Run and Access Virtual Machines in OpenShift — The Easy Way
In today's hybrid IT environments, it's common to run both containerized applications and traditional virtual machines (VMs) side by side. OpenShift Virtualization bridges this gap by letting you manage VMs just like containers — from a single platform.
Whether you're a system admin or an IT manager, you don’t need to dive into complex code to get started. Here’s a plain-English guide to provisioning VMs, accessing them, and managing who gets to do what.
🌐 Getting Started: The Web Console Makes It Simple
The easiest way to work with virtual machines in OpenShift is through the web interface. You don’t need to touch a terminal if you don’t want to.
Steps to run a VM:
Log in to your OpenShift cluster through the web console.
Navigate to the Virtualization section on the left menu.
Click on Virtual Machines, then hit Create.
Choose a template — you’ll see options like Fedora, CentOS, or Windows.
Fill in the details like name, memory size, CPU count, and disk storage.
Click Create and then hit Start to boot it up.
That’s it. Your VM is now running!
🖥️ Accessing the Virtual Machine
Once your virtual machine is running, OpenShift gives you two easy ways to access it:
From the browser: Just click on the VM name, go to the Console tab, and you’re instantly logged into the VM’s terminal.
Via remote desktop (for Windows VMs): If you're using a Windows template, you can connect using RDP tools or from your browser using built-in options.
👥 Managing Access: Who Can Use What
In a shared cluster, not everyone should have the same level of access. OpenShift makes it easy to control permissions using Role-Based Access Control (RBAC).
You can:
Allow some users to view VMs without editing.
Let others create, start, stop, or delete their own VMs.
Restrict access to certain projects or namespaces.
For example, your developers might only see and access their own test VMs, while your ops team can manage everything in production.
These access controls are configured through the platform’s built-in settings — no need to write any scripts or policies from scratch.
🎯 Why This Matters
Running VMs in OpenShift gives you flexibility:
Modern apps in containers ✅
Legacy systems in VMs ✅
One platform to manage them all ✅
You reduce complexity, improve resource usage, and streamline operations — all while giving teams secure, role-based access to the tools they need.
🔚 Final Thoughts
Whether you’re migrating from traditional virtualization platforms or looking to unify your workloads, OpenShift makes running and accessing virtual machines surprisingly straightforward — especially with the web interface.
No code. No hassle. Just point, click, and launch.
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