Here is the latest, step-by-step complete guide to install and configure OKD — the open-source version of OpenShift — along with an introduction to what OKD is.

🧩 What is OKD?

Feature	Description
Name	OKD (Origin Community Distribution of Kubernetes)
Relation to OpenShift	Upstream open-source version of Red Hat OpenShift
Core Components	Kubernetes + CRI-O + Podman + Operators + OpenShift Console
Latest Version (2026)	OKD 4.14 (matching OpenShift 4.14)
Supported OS	Fedora CoreOS (FCOS), RHEL CoreOS
Deployment Modes	IPI (Installer-Provisioned Infrastructure), UPI (User-Provisioned Infra)
License	Apache 2.0 / Open Source (Free to use)
Ideal For	Open-source adopters, self-managed clusters, testing advanced OpenShift

✅ OKD Installation Methods (Summary)

Method	Platform	Automation	Use Case
IPI	AWS, GCP, Azure, vSphere	✅ Yes	Quick cloud installation with automation
UPI	Bare metal, custom VMs	⚠️ Manual	On-premise or custom infrastructure
CRC	Local VM (dev only)	✅ Single-node	Developer test environments

🚀 Step-by-Step Guide: OKD 4.14 Installation (Bare Metal / UPI)

📦 We’ll install OKD 4.14 using the UPI (User-Provisioned Infrastructure) method on bare metal or custom virtual machines.

🛠️ 1. System Prerequisites

Requirement	Description
OS	Fedora CoreOS (OKD requires FCOS)
Machines	Bootstrap, Master(s), Worker(s)
RAM per Master	16 GB+
CPU per Master	4+ cores
Disk per Node	100 GB+ SSD
DNS + DHCP	Required
Internet Access	Required (or mirror registry for offline)

📥 2. Download OKD Tools

🔗 Download links:

OKD Installer: https://github.com/openshift/okd/releases
Fedora CoreOS (FCOS) images: https://getfedora.org/coreos

Download:

openshift-install binary
oc CLI binary
Fedora CoreOS ISO and PXE images

🔐 3. Generate Install Config

./openshift-install create install-config --dir=okd-cluster

This prompts:

Base domain (e.g., example.com)
Cluster name (e.g., okd)
Pull secret (use OKD-specific or fake secret for community)
Platform (select “none” for bare metal/UPI)
SSH key (for connecting to nodes)

This generates: install-config.yaml

🧾 4. Create Ignition Files

./openshift-install create ignition-configs --dir=okd-cluster

This creates:

bootstrap.ign
master.ign
worker.ign

💽 5. Provision Fedora CoreOS Nodes

Use ISO or PXE to boot machines and provide the proper ignition file via kernel arguments:

coreos.inst.install_dev=/dev/sda
coreos.inst.image_url=<FCOS Live ISO URL>
coreos.inst.ignition_url=http://<http_server>/bootstrap.ign
Code language: HTML, XML (xml)

Set up:

1x Bootstrap node (use bootstrap.ign)
3x Master nodes (use master.ign)
N x Worker nodes (use worker.ign)

🌐 6. Set Up Networking (DNS, DHCP, Load Balancer)

DNS records (for base domain):

Record	Type	Target
`api.okd.example.com`	A	LB for port 6443 (API)
`*.apps.okd.example.com`	A	LB for ports 80/443 (apps)
`api-int.okd.example.com`	A	Internal API
`etcd-0.okd.example.com`	A	etcd master 0

Load Balancer Ports:

API: 6443
Machine Config Server: 22623
Ingress (apps): 80, 443

🛑 7. Wait for Bootstrap Completion

Run:

./openshift-install wait-for bootstrap-complete --dir=okd-cluster --log-level=info

When done:

Shutdown the bootstrap node

🎯 8. Finish Cluster Installation

Run:

./openshift-install wait-for install-complete --dir=okd-cluster

You’ll get:

Web Console URL: https://console-openshift-console.apps.okd.example.com
Admin credentials (stored in auth/kubeadmin-password)

🧪 9. Login and Validate

oc login -u kubeadmin -p <password> https://api.okd.example.com:6443
Code language: HTML, XML (xml)

Access Web UI and verify that all nodes are healthy, and cluster is Ready.

🧹 Optional: Post-Install Tasks

Task	Description
Add users	Use HTPasswd or OAuth identity providers
Install Operators	From OperatorHub
Set up storage	Configure RWX or RWO PVCs
Create projects/namespaces	For apps and workloads
Monitor cluster	Use built-in Prometheus + Grafana stack

🔄 Alternative: OKD IPI on AWS (Auto Infra)

OKD supports IPI (auto-provision) on AWS:

./openshift-install create cluster --dir=okd-aws

Set platform: aws
Must configure AWS credentials

📌 Where to Learn More

OKD Docs: https://docs.okd.io/
GitHub Releases: https://github.com/openshift/okd/releases
FCOS: https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/fedora-coreos/
Community Support: https://discuss.okd.io/

Rajesh Kumar

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