When comparing OpenShift vs Kuber­netes, it’s clear that Kuber­netes serves as a flexible open-source platform for container or­ches­tra­tion, while OpenShift builds on it, adding extra security features, in­teg­rated developer tools, and a user-friendly interface. This makes Kuber­netes ideal for cus­tom­ised setups, while OpenShift offers a complete, en­ter­prise-ready package.

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What is Kuber­netes?

Kuber­netes (also known as K8s) is probably the most well-known container man­age­ment system currently. This is partly due to the strong support the project has received from Google employees. Ad­di­tion­ally, Kuber­netes offers a wide range of features and can be adapted to almost any project. This is because the software is open source, which is why you can find many different dis­tri­bu­tions online. The large community sup­port­ing Kuber­netes is also very know­ledge­able: with issues and questions, you can usually find someone to help re­l­at­ively quickly.

The flex­ib­il­ity of Kuber­netes also means that there is no out-of-the-box solution. In many cases, you need to configure a lot yourself to ensure container man­age­ment works. However, this also allows Kuber­netes to be used on any operating system.

What is OpenShift?

Just as there is not a single Kuber­netes, there is also not just one OpenShift available. Red Hat, the company behind OpenShift, offers various products—and this is where the first major dif­fer­ence lies: OpenShift is a paid product. This also means you can expect pro­fes­sion­al support. While with Kuber­netes you rely on the voluntary help of experts from the community, Red Hat provides guar­an­teed support.

The delivery as a finished product brings not only con­veni­ence but also a high level of security. Since the system is self-contained and con­figured by the experts at Red Hat, you can expect high security standards. In contrast, if you configure Kuber­netes yourself, you are re­spons­ible for all security mech­an­isms.

With OKD, formerly OpenShift Origin, Red Hat also offers a free open-source solution. The remaining offerings are available as Platform-as-a-Service. While the packages offered by Red Hat differ in details, they are es­sen­tially hosted versions. The provider supplies the necessary hardware and software con­fig­ur­a­tion. You can then access the secure test en­vir­on­ment with container tech­no­logy over the internet. An own server is not required.

All products have in common that they are built on Kuber­netes. With OpenShift, you choose a Kuber­netes dis­tri­bu­tion with ad­di­tion­al service. Instead of con­fig­ur­ing K8s yourself, you rent a ready-to-use en­vir­on­ment with OpenShift, which can be im­me­di­ately used for de­vel­op­ment, testing, and de­ploy­ment.

OpenShift vs Kuber­netes com­par­is­on

Since OpenShift is based on Kuber­netes, there are some sim­il­ar­it­ies between the two tools. However, there are dif­fer­ences in certain aspects.

OpenShift Kuber­netes
Operating system RHCOS, RHEL Any Operating System
Security High security routine Security depends on the user
Release cycle About 3 per year 4 per year
CI/CD Integral part of the software Possible through tools like Jenkins
User-friend­li­ness Designed for easy use Operation is less com­fort­able
User interface Simple user interface Dashboard can be installed af­ter­wards
Scaling OpenShift targets en­ter­prise level but can be scaled Kuber­netes can be used for any project size
Templates Less user-friendly High flex­ib­il­ity through Kuber­netes Helm
Net­work­ing OpenShift SDN and OVN-Kuber­netes net­work­ing options Third-party plugins enable net­work­ing
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Which solution should you choose?

Tech­nic­ally, both options are on par. Some details are handled dif­fer­ently but can certainly be compared. The main question is whether you want to pay for the comfort of OpenShift or opt for maximum flex­ib­il­ity with Kuber­netes. However, this requires a sig­ni­fic­ant time in­vest­ment to set up the software.

Es­pe­cially if you rely heavily on as­sist­ance, you should opt for OpenShift. Everything is already properly con­figured, and you can also rely on the pro­fes­sion­al support from Red Hat. However, the Kuber­netes community should not be un­der­es­tim­ated: you can also find experts there who can help in any situation.

Working with con­tain­ers has been a normal part of software de­vel­op­ment and other areas in IT for quite some time. Various providers have entered the market with their own or­ches­tra­tion tools. Two of the best-known are Kuber­netes and OpenShift. Although both solutions offer extensive container platforms, they differ in a number of aspects. De­velopers should think carefully about which product best suits their needs.

