When installing IBM Cloud Pak for Integration (CP4I) on an OpenShift cluster that lacks internet access, an air-gapped installation is required. This process involves mirroring container images from an IBM container registry to a portable registry that can be accessed by the disconnected OpenShift cluster.
To authenticate and mirror images, the administrator must:
Use the cloudctl case command to configure credentials, including the IBM entitlement key, before initiating the mirroring process.
Authenticate with the IBM Container Registry using the entitlement key.
Mirror the required images from IBM’s registry to a local registry that the disconnected OpenShift cluster can access.
B. export ENTITLEMENTKEY and cloudPakOfflineInstaller -mirror-images
The command cloudPakOfflineInstaller -mirror-images is not a valid IBM Cloud Pak installation step.
IBM requires the use of cloudctl case commands for air-gapped installations.
C. Adding the entitlement key to .airgap/registries
There is no documented requirement to store the entitlement key in SHOME/.airgap/registries.
IBM Cloud Pak for Integration does not use this file for authentication.
D. Adding the ibm-entitlement-key as a Docker secret
While secrets are used in OpenShift for image pulling, they are not directly involved in mirroring images for air-gapped installations.
The entitlement key is required at the mirroring step, not when deploying the images.
Why Other Options Are Incorrect:IBM Cloud Pak for Integration (CP4I) v2021.2 Administration References:
IBM Documentation: Installing Cloud Pak for Integration in an Air-Gapped Environment
IBM Cloud Pak Entitlement Key and Image Mirroring
OpenShift Air-Gapped Installation Guide
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