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coreos-bootimage-streams: Standardized CoreOS bootimage metadata
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This is a preparatory subset of the larger enhancement for [in-cluster CoreOS bootimage creation](#201).

This enhancement calls for a standardized JSON format for (RHEL) CoreOS bootimage metadata to be placed at https://mirror.openshift.com *and* included in a new `rhel-coreos-bootimages` image included in the release image.
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---
title: coreos-bootimage-streams
authors:
- "@cgwalters"
reviewers:
- "@coreos-team"
approvers:
- "@coreos-team"
creation-date: 2021-03-04
last-updated: 2021-03-04
status: provisional
---

# Standardized CoreOS bootimage metadata

This is a preparatory subset of the larger enhancement for [in-cluster CoreOS bootimage creation](https://github.com/openshift/enhancements/pull/201).

This enhancement calls for a standardized JSON format for (RHEL) CoreOS bootimage metadata to be placed at https://mirror.openshift.com *and* included in a new `rhel-coreos-bootimages` image included in the release image.

## Release Signoff Checklist

- [ ] Enhancement is `implementable`
- [ ] Design details are appropriately documented from clear requirements
- [ ] Test plan is defined
- [ ] Graduation criteria for dev preview, tech preview, GA
- [ ] User-facing documentation is created in [openshift-docs](https://github.com/openshift/openshift-docs/)

## Summary

Since the initial release of OpenShift 4, we have "pinned" RHCOS bootimage metadata inside [openshift/installer](https://github.com/openshift/installer).
In combination with the binding between the installer and release image, this means that everything needed to install OpenShift (including the operating system "bootimages" such as e.g. AMIs and OpenStack `.qcow2` files) are all captured behind the release image which we can test and ship as an atomic unit.

We have a mechanism to do [in place updates](https://github.com/openshift/machine-config-operator/blob/master/docs/OSUpgrades.md), but there is no automated mechanism to update "bootimages" past a cluster installation.

This enhancement does not describe an automated mechanism to do this: the initial goal is to include this metadata in a standardized format in the cluster and at mirror.openshift.com so that UPI installations can do this manually, and we can start work on an IPI mechanism.

### Stream metadata format

As part of unifying Fedora CoreOS and RHEL CoreOS, we have standardized on the "stream metadata" format used by FCOS. More in [FCOS docs](https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/fedora-coreos/getting-started/) and [this RHCOS issue](https://github.com/openshift/os/issues/477).

There is a new [stream-metadata-go](https://github.com/coreos/stream-metadata-go) library to consume this data.

### Adding a new git repository and release image component + configmap with this data

A new git repository https://github.com/openshift/rhel-coreos-bootimages will be created (based on [an existing prototype repository](https://github.com/cgwalters/rhel-coreos-bootimages)). It will have the stream JSON.

Additionally, this repository will be included in the release image as `rhel-coreos-bootimages` and it will use the CVO to install a `configmap/coreos-bootimages` in the `openshift-machine-config-operator` namespace.

### Update `oc adm release new` to patch the installer binary to inject this data

The installer needs CoreOS to start at all; today the bootimages are used for the bootstrap node
and control plane which are created by the installer directly. In order to avoid duplicating the
metadata, change `oc adm release new` to *binary patch* the included `openshift-install`
binary, in the same way we [do for the release image](https://github.com/openshift/installer/pull/1422).

The RHCOS team will take over maintenance, CI, and automation of `rhel-coreos-bootimages`. For OKD,
the OKD team will adapt their existing tooling to create something similar for Fedora CoreOS.

### Add `oc adm release info --coreos-bootimages quay.io/openshift-release-dev/ocp-release:4.7.0-x86_64`

This command will extract the CoreOS bootimage stream metadata from a release image and should be used by UPI installs (including our many existing automated tests for UPI).

Additionally, we will add `oc adm release coreos-download -p openstack` which will e.g. download the OpenStack `.qcow2`, including verifying its integrity.

