What is OpenShift? OpenShift is a family of containerization software offerings created by open-source software provider Red Hat. According to the company, Kubernetes is the kernel of distributed systems, while OpenShift is the distribution. At its core, OpenShift is a cloud-based Kubernetes container platform that's considered both containerization software and a platform-as-a-service (PaaS). It's also partly built on Docker, another popular containerization platform. OpenShift offers consistent security, built-in monitoring, centralized policy management, and compatibility with Kubernetes container workloads. It's fast, enables self-service provisioning, and integrates with a variety of tools. In other words, there's no vendor lock-in. Previously known as Origin, the open-source platform, OpenShift OKD lets developers create, test, and deploy applications on the cloud. It also supports several programming languages, including Go, Node.js, Ruby, Python, PHP, Perl, and Java.

Kubernetes Vs. OpenShift Both Kubernetes and OpenShift feature robust and scalable architecture that enables rapid and large-scale application development, deployment, and management. They both run on the Apache License 2.0. But that's just about where the similarities end. Here are just a few of the many ways OpenShift and Kubernetes differ. Deployment Kubernetes offers more flexibility as an open-source framework and can be installed on almost any platform - like Microsoft Azure and AWS - as well as any Linux distribution, including Ubuntu and Debian. OpenShift, on the other hand, requires Red Hat's proprietary Red Hat Enterprise Linux Atomic Host (RHELAH), Fedora, or CentOS. This narrows options for many businesses, especially if they're not already using these platforms. Security OpenShift has stricter security policies. For instance, it is forbidden to run a container as root. It also offers a secure-by-default option to enhance security. Kubernetes doesn't come with built-in authentication or authorization capabilities, so developers must create bearer tokens and other authentication procedures manually. Support Kubernetes has a large active community of developers who continuously collaborate on refining the platform. It also offers support for multiple frameworks and languages. OpenShift has a much smaller support community that is limited primarily to Red Hat developers. Releases and Updates Kubernetes has an average of four releases each year, while OpenShift trails with around three. Similarly, Kubernetes supports several concurrent and simultaneous updates, while OpenShift DeploymentConfig does not. Networking Kubernetes lacks a networking solution but lets users employ third-party network plug-ins. OpenShift, on the other hand, has its out-of-the-box networking solution called Open vSwitch, which comes with three native plug-ins. Templates Kubernetes offers Helm templates that are easy to use and provide a generous amount of flexibility. OpenShift templates are nowhere near as flexible or user-friendly. Container Image Management OpenShift lets developers use Image Streams to manage container images, while Kubernetes doesn't offer container image management features. OpenShift Architecture OpenShift is a layered system wherein each layer is tightly bound with the other layer using Kubernetes and Docker cluster. The architecture of OpenShift is designed in such a way that it can support and manage Docker containers, which are hosted on top of all the layers using Kubernetes. Unlike the earlier version of OpenShift V2, the new version of OpenShift V3 supports containerized infrastructure. In this model, Docker helps in the creation of lightweight Linux-based containers and Kubernetes supports the task of orchestrating and managing containers on multiple hosts. Key features and benefits

Open-source standards - Incorporates both Open Containers Initiative (OCI)/Docker-formatted containers and Kubernetes for container orchestration, in addition to other open source technologies. Users are not restricted to the technology or business roadmap of a specific vendor. Self-service provisioning - Developers can quickly and easily create applications on-demand from the tools they use most, while operations retain full control over the entire environment. Persistent storage - By providing support for persistent storage, the OpenShift Container Platform allows users to run both stateful applications and cloud-native stateless applications. Polyglot, multi language support - Developers can use various languages, frameworks, and databases on the same platform with ease. Automation - Streamlined and automated container and application builds, deployments, scaling, health management, and more are standard with OpenShift Container Platform. User interfaces - Developers have direct access to a rich set of command-line tools, a multi-device web console, an Eclipse-based integrated development environment (IDEs), such as Red Hat CodeReady Studio (aka JBoss ® Developer Studio) and container-native CodeReady Workspaces. Operational management - Red Hat Monitoring included in OpenShift Container Platform, gives users real-time visibility into their containerized application and infrastructure. Scalability - Applications running on OpenShift Container Platform can easily scale to thousands of instances across hundreds of nodes in a matter of seconds. Robust ecosystem - An ever-expanding ecosystem of partners provides a wide variety of integrations. Additional storage and network providers, IDEs and CI integrations, independent software vendor (ISV) solutions, and more are provided by these third parties for use with OpenShift Container Platform. Use Cases

