Large Scale Kubernetes Migration

From OpenShift Container Platform to Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS) with Helm

USA

LOCATION

Communications

INDUSTRY

Kubernetes Migration

Service Provided

01. CLIENT

About the Client

BUSINESS

Our client, a large communications provider, was running a flagship product suite with 100+ microservices composed of 200+ containers. it runs, the that The microservices were grouped into 30+ "framelets" that made up 5 major products.

BACKGROUND

Our client had migrated to a containerized microservices architecture many years ago. Since then, they had been running their entire product suite on the RHOCP with 100+ OpenShift templates with 60K+ lines of code.

02. Project Challenge

INITIAL REQUEST

The client contacted us because they wanted to migrate away from the RHOCP and transform their product suite to work on any Kubernetes platform, most notably AWS EKS, using the Helm package manager.

THE CHALLENGE

Helm is not designed to be used as a target of migration from another deployment-management system like OCP templates. Helm assumes that when Helm charts are installed, they create all Kubernetes objects as a clean slate. In this case, many Kubernetes objects, packaged as Helm charts, were already created in the OCP cluster using OCP templates.
Additionally, other cluster objects like DeploymentConfigs & Routes, are not supposed to be adopted by Helm charts. Instead, the Helm charts are supposed to replace DeploymentConfigs with Deployments & Routes with Ingresses.

The platform needed to support peak demands securely and compliantly, yet their existing setup led to frequent over-provisioning and costly underutilization.

Achieving and maintaining SOC 2 compliance also presented challenges with Kubernetes security and audit logging, critical to meeting their clients' compliance needs.

After consultations with the client, Maven Solutions proposed this approach:

01

Migration of all workloads based on proprietary OpenShift templates

02

Python-based OpenShift to Helm conversion automation framework

03

Accelerated migration of live production workloads in customer environments without downtime

03. SOLUTION

PROJECT SOLUTION

Our Strategic Approach

Maven Solutions has created the following roadmap for removing Open Shift dependencies that offered no value for for the client:

migration of all workloads

Maven Solutions designed, planned & executed a completed migration of all workloads that were based on proprietary OpenShift templates to generic Helm charts deployable on EKS.

Custom Migration Automation

Most of the migration was done with the help of a custom built Python-based OpenShift to Helm conversion framework. This automation allowed to accelerate the migration while maintaining company-specific requirements (ingress controllers, the existing approach for managing stateful workloads).

Downtime minimization

Preparation, planning, and custom automation allowed to migrate live production workloads in customer environments from OpenShift templates to Helm charts without downtime.

Knowledge transfer

Additionally, Maven Solutions have conducted knowledge transfer to that the customer's core team could use the migration automation tool to Helmify their framelets independently and without needing any assistance from Maven Solutions.

Rigorous Testing

To mitigate the side effects of relying on a single common Helm library, Maven Solutions built a regression test suite to avoid regressions caused by changes in the library.

We implemented a comprehensive, SOC 2-compliant Kubernetes migration taking into account the client’s current and desired future business processes.

04. Results

Value Delivered

Migration completed

Live production migration from OpenShift templates to Helm charts without downtime completed for all products
Dependency on OpenShift removed for a significant decrease the SaaS third-party costs

More automation

50% reduction in Helmification times due to automation
Comprehensive regression test suite to avoid regressions caused by changes in the library
Automation framework, training, and guides for greater internal capability

Enhanced observability

A deep understanding of the company’s (technical) ecosystem acquired, with little assistance from Maven Solutions engineers
Reduced architectural complexity
Better development team satifsaction

Reduced Manual Intervention

Optimized, automated environment
Lower level of manual oversight
Decrease in routine infrastructure management tasks

CTO

Communications Company

We successfully gained deployment support onto Kubernetes and modernized our software product suite. In addition, this engagement made our entire suite more portable and decreased unwanted third-party SaaS costs. We're happy with Maven Solutions for the state-of-the-art automation, training, and guides that continue to increase our internal capability.

VENDOR
DEPENDENCY
REMOVED

Dependency on a third-party SaaS removal lead to a complete cancellation of licensing costs.

INCREASED ENGINEERING EFFICIENCY

Freed from routine infrastructure management, the client’s engineering team gained a competitive edge with faster, more reliable deployments.