Preparing to install on vSphere - Installing on vSphere | Installing

Prerequisites
Choosing a method to install OKD on vSphere
- Installer-provisioned infrastructure installation of OKD on vSphere
- user-provisioned infrastructure installation of OKD on vSphere
VMware vSphere infrastructure requirements
Uninstalling an installer-provisioned infrastructure installation of OKD on vSphere

Prerequisites

You reviewed details about the OKD installation and update processes.
You read the documentation on selecting a cluster installation method and preparing it for users.
If you use a firewall and plan to use Telemetry, you configured the firewall to allow the sites required by your cluster.
You reviewed your VMware platform licenses. Red Hat does not place any restrictions on your VMware licenses, but some VMware infrastructure components require licensing.

Choosing a method to install OKD on vSphere

You can install OKD on vSphere by using installer-provisioned or user-provisioned infrastructure. The default installation type uses installer-provisioned infrastructure, where the installation program provisions the underlying infrastructure for the cluster. You can also install OKD on infrastructure that you provide. If you do not use infrastructure that the installation program provisions, you must manage and maintain the cluster resources yourself.

See the Installation process for more information about installer-provisioned and user-provisioned installation processes.

The steps for performing a user-provisioned infrastructure installation are provided as an example only. Installing a cluster with infrastructure you provide requires knowledge of the vSphere platform and the installation process of OKD. Use the user-provisioned infrastructure installation instructions as a guide; you are free to create the required resources through other methods.

Installer-provisioned infrastructure installation of OKD on vSphere

Installer-provisioned infrastructure allows the installation program to pre-configure and automate the provisioning of resources required by OKD.

Installing a cluster on vSphere: You can install OKD on vSphere by using installer-provisioned infrastructure installation with no customization.
Installing a cluster on vSphere with customizations: You can install OKD on vSphere by using installer-provisioned infrastructure installation with the default customization options.
Installing a cluster on vSphere with network customizations: You can install OKD on installer-provisioned vSphere infrastructure, with network customizations. You can customize your OKD network configuration during installation, so that your cluster can coexist with your existing IP address allocations and adhere to your network requirements.
Installing a cluster on vSphere in a restricted network: You can install a cluster on VMware vSphere infrastructure in a restricted network by creating an internal mirror of the installation release content. You can use this method to deploy OKD on an internal network that is not visible to the internet.

user-provisioned infrastructure installation of OKD on vSphere

user-provisioned infrastructure requires the user to provision all resources required by OKD.

Installing a cluster on vSphere with user-provisioned infrastructure: You can install OKD on VMware vSphere infrastructure that you provision.
Installing a cluster on vSphere with network customizations with user-provisioned infrastructure: You can install OKD on VMware vSphere infrastructure that you provision with customized network configuration options.
Installing a cluster on vSphere in a restricted network with user-provisioned infrastructure: OKD can be installed on VMware vSphere infrastructure that you provision in a restricted network.

VMware vSphere infrastructure requirements

You must install the OKD cluster on a VMware vSphere version 6 or 7 instance that meets the requirements for the components that you use.

Table 1. Version requirements for vSphere virtual environments
Virtual environment product	Required version
VM hardware version	13 or later
vSphere ESXi hosts	6.5 or later
vCenter host	6.5 or later

Installing a cluster on VMware vSphere version 6.7U2 or earlier and virtual hardware version 13 is now deprecated. These versions are still fully supported, but support will be removed in a future version of OKD. Hardware version 15 is now the default for vSphere virtual machines in OKD. To update the hardware version for your vSphere nodes, see the "Updating hardware on nodes running in vSphere" article.

Table 2. Minimum supported vSphere version for VMware components
Component	Minimum supported versions	Description
Hypervisor	vSphere 6.5 and later with HW version 13	This version is the minimum version that Fedora CoreOS (FCOS) supports. See the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 supported hypervisors list.
Storage with in-tree drivers	vSphere 6.5 and later	This plugin creates vSphere storage by using the in-tree storage drivers for vSphere included in OKD.
Optional: Networking (NSX-T)	vSphere 6.5U3 or vSphere 6.7U2 and later	vSphere 6.5U3 or vSphere 6.7U2+ are required for OKD. For more information about the compatibility of NSX and OKD, see the Release Notes section of VMware’s NSX container plugin documentation.

If you use a vSphere version 6.5 instance, consider upgrading to 6.7U3 or 7.0 before you install OKD.

You must ensure that the time on your ESXi hosts is synchronized before you install OKD. See Edit Time Configuration for a Host in the VMware documentation.

Uninstalling an installer-provisioned infrastructure installation of OKD on vSphere

Uninstalling a cluster on vSphere that uses installer-provisioned infrastructure: You can remove a cluster that you deployed on VMware vSphere infrastructure that used installer-provisioned infrastructure.