1. Barclays Adopts an Agile DevOps Culture to Stay Competitive Barclays is a global financial services provider based in London. Due to competition in the marketplace, Barclays needed to become a more responsive company, quickly delivering new products to respond to market demands. Barclays started its transition by changing its development approach to bring technical and business teams together. The teams created a continuous development strategy and infrastructure. In addition, Barclays replaced its middleware with Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform. Provisioning time has been reduced from weeks to hours, giving the IT staff more time to work on new projects. "Now, with Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform, we're more agile. We can think of an idea, try it, fail, learn, and make adjustments. Culturally, that's a big change," said Simon Cashmore, head of Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) middleware engineering at Barclays.
2. Macquarie Transforms its Digital Banking Experience for Customers The Banking and Financial Services (BFS) Group, of global financial services provider Macquarie, offers a wide range of personal banking, wealth management, and business banking products and services. BFS wanted to significantly improve the digital banking tools used by its retail customers in Australia. Macquarie evaluated several PaaS solutions, but chose Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform, in large part due to its ability to integrate with other open source technology such as Docker and Google Kubernetes for resource management. BFS's customer experience now offers features new to Australia, including "search the way you speak" technology and the ability to tag and track transactions. According to Luis Ugina, Chief Digital Officer, Macquarie BFS, "Red Hat technology has helped us to work in a more efficient way, with speed and agility as the biggest outcomes. By continually using the platform, we expect huge benefits over the coming months and years. We're just at the beginning of the journey."
3. British Columbia Government Uses Open Source to Improve Services for Citizens The government of British Columbia was getting complaints about the 4 to 6 month timeframe that was required to launch a project. Its datacenter infrastructure was slow and fragmented. They decided to establish the BC Developers' Exchange to join with their vibrant tech industry. Using open source tools such as GitHub and enterprise software from Red Hat, the province can support the BC Developer's Exchange in a secure environment. "The Developers' Exchange removes a lot of the friction of getting experts in the private sector to help solve the business problems of government," said Ian Bailey, assistant deputy minister of technology services for the Office of the Chief Information Officer. "Any developer can download our source code and start working on it, without any access challenges." As a result, a local software firm used the API in the highway camera project to develop a mobile app with additional features for use by residents of British Columbia.
4. LogistiCare Accelerates Flexibility and Speed of Business Annually, LogistiCare manages more than 70 million non-emergency medical rides. Management wanted a reliable platform that would keep up with the company's growth and complexity. The organization implemented an infrastructure consisting of Red Hat JBoss Middleware, Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform, and Ansible by Red Hat. "The beauty of Red Hat software is that it's open. If we want to add new capabilities somewhere, we're not locked in or limited in our ability to go to outside vendors," said Michael Quintero, Enterprise Solutions Architect, LogistiCare. LogistiCare is now able to get new features added much faster. They've also reduced their annual operating costs by approximately $6 million.
5. Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform Takes Digital Innovation Into the Fast Lane With BMW Group The BMW Group wanted a more flexible application infrastructure to provide more agile development and IT operations methodologies. Using the Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform, the Group could provide a more secure and stable platform that allowed for container-based deployments. It also allows traditional applications to coexist alongside new, cloud-native and container-based applications. The BMW Group can now choose the technology that most closely delivers on its needs at any moment in time. Ashesh Badanivice, president and general manager of OpenShift Red Hat said, "The BMW Group shows just how an organization can embrace agile methodologies and modern container technologies to deliver business value and an enhanced customer experience."