Red Hat has unveiled Red Hat OpenStack Platform 16.2, the latest version of its infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) platform, which brings enhanced integration with OpenShift, Red Hat’s Kubernetes-based container management system. This update provides users with a seamless experience in managing both virtual machine (VM)-based and container-based applications simultaneously, improving network capacity, security, and overall performance. With OpenStack 16.2, organizations can run hybrid workloads, taking full advantage of the strengths of both VM and container environments.
One of the key features of OpenStack 16.2 is its ability to support VM and cloud-native applications side by side, allowing users to maximize their infrastructure’s potential. This flexibility is further enhanced by the integration with OpenShift, which offers “bare metal” performance, enabling more efficient use of resources and better performance for workloads running on physical hardware. This integration helps streamline application deployment and management, reducing the complexities typically associated with managing separate environments for VMs and containers.
The update also introduces a number of improvements that enhance operational efficiency and reduce potential downtime. With an extended lifecycle, OpenStack 16.2 supports continuous feature updates, ensuring that users can take advantage of the latest advancements without disruption to their services. Additionally, the new release includes new hardware options, such as Intel Xeon scalable processors, and support for hybrid cloud architectures, enabling organizations to optimize their infrastructure according to their specific needs, from core architecture to hardware offloading with smartNICs.
Storage management has also been simplified in OpenStack 16.2, with better integration of different storage vendors and formats, making it easier for users to manage their data and storage resources. Furthermore, the platform’s improved edge connectivity and application availability features, such as availability zone awareness through Open Virtual Networking (OVN), ensure that workloads are resilient even in the event of geographic or power disruptions. This provides operators with the ability to group nodes based on their location and criticality, enhancing the reliability of edge applications and services.