]If you’re aiming to learn OpenShift without having a Red Hat subscription and want to deploy it on Azure using Azure Red Hat OpenShift (ARO), you’re in a great spot. ARO doesn’t require a separate Red Hat license — everything is billed through Azure pay-as-you-go. Let’s walk through it step by step.
✅ Prerequisites
| Requirement | Details |
|---|---|
| 🔑 Azure Account | Free or Pay-as-you-go — Sign up here |
| 🧠 Basic CLI knowledge | You’ll use Azure CLI and az aro commands |
| 🛠️ Tools to install | Azure CLI, ARO CLI extension, jq |
📦 Step 1: Install Required Tools
A. Install Azure CLI
brew install azure-cli
B. Login to Azure
az login
C. Install ARO CLI Extension
az extension add --name aro
az extension update --name aro
📍 Step 2: Set Up Azure Resources
A. Set variables (use your own values)
RESOURCEGROUP=aro-rg
LOCATION=eastus
VNET=aro-vnet
CLUSTER=aro-cluster
ARO_SUBNET=aro-subnet
WORKER_SUBNET=worker-subnet
B. Create Resource Group
az group create --name $RESOURCEGROUP --location $LOCATION
Code language: PHP (php)C. Create Virtual Network and Subnets
az network vnet create \
--resource-group $RESOURCEGROUP \
--name $VNET \
--address-prefixes 10.0.0.0/22 \
--subnet-name $ARO_SUBNET \
--subnet-prefix 10.0.0.0/23
az network vnet subnet create \
--resource-group $RESOURCEGROUP \
--vnet-name $VNET \
--name $WORKER_SUBNET \
--address-prefixes 10.0.2.0/23
Code language: PHP (php)🔐 Step 3: Register Required Azure Providers
az provider register -n Microsoft.RedHatOpenShift
az provider register -n Microsoft.Authorization
az provider register -n Microsoft.Network
az provider register -n Microsoft.Compute
az provider register -n Microsoft.Storage
Code language: CSS (css)Wait for a few minutes until all are registered.
🚀 Step 4: Create the ARO Cluster
az aro create \
--resource-group $RESOURCEGROUP \
--name $CLUSTER \
--vnet $VNET \
--master-subnet $ARO_SUBNET \
--worker-subnet $WORKER_SUBNET
Code language: PHP (php)This will take 35–45 minutes.
🔐 Step 5: Get Cluster Credentials and Access Console
Get Admin Credentials:
az aro list-credentials --name $CLUSTER --resource-group $RESOURCEGROUP
Code language: PHP (php)Get Console URL:
az aro show --name $CLUSTER --resource-group $RESOURCEGROUP --query "consoleProfile.url" -o tsv
Code language: PHP (php)You can now log in with the kubeadmin username and the password provided.
✅ Clean Up (After 12 hours)
To delete the cluster and avoid cost:
az aro delete --name $CLUSTER --resource-group $RESOURCEGROUP
az group delete --name $RESOURCEGROUP --yes --no-wait
Code language: PHP (php)💰 ARO Cost Estimate for 12 Hours
| Resource | Cost Per Hour | Total for 12h |
|---|---|---|
| Control Plane (3 x D8s_v3) | ~$0.40 × 3 | ~$14.40 |
| Infra + Workers (4 x D4s_v3) | ~$0.20 × 4 | ~$9.60 |
| Load Balancers + Egress | ~$0.05 | ~$0.60 |
| Total Estimated | — | ~$25–$30 |
✅ Red Hat licensing is included automatically in Azure pricing.
🧠 Bonus: No Red Hat Account Needed
- You do not need to register with Red Hat or bring a license
- You do not need to download a pull secret
- ARO is fully managed and billed by Azure
I’m a DevOps/SRE/DevSecOps/Cloud Expert passionate about sharing knowledge and experiences. I have worked at Cotocus. I share tech blog at DevOps School, travel stories at Holiday Landmark, stock market tips at Stocks Mantra, health and fitness guidance at My Medic Plus, product reviews at TrueReviewNow , and SEO strategies at Wizbrand.
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