--- name: openshift-rovs-overview title: OpenShift Virtualization Service overview description: OpenShift Virtualization Service is a pre-configured offering that delivers a ready-to-use virtualization platform on Red Hat OpenShift on IBM Cloud, enabling you to run virtual machines with minimal setup. last-updated: 2026-07-30 --- > ## Documentation Index > The table of contents for this documentation set is at https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/openshift?format=markdown > The index for all IBM Cloud docs is at: https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/llms.txt > Use these files to discover more information as needed. # OpenShift Virtualization Service overview {: #rovs-overview} [Virtual Private Cloud]{: tag-vpc} [4.21 and later]{: tag-red} [Bare metal worker nodes only]{: tag-warm-gray} [RHCOS only]{: tag-magenta} OpenShift Virtualization Service is a pre-configured offering that delivers a ready-to-use virtualization platform on Red Hat OpenShift on IBM Cloud, enabling you to run virtual machines with minimal setup. {: shortdesc} ## What is OpenShift Virtualization Service? {: #rovs-what-is} OpenShift Virtualization Service provides a streamlined path to deploying virtualized infrastructure on IBM Cloud. Unlike manual OpenShift Virtualization deployments, Virtualization Service comes with essential components pre-configured and pre-installed, allowing you to start running virtual machines immediately after cluster creation. ## How does Virtualization Service compare to manual deployment? {: #rovs-comparison} Virtualization Service provides a streamlined, pre-configured virtualization platform compared to manual OpenShift Virtualization deployment: | Feature | Virtualization Service | Manual Deployment | | -------- | -------- | -------- | | Setup time | Minutes | Hours | | OpenShift Virtualization | Pre-installed via add-on | Manual installation required | | Storage options | ODF (local NVME) or VPC File Storage | Manual setup required | | Networking | Automatic OVN with MTU 8900/9000 | Manual configuration | | Operators | Auto-installed (Virtualization, NMState, Node Maintenance) | Install from OperatorHub | | Licensing | OVE license (cost-effective) | Full OCP license | | Updates | Managed add-on updates | Self-managed | | Best for | Virtualization-focused workloads | Custom configurations | | Minimum version | OpenShift 4.21 | OpenShift 4.17 | {: caption="Comparison of Virtualization Service and manual deployment" caption-side="bottom"} ## What are the cluster requirements for Virtualization Service? {: #rovs-requirements} Virtualization Service clusters must meet the following requirements: Infrastructure : VPC with bare metal worker nodes only. OpenShift version : 4.21 or later. Operating system : Red Hat CoreOS (RHCOS) only. Network : OVN-Kubernetes CNI with MTU 8900 (OVN) and 9000 (worker nodes). Storage : OpenShift Data Foundation (ODF) with local NVME storage or VPC File Storage (one option must be selected during cluster creation). VPC File Storage support is available as a beta feature. Licensing : OpenShift Virtualization Engine (OVE) license. These settings are automatically configured during cluster creation and cannot be changed after deployment. ## Which bare metal flavors are supported? {: #rovs-flavors} Virtualization Service supports specific VPC bare metal flavors optimized for virtualization workloads. For a complete list of supported flavors, see [Worker node flavors](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/openshift?topic=openshift-vpc-flavors&format=markdown). To check bare metal flavor availability in the CLI: ```sh ibmcloud ks flavors --zone ZONE --provider vpc-gen2 | grep metal ``` {: pre} To verify that a specific flavor supports Virtualization Service, use the following command and check for the `openshift-vs` tag in the output: ```sh ibmcloud ks flavor get --flavor FLAVOR --zone ZONE --provider vpc-gen2 ``` {: pre} ## Where is Virtualization Service available? {: #rovs-regions} Virtualization Service is available in the following regions: - Dallas (us-south) - Washington DC (us-east) - Toronto (ca-tor) - Montreal (ca-mon) - Frankfurt (eu-de) ## What are the limitations of Virtualization Service? {: #rovs-limitations-ov} For a full list of limitations, see [OpenShift Virtualization Service limitations](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/openshift?topic=openshift-rovs-limitations&format=markdown). ## How is Virtualization Service priced? {: #rovs-pricing} Virtualization Service uses OpenShift Virtualization Engine (OVE) licensing, which is more cost-effective than full OpenShift Container Platform (OCP) licensing for virtualization-focused workloads. Pricing includes: