This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Sindhuja N.S
Overview
Private Red Hat OpenShift on AWS (ROSA) clusters offer a secure, fully managed Kubernetes platform integrated with Amazon Web Services, but isolated from public internet access. These clusters are ideal for organizations with strict compliance, security, or data governance requirements, as they ensure workloads and management endpoints remain within a private network.
By deploying ROSA in a private mode, you can harness the flexibility of AWS infrastructure, the developer productivity of OpenShift, and enterprise-grade security without exposing your cluster to external threats.
Key Benefits
- Enhanced Security Cluster API endpoints are accessible only within a private VPC.
Traffic between components never leaves the AWS private network.
Integration with AWS PrivateLink for secure connectivity to AWS services.
- Regulatory Compliance Meets industry standards for organizations handling sensitive or regulated data.
Aligns with security frameworks like HIPAA, PCI DSS, and FedRAMP (based on configuration).
- Consistent Operations Full OpenShift capabilities, including CI/CD pipelines, operators, and developer self-service.
Managed by Red Hat SRE teams, ensuring high availability and automated updates.
How It Works
A private ROSA cluster runs inside your AWS Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) with no public-facing endpoints. Connectivity can be established via:
VPN connections from on-premises to AWS
AWS Direct Connect for dedicated high-bandwidth links
PrivateLink for secure AWS service access
Control plane and worker nodes communicate internally, while AWS services like S3 or RDS can be accessed without leaving the AWS network.
Use Cases
Finance & Banking: Secure handling of transactions and customer data.
Healthcare: Protected workloads for patient record processing.
Government: Sensitive application hosting in compliance with security mandates.
Corporate Development: Internal developer platforms without external exposure.
Getting Started
To deploy a private ROSA cluster:
Prepare your AWS environment with a private VPC and necessary subnets.
Configure private endpoints and security groups.
Use the ROSA CLI or Red Hat console to initiate the cluster creation.
Integrate VPN/Direct Connect for administrative and developer access.
In summary — Private ROSA clusters combine the agility of OpenShift with AWS infrastructure while keeping security and privacy front and center. They’re perfect for organizations that can’t compromise on compliance or network isolation but still want cloud-native capabilities.
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This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Sindhuja N.S