Installing IBM Cloud Pak for Data

After you review the system requirements and other planning information, you install IBM® Cloud Pak for Data by completing the pre-installation tasks, completing the installation task itself, and then completing the post-installation tasks. When complete, you will have installed the Cloud Pak for Data control plane. Services are installed separately.

You use the Cloud Pak for Data command-line interface to install the Cloud Pak for Data control plane and any services that you want to run.

You can install the software on a cluster that is connected to the internet or a cluster that is air-gapped. The following sections explain how the installation process works in each environment.
Note: The sections do not cover how to run the cpd-cli adm commands, but the steps are explained in the corresponding installation topics.

Internet-connected clusters

When you run the cpd-cli installation command from a client workstation, it downloads Helm charts from a public IBM file server, transfers all images from the entitled IBM Docker registry to your registry server, and deploys the Helm charts to a project in your OpenShift® cluster.

Figure 1. Flow when running the cpd-cli command on a cluster connected to the internet
Begin Alt text. Install process on a cluster connected to the internet. This process is explained in the preceding text. End Alt text.

Air-gapped clusters

When you run the cpd-cli download command from a client workstation, it downloads all of the images and Helm charts from a public IBM file server to the client workstation. Next, you move the Cloud Pak for Data command-line interface and the downloaded files to a system that can connect to the registry server and the cluster. From the system that can connect to the cluster, run the cpd-cli command to push the images to your registry server. Lastly, you run the cpd-cli installation command, which deploys the Helm charts to a project in your OpenShift cluster.

Figure 2. Flow when running the cpd-cli command on an air-gapped cluster
Begin Alt text. Install process on an air-gapped cluster. This process is explained in the preceding text. End Alt text.

Installation components

Cloud Pak for Data defines the modular installation components as follows:

Assembly
A particular Cloud Pak for Data service (and its dependent assemblies) to deploy to a project in Red Hat® OpenShift. Assemblies for the Cloud Pak for Data control plane and services are stored on a public IBM file server, and do not have to be installed at the same time.
Repository configuration
A server definition YAML file that you download to your Linux or Mac OS client workstation and then customize. It specifies:
  • URLs and credentials for the file server to download Helm charts from.
  • URLs and credentials for the registry server to download images from.

The default server definition file is repo.yaml.