May 1, 2024
Updated June 26, 2025
24 minute read
OpenShift: A Comprehensive Guide for Career Explorers
OpenShift is an enterprise-grade, open-source container application platform, fundamentally built on Kubernetes. It provides developers and IT organizations with a cloud-like platform to build, deploy, and manage applications consistently across various infrastructures, whether on-premise, in public clouds, or at the edge. At its core, OpenShift aims to simplify and accelerate the application development lifecycle by providing a complete platform with integrated tools and services for container orchestration. For those new to these concepts, imagine a system that not only manages how applications run but also provides a streamlined way to get them from a developer's computer into a live environment accessible to users, all while ensuring they run smoothly and securely.
Working with OpenShift can be quite engaging. Firstly, it places you at the forefront of modern application deployment and management, dealing with cutting-edge technologies like containers and microservices. This means continuous learning and adaptation, which many find exciting. Secondly, OpenShift's focus on automation and developer self-service means you're often working to make development and operations more efficient, directly impacting business agility and speed to market. The ability to orchestrate complex applications across diverse environments also presents intellectually stimulating challenges and opportunities for innovation.
Introduction to OpenShift
This section will provide a foundational understanding of OpenShift, catering to a broad audience including students, individuals considering a career change, and even technical recruiters seeking to grasp its essence.
Defining OpenShift: More Than Just Kubernetes
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Find a path to becoming a OpenShift. Learn more at:
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Reading list
We've selected 26 books
that we think will supplement your
learning. Use these to
develop background knowledge, enrich your coursework, and gain a
deeper understanding of the topics covered in
OpenShift.
While not a traditional book, the official Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform documentation is an essential and continuously updated resource for anyone working with OpenShift. It provides comprehensive and accurate information on all aspects of the platform, serving as a primary reference tool for both beginners and experienced users.
Designed for SREs, system administrators, and DevOps engineers, this book focuses on the operational aspects of managing OpenShift clusters efficiently. It covers core concepts, deployment strategies, monitoring, and using Kubernetes operators. Published in late 2022, it provides contemporary insights into operating OpenShift at scale.
Focuses on using OpenShift to manage Kubernetes clusters. It covers topics such as security, storage, networking, and monitoring. It's a great resource for anyone who wants to learn more about using OpenShift to manage Kubernetes clusters, and Lee Calcote is one of the maintainers of the OpenShift project.
This handbook focuses on the contemporary topic of managing multiple OpenShift clusters, addressing challenges like vendor lock-in and providing insights into architecture and deployment scenarios. It covers OpenShift Pipelines with Tekton and OpenShift GitOps with Argo CD, making it highly relevant for advanced users and professionals dealing with complex OpenShift deployments.
This guide is specifically tailored for developers new to containers and Kubernetes, demonstrating how OpenShift accelerates application development. It covers building, deploying, and managing applications on OpenShift, including CI/CD pipelines. The second edition, published in 2021, offers updated information for current OpenShift versions.
Aimed at infrastructure and operations teams, this book provides guidance on designing and managing OpenShift clusters. It covers architectural considerations and operational best practices, making it a valuable reference for those responsible for the underlying OpenShift infrastructure.
Provides a comprehensive overview of OpenShift, covering both developer and operator perspectives. It offers practical, hands-on exercises and delves into core concepts like namespaces, cgroups, and SELinux. While published in 2018, it is still considered a valuable reference for understanding the foundational aspects of OpenShift built on Docker and Kubernetes.
Delves into the specific and contemporary application of OpenShift in the field of Machine Learning Operations (MLOps). It guides readers on leveraging OpenShift AI and provides practical solutions for ML model training, deployment, and operation within the OpenShift ecosystem. This valuable resource for those interested in the intersection of AI/ML and OpenShift.
Focusing on the practical application of DevOps principles with OpenShift, this book guides readers on configuring Docker containers and Kubernetes with OpenShift's tools. It's a useful resource for understanding how OpenShift facilitates a container-centric approach to cloud deployments and automating application lifecycles.
Focuses on building and deploying highly available applications in hybrid cloud environments using OpenShift and Kubernetes. It's particularly relevant for professionals working with hybrid cloud strategies and needing to leverage OpenShift for resilient application deployments.
Another highly-regarded book on Kubernetes, 'Kubernetes in Action' provides a deep dive into the inner workings of Kubernetes. It is valuable for gaining a solid understanding of the platform that underpins OpenShift, offering detailed explanations and practical examples for building and deploying distributed applications.
Given that OpenShift is built on Kubernetes, a strong understanding of Kubernetes fundamentals is crucial. widely recognized resource for learning Kubernetes from the ground up, covering its architecture, concepts, and how to deploy and manage applications. It serves as excellent background reading for anyone working with OpenShift.
Explores common patterns for designing and implementing cloud-native applications on Kubernetes. Since OpenShift is built on Kubernetes, understanding these patterns is highly relevant for building effective applications on OpenShift. It's a valuable resource for developers and architects.
Focuses on the practical aspects of deploying applications to OpenShift, covering topics like building container images, automating builds, and managing persistent storage. It's a good resource for developers who need to get their applications running on the platform efficiently.
Explores the intersection of cloud-native principles, DevOps practices, and Kubernetes. While not exclusively about OpenShift, it provides valuable context for understanding the environment in which OpenShift operates and how to leverage it for modern application development and operations. It's particularly relevant for those interested in the CI/CD and DevOps aspects of OpenShift.
Focuses on building, deploying, and scaling applications in the cloud using cloud-native principles and Kubernetes. It aligns well with the use cases of OpenShift and provides practical guidance on implementing DevOps practices in a containerized environment.
This e-book from Red Hat focuses on leveraging open source AI tools and frameworks within a developer workflow, which can be readily applied to OpenShift environments. It's a good resource for developers looking to integrate AI/ML capabilities into their applications running on OpenShift.
Provides a comprehensive guide to Kubernetes. It covers everything from the basics of Kubernetes to advanced topics such as security and networking. It great resource for anyone who wants to learn more about Kubernetes.
Provides a broad overview of OpenShift in a question-and-answer format, covering various aspects of the platform. While it offers a wide range of topics, it may not provide the in-depth technical detail of other books. It can be useful for gaining a general understanding and identifying key areas.
An earlier book aimed at beginners, this guide provides a quick, hands-on introduction to deploying applications on OpenShift. While some of the specific instructions might be dated, the fundamental concepts for getting started remain relevant for newcomers to the platform.
This is an earlier edition of 'OpenShift for Developers: A Guide for Impatient Beginners'. While the second edition is more current, this book can still provide a foundational understanding of OpenShift from a developer's perspective. It's more valuable as additional reading or for historical context.
Covers the basics of Docker, including how to build and run containers, manage Docker images, and deploy Docker applications to the cloud. This book may be helpful for understanding containerization as it relates to OpenShift.
Provides a hands-on guide to Kubernetes. It covers topics such as deploying applications to Kubernetes, managing Kubernetes clusters, and scaling applications on Kubernetes. It great resource for anyone who wants to learn more about using Kubernetes.
Provides a comprehensive overview of Docker. It covers topics such as the basics of Docker, building Docker images, running Docker containers, and managing Docker clusters. It great resource for anyone who wants to learn more about Docker.
For more information about how these books relate to this course, visit:
OpenCourser.com/topic/osku8x/openshif
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