Red Hat OpenStack Platform 16.2, the latest version of Red Hat’s scalable cloud Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) platform, is now general available. Version 16.2 would further refine Red Hat’s framework for open private clouds by improving the connectivity of edge environments.
Red Hat OpenStack Platform 16.2 is designed to help organizations succeed in a hybrid cloud world by providing tighter integration with Red Hat OpenShift. It would allow clients to run both new and traditional applications in parallel with improved network capacity, security features, storage, performance, and efficiency.
Red Hat frequently sees customers and partners working together to operate virtualized network functions (VNFs) and cloud-native network functions (CNFs) side by side to achieve bare-metal-like performance. Red Hat OpenStack Platform 16.2 offers additional features to assist meet this need.
To help tackle this demand, Red Hat OpenStack Platform 16.2 adds new capabilities for:
- A long-life, extended lifecycle allowing for ongoing feature updates without the disruption or potential downtime associated with large upgrades
- The flexibility to run VMs and cloud-native applications in parallel, and reach bare metal performance thanks to integration between Red Hat OpenStack Platform and enterprise Kubernetes platform Red Hat OpenShift
- Choice and efficiency through new hardware options, including 3rd generation Intel Xeon Scalable processors and other x86 architectures, allowing clients to build open hybrid clouds in the way that suits their needs best, from core architecture to hardware offloading with smartNICs
- Simplified, easier storage by aggregating a wide range of suppliers and formats so clients can focus on application innovation rather than managing proprietary storage systems
Increasing Connectivity at the Edge
Application availability becomes even more critical at the edge, especially when edge locations have sporadic or poor network connections back to a central site. Furthermore, while processing occurs at edge locations, there are some cases where maintaining continual communication with the central site is important, such as a hospital system combating an outbreak.
A primary hospital may house the central data center and handle significant quantities of patients from metropolitan regions, but in order to serve the entire community, treatment must extend to rural patients as well. As a result, such applications must also be extended to rural clinics with inconsistent access and limited space. Extending a hybrid environment to where the data is needed might help remote teams make faster choices when time is of the essence.
Red Hat OpenStack Platform 16.2 provides availability zone awareness via Open Virtual Networking to assist meet this demand (OVN). This allows operators to categorize nodes based on geographic location, power sources, and possible downtime – a timetable can then be defined so that edge environments may reach the node with the highest availability. This aids in the support of remote edge sites and the provision of local services, while also enhancing performance, lowering data plane latency, and improving overall edge robustness.
“A scalable and flexible private cloud foundation is a fundamental component to a successful open hybrid cloud strategy, and we believe that Red Hat OpenStack Platform provides the capabilities and features for organizations to build upon for a hybrid future,” said Joe Fernandes, vice president and general manager, hybrid cloud platforms, Red Hat. “Red Hat OpenStack Platform 16.2 further refines our framework for open private clouds by improving the connectivity of edge environments, extending support to limit service disruptions and aligning the solution more tightly with the industry’s leading enterprise Kubernetes platform in Red Hat OpenShift.”
