I'm wondering how common it is for organizations to deploy a single vendor application on OpenShift. My team is preparing to set this up for a 3rd party application that is critical for our business 24/7/365. The vendor insists that Kubernetes is the only architecture they support for their application. However, we're a small group of SysAdmins without experience in Kubernetes, so we're hiring contractors for the deployment. The whole setup feels a bit excessive to me. Is it typical to use OpenShift for just one application?
5 Answers
You're diving into quite a stack without much prior experience. OpenShift can get complicated and you’d really need a solid platform manager to keep things running smoothly. Be prepared for a learning curve and maybe start brushing up on Kubernetes basics, too!
I have extensive experience with OpenShift, and if you're getting a deal bundled with IBM, it could be worth it. But if you're just picking it randomly, that sounds risky! OpenShift tends to add complexity, and you need a solid support team to manage it. For a small crew, I'd recommend K3s. You can get a good grasp on it quickly and deploy clusters in less time. Just make sure your contractors don’t leave you hanging without proper documentation!
It looks like your vendor is pushing Kubernetes as the only option. If you're using a public cloud, their managed Kubernetes services can simplify things for you. Although, if they require it to be on-premises, that’s a whole different story. It might raise red flags about the application's viability if it feels over-architected like that.
Using OpenShift just for one application seems like overkill to me. It's like having a huge school bus for just one kid! You might want to consider if you really need Kubernetes at all, or if a simpler setup like a Debian host with Docker could suffice. Managed Kubernetes solutions could be a good fit if you still want to go that route, they're fairly priced and handle a lot of the tough stuff for you. If it feels off, that might be a red flag!
For sure, K3S could be a better option here, it’s lightweight and easier to manage.
Absolutely! Managed options take away a lot of the hassle and let you use smaller nodes too.
Honestly, if you're just hosting an application without much development needs, OpenShift might not be the best fit. It's designed for more complex operations, and the extra features might not offer any real benefit here. Managed Kubernetes from major cloud providers could save you on maintenance while still giving you the flexibility you need.
Yeah, it does seem a bit excessive. Maybe push back on the vendor to see if they can offer a simpler solution.