Chapter 2. Introduction to containers and orchestration with Kubernetes 31
2.5  Enterprise Kubernetes: Red Hat OpenShift
OpenShift is an open source container application platform by Red Hat that is based on the 
Kubernetes container orchestrator.
2.5.1  Red Hat OpenShift overview
Based on industry standards, such as Docker and Kubernetes, Red Hat OpenShift is one of 
the most reliable enterprise-grade containers. It is designed and optimized to easily deploy 
web applications and services. Categorized as a cloud development Platform as a Service 
(PasS), OpenShift allows developers to focus on code. It also manages all of the complex IT 
operations and processes.
One of the main features that OpenShift offers to the industry is the ability to handle 
applications that are written in different languages, such as Python, Node.js, Java, and Perl.
Red Hat OpenShift is presented to the users in three different products:
/SM590000Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform
/SM590000Red Hat OpenShift Online
/SM590000Red Hat OpenShift Dedicated
Red Hat OpenShift Online and Dedicated versions are clusters that are fully provided as a 
cloud service. They offer many features, such as high availability, flexible authentication 
options, and integrated container registries. 
The differences between Online and Dedicated options are on the cloud service 
implementation. Online Service is a multi-tenant operating system that is designed for 
individual developers to quickly gain access to a hosted OpenShift environment, although the 
Dedicated version offers clusters in a virtual private cloud, which is exclusive for a single 
customer (single-tenant).
In contrast, OpenShift Container Platform works on-premises private PaaS. Although the 
implementation purposes and business modeling can differ from one product to another, the 
core of the code and functionality from the different versions are the same. 
2.5.2  Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform
Formally known as a OpenShift Enterprise, the OpenShift Container Platform (OCP) is built 
and optimized for easily deployment of web applications and services. It provides developers 
with a secure and scalable operating system for their applications, which helps them to build 
and deploy containerized infrastructure.
The following section describes the OpenShift architecture, its components, and high 
availability considerations.
2.5.3  OpenShift Container Platform architecture
Designed as a layered system, OpenShift Container Platform architecture supports and 
manages each layer with Docker, which allows for the creation of lightweight containers. All of 
these containers are handled by Kubernetes on the top of the layers, which provides the 
cluster management and orchestration of containers on multiple hosts.