Installing Red Hat Developer Hub on OpenShift Container Platform
Running Red Hat Developer Hub on Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform by using either the Operator or Helm chart.
Abstract
You can install Red Hat Developer Hub on OpenShift Container Platform by using one of the following installers:
- The Red Hat Developer Hub Operator
- Ready for immediate use in OpenShift Container Platform after an administrator installs it with OperatorHub
- Uses Operator Lifecycle Management (OLM) to manage automated subscription updates on OpenShift Container Platform
- Requires preinstallation of Operator Lifecycle Management (OLM) to manage automated subscription updates on Kubernetes
- The Red Hat Developer Hub Helm chart
- Ready for immediate use in both OpenShift Container Platform and Kubernetes
- Requires manual installation and management
Use the installation method that best meets your needs and preferences.
Additional resources
- For more information about choosing an installation method, see Helm Charts vs. Operators
- For more information about the Operator method, see Understanding Operators.
- For more information about the Helm chart method, see Understanding Helm.
1. Installing Red Hat Developer Hub on OpenShift Container Platform with the Operator
You can install Red Hat Developer Hub on OpenShift Container Platform by using the Red Hat Developer Hub Operator in the OpenShift Container Platform console.
1.1. Installing the Red Hat Developer Hub Operator
As an administrator, you can install the Red Hat Developer Hub Operator. Authorized users can use the Operator to install Red Hat Developer Hub on Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform (OpenShift Container Platform) and supported Kubernetes platforms. For more information on supported platforms and versions, see the Red Hat Developer Hub Life Cycle page.
Containers are available for the following CPU architectures:
-
AMD64 and Intel 64 (
x86_64
)
Prerequisites
- You are logged in as an administrator on the OpenShift Container Platform web console.
- You have configured the appropriate roles and permissions within your project to create or access an application. For more information, see the Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform documentation on Building applications.
- You have installed Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.17 or later.
Procedure
- In the Administrator perspective of the OpenShift Container Platform web console, click Operators > OperatorHub.
- In the Filter by keyword box, enter Developer Hub and click the Red Hat Developer Hub Operator card.
- On the Red Hat Developer Hub Operator page, read the information about the Operator and click Install to open the Install Operator page.
From the Update channel drop-down menu, select the update channel that you want to use, for example, fast or fast-1.6.
ImportantThe `fast channel includes all of the updates available for a particular version. Any update might introduce unexpected changes in your Red Hat Developer Hub deployment. Check the release notes for details about any potentially breaking changes.
The fast-1.6 channel only provides z-stream updates, for example, updating from version 1.6.1 to 1.6.2. If you want to update the Red Hat Developer Hub y-version in the future, for example, updating from 1.6 to 1.7, you must switch to the fast-1.7 channel manually.
- From the Version drop-down menu, select the version of the Red Hat Developer Hub Operator that you want to install. The default version is the latest version available in the selected channel.
Select the Operator Installation mode.
NoteThe All namespaces on the cluster (default) option is selected by default. The Specific namespace on the cluster option is not currently supported.
In the Installed Namespace field, do one of the following actions:
- Select Operator recommended Namespace to create and use the rhdh-operator namespace. This option is selected by default.
Select Select a Namespace to use an alternative namespace.
From the Select Project drop-down menu, do one of the following actions:
- Select an existing project.
Select Create Project to create a new project for the Operator.
On the Create Project dialog, enter text into the required fields and click Create.
ImportantFor enhanced security, better control over the Operator lifecycle, and preventing potential privilege escalation, install the Red Hat Developer Hub Operator in a dedicated default
rhdh-operator
namespace. You can restrict other users' access to the Operator resources through role bindings or cluster role bindings.You can also install the Operator in another namespace by creating the necessary resources, such as an Operator group. For more information, see Installing global Operators in custom namespaces.
However, if the Red Hat Developer Hub Operator shares a namespace with other Operators, then it shares the same update policy as well, preventing the customization of the update policy. For example, if one Operator is set to manual updates, the Red Hat Developer Hub Operator update policy is also set to manual. For more information, see Colocation of Operators in a namespace.
Select the Update approval method for the Operator.
- If you select the Automatic option, the Operator is updated without requiring manual confirmation.
- If you select the Manual option, a notification opens when a new update is released in the update channel. The update must be manually approved by an administrator before installation can begin.
Click Install.
NoteIf you selected a Manual approval strategy, the upgrade status of the subscription remains Upgrading until you review and approve the install plan. After you click Approve on the Install Plan page, the subscription upgrade status changes to Up to date.
If you selected an Automatic approval strategy, the upgrade status should resolve to Up to date without intervention.
Verification
- Immediately after the Operator is installed, the dialog box on the OperatorHub page displays the Installed operator: ready for use message.
From the dialog box, do one of the following actions:
- Click View Operator to open the Operator details page for the Red Hat Developer Hub Operator.
Click View all installed operators to open the Installed Operators page.
- From the list of installed Operators, locate the Red Hat Developer Hub Operator name and details.
- Click Red Hat Developer Hub Operator to open the Operator details page for the Red Hat Developer Hub Operator.
1.2. Deploying Red Hat Developer Hub on OpenShift Container Platform with the Operator
As a developer, you can deploy a Red Hat Developer Hub instance on OpenShift Container Platform by using the Developer Catalog in the Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform web console. This deployment method uses the Red Hat Developer Hub Operator.
Prerequisites
Procedure
-
In the OpenShift Container Platform web console, select your
<my-rhdh-project>
project. - From the Developer perspective on the OpenShift Container Platform web console, click +Add.
- From the Developer Catalog panel, click Operator Backed.
- In the Filter by keyword box, enter Developer Hub and click the Red Hat Developer Hub card.
- Click Create.
- Add your Backstage custom resource content.
- On the Create Backstage page, click Create
Verification
After the pods are ready, you can access the Red Hat Developer Hub platform by opening the URL.
- Confirm that the pods are ready by clicking the pod in the Topology view and confirming the Status in the Details panel. The pod status is Active when the pod is ready.
From the Topology view, click the Open URL icon on the Developer Hub pod.
Additional resources
2. Installing Red Hat Developer Hub on OpenShift Container Platform with the Helm chart
You can install Red Hat Developer Hub on OpenShift Container Platform by using the Helm chart with one of the following methods:
- The OpenShift Container Platform console
- The Helm CLI
2.1. Deploying Developer Hub from the OpenShift Container Platform web console with the Helm Chart
You can use a Helm chart to install Developer Hub on the Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform web console.
Helm is a package manager on OpenShift Container Platform that provides the following features:
- Applies regular application updates using custom hooks
- Manages the installation of complex applications
- Provides charts that you can host on public and private servers
- Supports rolling back to previous application versions
The Red Hat Developer Hub Helm chart is available in the Helm catalog on OpenShift Dedicated and OpenShift Container Platform.
Prerequisites
- You are logged in to your OpenShift Container Platform account.
-
A user with the OpenShift Container Platform
admin
role has configured the appropriate roles and permissions within your project to create an application. For more information about OpenShift Container Platform roles, see Using RBAC to define and apply permissions. - You have created a project in OpenShift Container Platform. For more information about creating a project in OpenShift Container Platform, see Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform documentation.
Procedure
- From the Developer perspective on the Developer Hub web console, click +Add.
- From the Developer Catalog panel, click Helm Chart.
- In the Filter by keyword box, enter Developer Hub and click the Red Hat Developer Hub card.
- From the Red Hat Developer Hub page, click Create.
-
From your cluster, copy the OpenShift Container Platform router host (for example:
apps.<clusterName>.com
). Select the radio button to configure the Developer Hub instance with either the form view or YAML view. The Form view is selected by default.
Using Form view
- To configure the instance with the Form view, go to Root Schema → global → Enable service authentication within Backstage instance and paste your OpenShift Container Platform router host into the field on the form.
Using YAML view
To configure the instance with the YAML view, paste your OpenShift Container Platform router hostname in the
global.clusterRouterBase
parameter value as shown in the following example:global: auth: backend: enabled: true clusterRouterBase: apps.<clusterName>.com # other Red Hat Developer Hub Helm Chart configurations
Edit the other values if needed.
NoteThe information about the host is copied and can be accessed by the Developer Hub backend.
When an OpenShift Container Platform route is generated automatically, the host value for the route is inferred and the same host information is sent to the Developer Hub. Also, if the Developer Hub is present on a custom domain by setting the host manually using values, the custom host takes precedence.
- Click Create and wait for the database and Developer Hub to start.
Click the Open URL icon to start using the Developer Hub platform.
Your developer-hub
pod might be in a CrashLoopBackOff
state if the Developer Hub container cannot access the configuration files. This error is indicated by the following log:
Loaded config from app-config-from-configmap.yaml, env ... 2023-07-24T19:44:46.223Z auth info Configuring "database" as KeyStore provider type=plugin Backend failed to start up Error: Missing required config value at 'backend.database.client'
To resolve the error, verify the configuration files.
2.2. Deploying Developer Hub on OpenShift Container Platform with the Helm CLI
You can use the Helm CLI to install Red Hat Developer Hub on Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform.
Prerequisites
-
You have installed the OpenShift CLI (
oc
) on your workstation. - You are logged in to your OpenShift Container Platform account.
- A user with the OpenShift Container Platform admin role has configured the appropriate roles and permissions within your project to create an application. For more information about OpenShift Container Platform roles, see Using RBAC to define and apply permissions.
- You have created a project in OpenShift Container Platform. For more information about creating a project in OpenShift Container Platform, see Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform documentation.
- You have installed the Helm CLI tool.
Procedure
Create and activate the <my-rhdh-project> OpenShift Container Platform project:
NAMESPACE=<emphasis><rhdh></emphasis> oc new-project ${NAMESPACE} || oc project ${NAMESPACE}
Install the Red Hat Developer Hub Helm chart:
helm upgrade redhat-developer-hub -i https://github.com/openshift-helm-charts/charts/releases/download/redhat-redhat-developer-hub-1.6.1/redhat-developer-hub-1.6.1.tgz
Configure your Developer Hub Helm chart instance with the Developer Hub database password and router base URL values from your OpenShift Container Platform cluster:
PASSWORD=$(oc get secret redhat-developer-hub-postgresql -o jsonpath="{.data.password}" | base64 -d) CLUSTER_ROUTER_BASE=$(oc get route console -n openshift-console -o=jsonpath='{.spec.host}' | sed 's/^[^.]*\.//') helm upgrade redhat-developer-hub -i "https://github.com/openshift-helm-charts/charts/releases/download/redhat-redhat-developer-hub-1.6.1/redhat-developer-hub-1.6.1.tgz" \ --set global.clusterRouterBase="$CLUSTER_ROUTER_BASE" \ --set global.postgresql.auth.password="$PASSWORD"
Display the running Developer Hub instance URL:
echo "https://redhat-developer-hub-$NAMESPACE.$CLUSTER_ROUTER_BASE"
Verification
- Open the running Developer Hub instance URL in your browser to use Developer Hub.
Additional resources