Red Hat OpenShift Data Foundation is an integrated suite of cloud storage and data services for the Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform. It provides a highly available, software-defined storage solution that delivers persistent storage for containerized applications running on OpenShift in Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI).
OpenShift Data Foundation offers a scalable, unified, and easy-to-manage storage solution, consisting of several open source operators that provide file, block, and object storage capabilities for your containerized workloads in OpenShift on OCI.
OpenShift Data Foundation provides storage services to applications via storage classes, representing the following components:
With the OpenShift Platform Plus subscription, you can install Red Hat OpenShift Data Foundation Essentials on any cluster entitled with OpenShift Platform Plus. OpenShift Data Foundation is available in two versions: Essentials and Advances. For detailed feature comparisons between these versions, refer to the OpenShift Data Foundation Subscription Guide.
You can install OpenShift Data Foundation by using OCI Block Storage in one of the following modes:
OCI block volumes are attached to the worker nodes as underlying cloud storage in local mode. To use this mode, ensure that the same-size block volume is attached to each worker node in the OpenShift cluster. Optionally, dedicate infrastructure nodes specifically for building the OpenShift Data Foundation storage architecture.
OpenShift Data Foundation abstracts the underlying OCI Block Storage into a virtualized storage layer, enabling the creation of file, block, or object persistent volume claims (PVCs). OCI block volumes range from 50 GB—32 TB and offer various performance tiers based on IOPS and throughput requirements. These tiers are defined by virtual performance units (VPUs), ranging from 0–120 VPUs per block volume, delivering Balanced, High Performance, and Ultra High Performance storage options to meet diverse workload needs. For more details about the VPU refer to the Block Volume Performance.
In external mode, you can consume OCI block volumes through the CSI driver without directly attaching them to the worker nodes. This mode provides the same storage capabilities as the local mode. This blog post focuses on the local installation method of OpenShift Data Foundation in OCI.
OCI regions are defined by geographical locations and can have either multiple availability domains or a single availability domain within the region. Availability domains are physical data centers within an OCI region. Multi-availability domain regions contain three availability domains connected by a high-bandwidth, low-latency network. Each availability domain is further divided into three fault domains, which are isolated server racks offering redundancy.
These availability constructs are key to designing a resilient OpenShift cluster in OCI, helping ensure high availability and redundancy for storage provided by OpenShift Data Foundation.
The architecture contains the following components:
The architecture contains the following components:
The OpenShift Data Foundation architecture contains the following key components when deployed in OCI:
These components work in harmony to create a resilient, highly available storage infrastructure. Through the use of distributed storage and automated management, OpenShift Data Foundation enhances availability, helping ensure data durability and minimizing downtime in cloud environments.
The ODF operator is a Kubernetes operator that automates the deployment, configuration, and management of storage resources in an OpenShift cluster. It simplifies the setup process by handling the following tasks:
By using the OpenShift Data Foundation operator, managing persistent storage in OpenShift becomes easier and more efficient, reducing the manual intervention required for day-to-day operations.
Running OpenShift Data Foundation in OCI offers a powerful combination of scalability, resiliency, and high availability. Whether deployed across multi-availability domain regions or within single-availability domain environments, OpenShift Data Foundation helps ensure that your containerized workloads are backed by robust, software-defined storage with full support for block, file, and object storage.
With OCI’s redundant architecture, including fault and availability domains, and OpenShift Data Foundation’s distributed Ceph storage, enterprises can achieve seamless data replication, high fault tolerance, and minimal downtime, helping ensure business continuity even during infrastructure failures. The integration of OpenShift Data Foundation with OCI’s low-latency, high-bandwidth network further enhances performance, making it an optimal solution for mission-critical applications.
Additionally, the Rook operator and other automation capabilities simplify management, reduce operational overhead, and enable dynamic scaling, making OpenShift Data Foundation in OCI an ideal choice for organizations looking to modernize their infrastructure with containerized workloads while maintaining data integrity and operational efficiency.
Overall, OpenShift Data Foundation in Oracle Cloud Infrastructure delivers a flexible, scalable, and resilient storage solution for enterprises, supporting modern application architectures with confidence and security.
For more information, see the following resources:
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