Infrastructure costs : Bare metal worker nodes with local NVME storage. OVE license charges : Per instance-hour, for a bare metal worker node. Storage costs : NVME storage cost is included in the bare metal infrastructure cost. For detailed pricing information, see the [IBM Cloud Pricing Calculator](https://cloud.ibm.com/estimator){: external}. ## How does the Virtualization Service cluster license compare to a standard Red Hat OpenShift on IBM Cloud cluster license? {: #rovs-license-comparison} The following table compares the features included in the OpenShift Virtualization Engine (OVE) license used by Virtualization Service versus the full OpenShift Container Platform (OCP) license used by standard OpenShift clusters. | Component | Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization Service on IBM Cloud | Red Hat OpenShift on IBM Cloud | | --- | --- | --- | | License | Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization Engine | Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform | | Enterprise Secured Kubernetes | ![Checkmark icon](../icons/checkmark-icon.svg) | ![Checkmark icon](../icons/checkmark-icon.svg) | | Hosted control planes | ![Checkmark icon](../icons/checkmark-icon.svg) | ![Checkmark icon](../icons/checkmark-icon.svg) | | Operator Lifecycle Manager | ![Checkmark icon](../icons/checkmark-icon.svg) | ![Checkmark icon](../icons/checkmark-icon.svg) | | Compliance and File Integrity Operators | ![Checkmark icon](../icons/checkmark-icon.svg) | ![Checkmark icon](../icons/checkmark-icon.svg) | | Virtual machine-based workload hosting | ![Checkmark icon](../icons/checkmark-icon.svg) | ![Checkmark icon](../icons/checkmark-icon.svg) | | Container-based infra workload hosting | ![Checkmark icon](../icons/checkmark-icon.svg) | ![Checkmark icon](../icons/checkmark-icon.svg) | | User Workload Monitoring | ![Checkmark icon](../icons/checkmark-icon.svg)* | ![Checkmark icon](../icons/checkmark-icon.svg) | | Platform Logging | ![Checkmark icon](../icons/checkmark-icon.svg)* | ![Checkmark icon](../icons/checkmark-icon.svg) | | OpenShift GitOps | ![Checkmark icon](../icons/checkmark-icon.svg)* | ![Checkmark icon](../icons/checkmark-icon.svg) | | Metering and Cost Management SaaS Service | ![Checkmark icon](../icons/checkmark-icon.svg) | ![Checkmark icon](../icons/checkmark-icon.svg) | | Container-based user application hosting | | ![Checkmark icon](../icons/checkmark-icon.svg) | | RHEL guest and hosted virtual OpenShift subscriptions included | | ![Checkmark icon](../icons/checkmark-icon.svg) | | Runtimes, Build Tools, and IDE | | ![Checkmark icon](../icons/checkmark-icon.svg) | | CI/CD Pipelines | | ![Checkmark icon](../icons/checkmark-icon.svg) | | Serverless | | ![Checkmark icon](../icons/checkmark-icon.svg) | | Service Mesh | | ![Checkmark icon](../icons/checkmark-icon.svg) | | Tracing | | ![Checkmark icon](../icons/checkmark-icon.svg) | | Multi-cluster complete management with Red Hat Advanced Cluster Management | | | | Kubernetes-native security with Red Hat Advanced Cluster Security | | | | Scalable, central registry with Red Hat Quay | | | | Persistent software-defined storage and essential data services with OpenShift Data Foundation Essentials | | | {: row-headers} {: class="comparison-table"} {: caption="License entitlement comparison between OVE and OCP" caption-side="bottom"} {: summary="This table compares the features included in two Red Hat OpenShift license types. The row headers identify the feature. The column headers identify the license type: OVE (Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization Service entitlement) and OCP (Red Hat OpenShift on IBM Cloud license entitlement). To understand which features are included in a license, navigate to the row for the feature you are interested in and check for a checkmark icon in the column for the license type."} *VMs only. {: note} The OVE license used by Virtualization Service is optimized for running virtual machines and includes essential platform features. For workloads that require container-based applications, CI/CD pipelines, or advanced features like Service Mesh and Serverless, use a standard OpenShift cluster with the full OCP license. ## Next steps {: #rovs-next-steps} - [Getting started with OpenShift Virtualization Service](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/openshift?topic=openshift-rovs-getting-started&format=markdown) - [Tutorial: Creating a Virtualization Service cluster](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/openshift?topic=openshift-rovs-cluster-create&format=markdown) - [Managing Virtualization Service clusters](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/openshift?topic=openshift-rovs-manage&format=markdown)