IONOS Cloud Managed Kuber­netes
Container workloads in expert hands

The ideal platform for demanding, highly scalable container ap­plic­a­tions. Managed Kuber­netes works with many cloud-native solutions and includes 24/7 expert support.

Kuber­netes: the open-source project

Kuber­netes (also known as K8s) is probably the best-known container or­ches­tra­tion tool available right now. That’s partly because of the strong support the project has gained among Google employees. Moreover, Kuber­netes offers sub­stan­tial func­tion­al scope and can be adapted to almost any project. This is because the software is open source; a wide range of dis­tri­bu­tions can be found online. The large community behind Kuber­netes is also very pro­fi­cient. In case of questions or issues, it’s usually re­l­at­ively easy to find someone who can help.

However, the flex­ib­il­ity of Kuber­netes means there is no out-of-the-box solution. In many instances, it’s necessary to adjust many of its settings for container man­age­ment to work. But this also allows Kuber­netes to be used with any operating system.

Tip

Are you in­ter­ested in Kuber­netes and would like to use the or­ches­tra­tion tool for your project? Managed Kuber­netes by IONOS lets you enjoy the benefits of the software without having to deal with im­ple­ment­a­tion or main­ten­ance.

OpenShift: the en­ter­prise solution

Much like Kuber­netes, OpenShift is available in countless im­ple­ment­a­tions. Red Hat, the maker behind OpenShift, provides various products. That’s one important dif­fer­ence to Kuber­netes: OpenShift is a paid product. However, that means once purchased, you can expect pro­fes­sion­al support. While you need to rely on the voluntary help of experts from the community with Kuber­netes, Red Hat offers guar­an­teed support.

Being a finished product, OpenShift not only offers ease of use but also a great degree of security. Since the system is self-contained and con­figured by the experts at Red Hat, you can count on high-security standards. By contrast, when you configure Kuber­netes, you’re re­spons­ible for in­stalling your own security measures.

Non­ethe­less, Red Hat also provides a free, open-source solution called OpenShift Origin. Its products are available as a Platform-as-a-Service. The packages offered by Red Hat may differ in detail, but they generally concern hosted versions. In other words, the company provides the necessary hardware and software con­fig­ur­a­tion. You can then access a secure test en­vir­on­ment with container tech­no­logy via the internet. Running your own server is not necessary.

What all its products have in common is that they expand on Kuber­netes. With OpenShift, you, therefore, get a Kuber­netes dis­tri­bu­tion with ad­di­tion­al service. So, instead of having to configure K8s yourself, OpenShift is a finished en­vir­on­ment that can im­me­di­ately be used for de­vel­op­ment, testing and de­ploy­ment.

OpenShift vs. Kuber­netes: com­par­is­on of container platforms

Since OpenShift is based on Kuber­netes, the two tools have much in common. But the solutions do vary in certain aspects.

  OpenShift Kuber­netes
Operating system Linux, Fedora, CentOS Any operating system
Security High-security routine Security dependent on the user
Release cycle Ap­prox­im­ately 3 per year 4 per year
CI/CD Integral part of the software Possible via Jenkins
User-friend­li­ness Designed for ease of use Less intuitive
User interface Easy user interface Dashboard can be installed
Scaling OpenShift is aimed at the en­ter­prise level, but can be scaled Kuber­netes can be used for any project size
Templates Less user-friendly High flex­ib­il­ity via Kuber­netes Helm
Net­work­ing Open vSwitch provides net­work­ing pos­sib­il­it­ies Plug-ins from third-party providers create net­work­ing op­por­tun­it­ies
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Con­clu­sion: which solution should you choose?

Tech­nic­ally, both options are equally good. Although they differ in the details, they are certainly com­par­able. To make a decision, you should ask yourself whether you want to pay for the con­veni­ence of OpenShift or enjoy the maximum flex­ib­il­ity of Kuber­netes. The latter will involve investing a lot of time (and possibly resources) in setting up the software.

If you tend to rely on the help from man­u­fac­tur­ers, OpenShift may be more advisable. With OpenShift, everything is already con­figured and you can also utilise the pro­fes­sion­al support of Red Hat. However, the Kuber­netes community is not to be dis­paraged: you’ll find plenty of experts across the online community who can help with any problem.

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