release content. You can use this method to deploy OpenShift Container Platform on an internal network that is not visible to the internet.

User-provisioned infrastructure installation of OpenShift Container Platform on vSphere

User-provisioned infrastructure requires the user to provision all resources required by OpenShift Container Platform.

VMware vSphere infrastructure requirements

You must install an OpenShift Container Platform cluster on one of the following versions of a VMware vSphere instance that meets the requirements for the components that you use:

  • Version 7.0 Update 2 or later, or VMware Cloud Foundation 4.3 or later

  • Version 8.0 Update 1 or later, or VMware Cloud Foundation 5.0 or later

You can host the VMware vSphere infrastructure on-premise or on a VMware Cloud Verified provider that meets the requirements outlined in the following table:

Table 1. Version requirements for vSphere virtual environments
Virtual environment product Required version

VMware virtual hardware

15 or later

vSphere ESXi hosts

7.0 Update 2 or later, or VMware Cloud Foundation 4.3 or later; 8.0 Update 1 or later, or VMware Cloud Foundation 5.0 or later

vCenter host

7.0 Update 2 or later, or VMware Cloud Foundation 4.3 or later; 8.0 Update 1 or later, or VMware Cloud Foundation 5.0 or later
Table 2. Minimum supported vSphere version for VMware components
Component Minimum supported versions Description

Hypervisor

vSphere 7.0 Update 2 or later, or VMware Cloud Foundation 4.3 or later; vSphere 8.0 Update 1 or later, or VMware Cloud Foundation 5.0 or later with virtual hardware version 15

This hypervisor version is the minimum version that Red Hat Enterprise Linux CoreOS (RHCOS) supports. For more information about supported hardware on the latest version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) that is compatible with RHCOS, see Hardware on the Red Hat Customer Portal.

Storage with in-tree drivers

vSphere 7.0 Update 2 and later; 8.0 Update 1 or later

This plugin creates vSphere storage by using the in-tree storage drivers for vSphere included in OpenShift Container Platform.

Optional: Networking (NSX-T)

vSphere 7.0 Update 2 or later, or VMware Cloud Foundation 4.3 or later; vSphere 8.0 Update 1 or later, or VMware Cloud Foundation 5.0 or later

For more information about the compatibility of NSX and OpenShift Container Platform, see the Release Notes section of VMware’s NSX container plugin documentation.

CPU micro-architecture

x86-64-v2 or higher

OpenShift 4.13 and later are based on RHEL 9.2 host operating system which raised the microarchitecture requirements to x86-64-v2. See the RHEL Microarchitecture requirements documentation. You can verify compatibility by following the procedures outlined in this KCS article.

You must ensure that the time on your ESXi hosts is synchronized before you install OpenShift Container Platform. See Edit Time Configuration for a Host in the VMware documentation.
Additional resources

VMware vSphere CSI Driver Operator requirements

To install the vSphere CSI Driver Operator, the following requirements must be met:

  • VMware vSphere version: 7.0 Update 2 or later, or VMware Cloud Foundation 4.3 or later; 8.0 Update 1 or later, or VMware Cloud Foundation 5.0 or later

  • vCenter version: 7.0 Update 2 or later, or VMware Cloud Foundation 4.3 or later; 8.0 Update 1 or later, or VMware Cloud Foundation 5.0 or later

  • Virtual machines of hardware version 15 or later

  • No third-party vSphere CSI driver already installed in the cluster

If a third-party vSphere CSI driver is present in the cluster, OpenShift Container Platform does not overwrite it. The presence of a third-party vSphere CSI driver prevents OpenShift Container Platform from updating to OpenShift Container Platform 4.13 or later.

The VMware vSphere CSI Driver Operator is supported only on clusters deployed with platform: vsphere in the installation manifest.
Additional resources

Configuring the vSphere connection settings

  • Updating the vSphere connection settings following an installation: For installations on vSphere using the Assisted Installer, you must manually update the vSphere connection settings to complete the installation. For installer-provisioned or user-provisioned infrastructure installations on vSphere, you can optionally validate or modify the vSphere connection settings at any time.

Uninstalling an installer-provisioned infrastructure installation of OpenShift Container Platform on vSphere