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Using manual mode

Manual mode is supported for Alibaba Cloud, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, IBM Cloud, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP).

In manual mode, a user manages cloud credentials instead of the Cloud Credential Operator (CCO). To use this mode, you must examine the CredentialsRequest CRs in the release image for the version of OKD that you are running or installing, create corresponding credentials in the underlying cloud provider, and create Kubernetes Secrets in the correct namespaces to satisfy all CredentialsRequest CRs for the cluster’s cloud provider.

Using manual mode allows each cluster component to have only the permissions it requires, without storing an administrator-level credential in the cluster. This mode also does not require connectivity to the AWS public IAM endpoint. However, you must manually reconcile permissions with new release images for every upgrade.

For information about configuring your cloud provider to use manual mode, see Manually creating RAM resources for Alibaba Cloud, AWS, Azure, IBM Cloud, or GCP.

Manual mode with AWS STS

You can configure an AWS cluster in manual mode to use Amazon Web Services Secure Token Service (AWS STS). With this configuration, the CCO uses temporary credentials for different components.

Upgrading clusters with manually maintained credentials

The Cloud Credential Operator (CCO) Upgradable status for a cluster with manually maintained credentials is False by default.

  • For minor releases, for example, from 4.11 to 4.12, this status prevents you from upgrading until you have addressed any updated permissions and annotated the CloudCredential resource to indicate that the permissions are updated as needed for the next version. This annotation changes the Upgradable status to True.

  • For z-stream releases, for example, from 4.12.0 to 4.12.1, no permissions are added or changed, so the upgrade is not blocked.

Before upgrading a cluster with manually maintained credentials, you must create any new credentials for the release image that you are upgrading to. Additionally, you must review the required permissions for existing credentials and accommodate any new permissions requirements in the new release for those components.

Procedure

  1. Extract and examine the CredentialsRequest custom resource for the new release.

    The "Manually creating IAM" section of the installation content for your cloud provider explains how to obtain and use the credentials required for your cloud.

  2. Update the manually maintained credentials on your cluster:

    • Create new secrets for any CredentialsRequest custom resources that are added by the new release image.

    • If the CredentialsRequest custom resources for any existing credentials that are stored in secrets have changed their permissions requirements, update the permissions as required.

    If your cluster uses cluster capabilities to disable one or more optional components, delete the CredentialsRequest custom resources for any disabled components.

  3. When all of the secrets are correct for the new release, indicate that the cluster is ready to upgrade:

    1. Log in to the OKD CLI as a user with the cluster-admin role.

    2. Edit the CloudCredential resource to add an upgradeable-to annotation within the metadata field:

      $ oc edit cloudcredential cluster
      Text to add
      ...
  metadata:
    annotations:
      cloudcredential.openshift.io/upgradeable-to: <version_number>
...

      Where <version_number> is the version you are upgrading to, in the format x.y.z. For example, 4.8.2 for OKD 4.8.2.

      It may take several minutes after adding the annotation for the upgradeable status to change.

Verification

  1. In the Administrator perspective of the web console, navigate to Administration → Cluster Settings.

  2. To view the CCO status details, click cloud-credential in the Cluster Operators list.

    1. If the Upgradeable status in the Conditions section is False, verify that the upgradeable-to annotation is free of typographical errors. When the Upgradeable status in the Conditions section is True, you can begin the OKD upgrade.

Additional resources