Getting started with Red Hat OpenShift on IBM Cloud

Red Hat OpenShift on IBM Cloud is a managed Kubernetes service to create your own cluster of compute hosts where you can deploy and manage containerized apps on IBM Cloud. Combined with an intuitive user experience, built-in security and isolation, and advanced tools to secure, manage, and monitor your cluster workloads, you can rapidly deliver highly available and secure containerized apps in the public cloud.

Ready to create your first cluster?

If you already have an IBM Cloud account and want to get started immediately:

Create a cluster now

Don't have an account? Sign up for IBM Cloud

Use this page to move through the main setup flow: review the service, prepare your account, plan your environment, create a cluster, and deploy a sample app.

Review the basics

Start with the core concepts, terminology, and benefits. For more information, see Understanding Red Hat OpenShift on IBM Cloud.

If you already know the basics, continue to the next section.

Prepare your account

Make sure that your IBM Cloud account is ready for cluster creation. For setup steps, see Preparing your account to create clusters.

You must be logged in to IBM Cloud before you create a cluster. If you don't have an account yet, you can create one.

Pricing considerations

Pricing varies based on worker node flavor, number of nodes, and infrastructure type. For more information, see Red Hat OpenShift on IBM Cloud pricing.

Create a cluster environment strategy

Before you create a cluster, review the main design choices in Creating a cluster environment strategy. This topic helps you decide on factors such as infrastructure, networking, and availability.

Create a cluster

Follow a tutorial or set up your own custom cluster environment. Review the following table for your deployment options.

Options for creating a cluster
Type	Level	Time	Description
Tutorial	Beginner	30 minutes	Create a small, 2 node cluster to begin testing Red Hat OpenShift on IBM Cloud. For more information, see Creating a 2 node VPC cluster by using Schematics.
Tutorial	Beginner	45 minutes	Follow the steps in this tutorial to create your first cluster by using the IBM Cloud CLI. This tutorial uses Classic infrastructure. For more information, see Creating a classic cluster from the CLI.
Tutorial	Beginner	1 hour	Follow the steps in this tutorial to create your own Virtual Private Cloud (VPC), then create an Red Hat OpenShift on IBM Cloud cluster by using the CLI. For more information, see Create a cluster in your own Virtual Private Cloud.
Deployable architecture: QuickStart variation	Beginner	1 hour	This deployable architecture creates one VPC cluster with two worker nodes and a public endpoint. Note that the QuickStart variation is not highly available or validated for the IBM Cloud Framework for Financial Services. For more information, see Red Hat OpenShift on IBM Cloud on VPC landing zone
Deployable architecture: Standard variation	Intermediate	1-3 hours	This deployable architecture is based on the IBM Cloud for Financial Services reference architecture. The architecture creates secure and compliant clusters on a Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) network. For more information, see Red Hat OpenShift on IBM Cloud on VPC landing zone.
Deployable architectures: Community Registry	Intermediate	1-4 hours	There are more deployable architectures available in the Community Registry. Review the options to see if they fit your use case. For more information, see Catalog and select Community Registry from the drop-down menu.
Deployable architectures: OpenShift AI on IBM®	Intermediate	1-2 hours	This deployable architecture creates a new OpenShift cluster that runs GPU worker nodes and includes the Red Hat OpenShift AI operator. For more information, see OpenShift AI on IBM Cloud in the Catalog.
Custom deployment	Intermediate	1-3 hours	Create a custom cluster on Classic infrastructure.
Custom deployment	Intermediate	1-3 hours	Create a custom cluster on VPC infrastructure.

Already have a cluster? Learn how to access it and continue to the next step to deploy a sample app!

Deploy a sample app

After you create your cluster, deploy a sample app from the Red Hat OpenShift console, you can deploy one of the built-in service catalog apps and expose the app with a route.

From the navigation menu, change from the Administrator perspective to Developer perspective.
Click +Add > View all samples > Go.
Wait a few minutes for the resources to deploy.
Check the status from the Topology pane by clicking your Go app and reviewing the sidebar.
When the deployment is complete. Click the Open URL button to view your app in a web browser.
```
Hello World!
```
To clean up the resources that you created, delete your deployment from the Topology pane.

Quick actions

If you already have a cluster, use these links to continue:

Access your cluster: Connect to your cluster and run kubectl commands. For more information, see Accessing clusters.
Install the CLI: Set up your local development environment. For more information, see Installing the CLI.
Deploy your first app: Get hands-on with a sample application. For more information, see Deploying apps.

Need to check pricing first? View Red Hat OpenShift on IBM Cloud pricing.

What's next?

Continue with one of these curated learning paths: