OpenIaC
Quick Start

On-Premise Platform Deployment

OpenIaC provides a unified, zero-config workflow for deploying container, virtualization, and private cloud platforms on RHEL / Rocky Linux hosts. Even if you have never configured kernel modules or cluster networking before, you can follow the copy-paste steps below from top to bottom.

Step 1: Configure Target Server IP Addresses

Open the sample hosts.ini inventory file for the platform you want to deploy (ansible/inventories/<platform>-sample/hosts.ini) and update the IP addresses (ansible_host) and SSH credentials (ansible_user / ansible_password) to match your servers:

# Example: ansible/inventories/k8s-sample/hosts.ini

# 1. Physical or Virtual Server IP Addresses
[all_nodes]
cp-01 ansible_host=192.168.56.10 ansible_user=root
worker-01 ansible_host=192.168.56.20 ansible_user=root
worker-02 ansible_host=192.168.56.21 ansible_user=root

# 2. Cluster Role Assignment
[k8s_control_plane]
cp-01

[k8s_workers]
worker-01
worker-02

[k8s_cluster:children]
k8s_control_plane
k8s_workers

Step 2: Run One-Command Platform Deployment

From the root directory of openiac, run the single make command for your desired platform:

Option A: Standard Upstream Kubernetes (k8s)

Deploys an upstream CNCF Kubernetes cluster with kubeadm, containerd (SystemdCgroup = true), and Calico CNI:

make k8s

After completion, verify your cluster directly on cp-01:

kubectl get nodes -o wide

Option B: Lightweight Kubernetes (k3s)

Deploys a fast, single-binary SUSE Rancher K3s cluster (ideal for edge nodes, small footprints, or rapid testing):

make k3s

Option C: OpenShift / OKD (openshift — 4.12+ Agent-Based Standard)

Generates a self-bootstrapping Agent-based Installer ISO (agent.x86_64.iso) with static nmstate networking and built-in API/Ingress VIPs—eliminating the need for an external HAProxy load balancer or dedicated bootstrap VM:

  1. (Optional) By default, OpenIaC deploys free, open-source OKD. To deploy commercial Red Hat OpenShift (OCP), edit ansible/inventories/openshift-sample/group_vars/all.yml: 
    openshift_edition: "ocp"        # "okd" (Free Default) | "ocp" (Red Hat Commercial)
openshift_api_vip: "192.168.56.100"
openshift_ingress_vip: "192.168.56.101"
  2. Run the deployment command: 
    make openshift
  3. Attach the generated /opt/openiac-openshift/agent.x86_64.iso (located on bastion-01) to your target bare-metal BMC/iDRAC or VMs and boot them. OpenIaC will automatically monitor the bootstrap and installation process until completion!

Option D: Cloud-Native VM Virtualization (kubevirt)

Run KVM virtual machines alongside containers. If you run make kubevirt on brand-new empty servers, OpenIaC automatically installs Base OS + Standard Kubernetes (k8s) + KubeVirt in one shot:

# Deploy Turnkey K8s + KubeVirt (or add KubeVirt onto an existing K8s/K3s cluster)
make kubevirt

# Or deploy KubeVirt onto an existing OpenShift / OKD cluster
make openshift-kubevirt

Option E: OpenStack Private Cloud (openstack)

Deploys a containerized multi-node OpenStack cloud using Kolla-Ansible:

make openstack

What Happens Automatically Behind the Scenes?

  • Base OS Hardening & Kernel Tuning: Disables swap, configures SELinux permissive mode, loads overlay and br_netfilter modules, and applies CRI sysctl network parameters.
  • Built-in Invisible Helpers: Automatically generates bootable OpenShift 4.12+ Agent ISOs (agent.x86_64.iso) with nmstate static networking and built-in VIPs, configures LVM cinder-volumes and Neutron dummy interfaces for OpenStack, and enables QEMU emulation fallback for KubeVirt when /dev/kvm is absent.
  • Automatic Kubeconfig & Credentials: Configures /root/.kube/config on Kubernetes control plane nodes, /opt/openiac-openshift/auth/kubeconfig for OpenShift, and /etc/kolla/admin-openrc.sh for OpenStack immediately after installation.