### Data available at https://mirror.openshift.com

The way we deliver bootimages at http://mirror.openshift.com/pub/openshift-v4/x86_64/dependencies/rhcos/4.7/latest/ is not friendly to automation. By placing the stream metadata JSON there, we gain a standardized machine-readable format.

The ART team will synchronize the stream metadata with the data embedded in the latest release image for a particular OpenShift minor.


## Motivation

### Goal 1: Including metadata in the cluster so that we can later write automated IPI/machineAPI updates

Lay the groundwork so that one or both of the MCO or machineAPI operators can act on this data, and e.g. in an AWS cluster update the machineset to use a new base AMI.

### Goal 2: Provide a standardized JSON file UPI installs

See above - this JSON file will be available in multiple ways for UPI installations.

### Goal 3: Provide a standardized JSON file for bare metal IPI and baremetal devscripts

Bare metal IPI and [baremetal devscripts](https://github.com/openshift-metal3/dev-scripts/blob/7e4800462fa7e71aaa9e4a7f4eb10166a6b1789c/rhcos.sh#L14) also
parse the existing `rhcos.json`, this enhancement calls for updating them to either
pull the data from the release image or use the `mirror.openshift.com` path (TBD).

### Non-Goals

#### Replacing the default in-place update path

In-place updates as [managed by the MCO](https://github.com/openshift/machine-config-operator/blob/master/docs/OSUpgrades.md) today works fairly seamlessly.
We can't require that everyone fully reprovision a machine in order to do in-place updates - that makes updates *much* more expensive, particularly on bare metal environments.
It implies re-downloading all container images, etc.

Today in OpenShift 4, the control plane is also somewhat of a "pet" - we don't have streamlined support for reprovisioning control plane nodes even in IaaS/cloud and hence must continue to do in-place updates.

At some point, along with the [larger in-cluster bootimage generation enhancement](https://github.com/openshift/enhancements/pull/201) we hope to streamline bootimage updates sufficiently that at some point we could *require*
newly scaled up workers to use them. But this enhancement will not add any such requirement.

### User Stories

#### Story 1

An OpenShift core developer can write a PR which reads the configmap from the cluster and acts on it to update the machinesets to e.g. use a new AMI.

We can start on other nuanced problems like ensuring we only update the machinesets once a controlplane update is complete, or potentially even offering an option in IPI/machineAPI installs to drain and replace workers instead of doing in-place updates.

#### Story 2

ACME Corp runs OpenShift 4 on vSphere in an on-premise environment not connected to the public Internet. They have (traditional) RHEL 7 already imported into the environment and already pre-configured and managed by the operations team.

The administrator boots an instance there, logs in via ssh, downloads an `oc` binary. They proceed to follow the instructions for preparing a [mirror registry](https://docs.openshift.com/container-platform/4.7/installing/install_config/installing-restricted-networks-preparations.html).

The administrator also uses `oc adm release coreos-download -p vsphere quay.io/openshift-release-dev/ocp-release:4.7.0-x86_64` to download the required OVA. Then the administrator uploads it to the vSphere instance.

From that point, the operations team can use `openshift-install` in UPI mode, referencing that already uploaded bootimage and the internally mirrored OpenShift release image content.

### Risks and Mitigations

We may discover even more things depend on `rhcos.json` inside the installer. We may have to fall back to continuing to maintain a copy in the installer git (in the old format) for a cycle.

## Design Details

### Test Plan

This will be well covered by existing CI flows for IPI. For UPI, it will become trickier because the jobs will need to become more OpenShift version dependent.

### Graduation Criteria

TBD

### Version Skew Strategy

We already have to deal with problems of skew in UPI installs in particular - things like administrators trying to use a 4.2 vSphere OVA to install 4.7, etc. This standardizes an API for the future around discovering and maintaining these images.

## Implementation History

## Drawbacks

## Alternatives

None, we need to do something here.

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