OpenShift Container Platform 4 contains new technologies and functionality that result in a cluster that is self-managing, flexible, and automated. OpenShift Container Platform 4 clusters are deployed and managed very differently from OpenShift Container Platform 3.
The most effective way to migrate from OpenShift Container Platform 3 to 4 is by using a CI/CD pipeline to automate deployments in an application lifecycle management framework.
If you do not have a CI/CD pipeline or if you are migrating stateful applications, you can use the Migration Toolkit for Containers (MTC) to migrate your application workloads.
You can use Red Hat Advanced Cluster Management for Kubernetes to help you import and manage your OpenShift Container Platform 3 clusters easily, enforce policies, and redeploy your applications. Take advantage of the free subscription to use Red Hat Advanced Cluster Management to simplify your migration process.
To successfully transition to OpenShift Container Platform 4, review the following information:
Architecture
Installation and upgrade
Storage, network, logging, security, and monitoring considerations
Workflow
File system and snapshot copy methods for persistent volumes (PVs)
Direct volume migration
Direct image migration
Automating your migration with migration hooks
Using the MTC API
Excluding resources from a migration plan
Configuring the MigrationController
custom resource for large-scale migrations
Enabling automatic PV resizing for direct volume migration
Enabling cached Kubernetes clients for improved performance
For new features and enhancements, technical changes, and known issues, see the MTC release notes.