Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform mixed entitlement FAQ

This FAQ answers questions about the following two approaches to managing IBM Cloud Pak® mixed entitlement environments:

• Option 1: IBM Cloud Pak solutions with restricted Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform entitlements can be deployed and run in separate clusters. If this approach meets your needs, there is no further action required to manage compliance scenarios associated with mixed IBM Cloud Pak restricted license OpenShift Container Platform environments.

  

• Option 2: Multiple IBM Cloud Pak restricted and unrestricted OpenShift Container Platform configurations in a mixed environment. The IBM License Service can be leveraged to manage these environments. For more details about how to manage this scenario, continue reading this FAQ.

  

Getting started

Q: What does restricted and unrestricted mean in this context?

A: Restricted OpenShift Container Platform may only be used in support of the software bundle it was sold with. Other applications and workloads not included in the software bundle are not permitted to be run on the restricted OpenShift Container Platform. Unrestricted OpenShift Container Platform permits any type of workload to be run.

Q: Why does this FAQ document reference IBM Cloud Pak for X/Y and Cloud Pak for Applications?

A: Cloud Pak for Applications uses an unrestricted OpenShift Container Platform, permitting any workload to run on it. All other current Cloud Pak offerings use a restricted OpenShift Container Platform, permitting only compatible Cloud Pak software to run on it. In this FAQ, all references to IBM Cloud Pak for X/Y indicate a restricted OpenShift Container Platform.

Unrestricted OpenShift Container Platform

Q: I have Cloud Pak for Applications (unrestricted OpenShift Container Platform) and I’d like to add OpenShift Container Platform cores to my existing Cloud Pak for Applications OpenShift Container Platform cluster. Is this supported by IBM and Red Hat?

A: Yes. There are currently no product restrictions on mixing Cloud Pak for Applications and OpenShift Container Platform entitlements in the same cluster. Both are unrestricted OpenShift Container Platform and can equally support any workload the customer introduces. Because Cloud Pak OpenShift Container Platform is supported by IBM and OpenShift Container Platform is supported by Red Hat, the support workflow may be more complex than if the workloads were run in separate clusters.

Restricted OpenShift Container Platform

Q: I have IBM Cloud Pak for X and IBM Cloud Pak for Y, both with restricted OpenShift Container Platform. Can I run both of these Cloud Pak workloads within the same OpenShift Container Platform cluster?

A: Yes, any compatible Cloud Pak software may be combined to run on restricted OpenShift Container Platform within a single cluster.

Q: I have a restricted OpenShift Container Platform with IBM Cloud Pak for X subscription. Can I run non-IBM Cloud Pak for X workloads on this restricted OpenShift Container Platform?

A: No, you may only run compatible Cloud Pak workloads on your restricted IBM Cloud Pak for X OpenShift Container Platform.

Mix of restricted and unrestricted OpenShift Container Platform

Q: I have unrestricted Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform, can I run a Cloud Pak workload on unrestricted OpenShift Container Platform cores?

A: Yes, any workload may be run on unrestricted OpenShift Container Platform.

Q: I have Cloud Pak for Applications (unrestricted OpenShift Container Platform) and a restricted OpenShift Container Platform for IBM Cloud Pak for X. Can I run IBM Cloud Pak for X in the same cluster as OpenShift Container Platform for Cloud Pak for Applications?

A: Yes, you may run any workload on an unrestricted OpenShift Container Platform. You will still need to ensure that your restricted OpenShift Container Platform cores only run IBM Cloud Pak for X workloads, as permitted by the IBM Cloud Pak terms.

Q: I have configured my Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform cluster to run both restricted and unrestricted workloads, but I have not consumed all of the available cores. How can I determine the available Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform core capacity for both the restricted and unrestricted cores within the cluster?

A: You can use the IBM Cloud Pak foundational services License Service that is included in all of the IBM Cloud Paks. License Service collects and measures the license usage of IBM Cloud Paks at the cluster level. IBM Cloud Pak customers can use License Service and the Red Hat Customer Portal to manually calculate the available capacity of both restricted use and unrestricted use entitlements of OpenShift Container Platform and IBM Cloud Paks. For more information about monitoring core capacity, see Determining Available Capacity for OpenShift Container Platform & IBM Cloud Paks through Subscription Watch. For more information about the License Service, see IBM Cloud Pak foundational services License Service.

Q: I have configured my OpenShift Container Platform cluster to run both restricted and unrestricted workloads but I have not consumed all available cores yet. How can I determine the available OpenShift Container Platform core capacity for both the restricted and unrestricted cores within the cluster?

A: IBM provides a License Service as part of IBM Cloud Pak foundational services, which is included in all IBM Cloud Pak solutions. IBM License Service collects and measures the license usage of IBM Cloud Pak solutions at the cluster level. Cloud Pak customers can use IBM License Service and the Red Hat Customer Portal to manually calculate the available capacity of both restricted use and unrestricted use entitlements of OpenShift Container Platform and IBM Cloud Pak solutions.

Q: If I have an OpenShift Container Platform cluster configured for high availability, how do I remain in compliance of restricted OpenShift Container Platform if a node failover occurs?

A: The IBM Cloud Pak license terms stipulate that Red Hat subscriptions are supported only in support of the IBM Cloud Pak for which they were entitled. The best way for customers to remain definitely in compliance is to run separately restricted OpenShift subscriptions in separate clusters at this time. If two OpenShift Container Platform clusters are running at the same time (in a hot standby configuration), they cannot use the same entitlements.

Q: If I run any IBM Cloud Pak workloads within a Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform cluster, how will this impact my OpenShift Container Platform support experience?

A: Because Cloud Pak solutions OpenShift Container Platform is supported by IBM and OpenShift Container Platform is supported by Red Hat, the support workflow may be more complex than if the workloads were run in separate clusters, potentially resulting in the support case being closed and the customer being redirected to open a new case with the other support team. For the most streamlined support experience, Red Hat recommends running these workloads in separate clusters.