Welcome to the Low-Latency Performance Workshop!

Introduction

Welcome to the comprehensive OpenShift Low-Latency Performance Workshop! This hands-on workshop will guide you through implementing high-performance, low-latency workloads on OpenShift 4.19 using enterprise-grade tuning techniques and Red Hat Advanced Cluster Management (RHACM).

This workshop demonstrates real-world scenarios where microsecond-level latency matters, including financial trading systems, real-time gaming, IoT edge computing, and high-frequency data processing applications.

Who Will Benefit Most from Attending?

Platform Engineers & SREs — Learn advanced OpenShift performance tuning, CPU isolation, real-time kernel configuration, and automated cluster management at scale.

Application Architects — Understand how to design containerized applications for ultra-low latency requirements while leveraging GitOps workflows and multi-cluster management.

DevOps Engineers — Master the integration of RHACM with ArgoCD for consistent performance profile deployment across development, staging, and production environments.

What Content Is Covered?

These are the key modules that will be covered:

  • Module 1: Low-Latency Fundamentals: Understanding latency requirements, OpenShift performance features, and workshop architecture overview.

  • Module 2: RHACM & ArgoCD Integration: Setting up Red Hat Advanced Cluster Management with ArgoCD for automated multi-cluster performance deployments.

  • Module 3: Baseline Performance Testing: Using kube-burner to establish performance baselines and measure pod creation latency metrics.

  • Module 4: Core Performance Tuning: Implementing Performance Profiles for CPU isolation, HugePages configuration, and real-time kernel enablement.

  • Module 5: Low-Latency Virtualization: Optimizing OpenShift Virtualization for low-latency workloads with SR-IOV networking and VM performance tuning.

  • Module 6: Monitoring & Validation: Advanced performance monitoring, validation tools, and best practices for maintaining low-latency environments.

  • Module 7: Case Study & Conclusion: Real-world implementation example, lessons learned, and next steps for production deployment.

What is Low-Latency Performance?

  • Microsecond Response Times: Applications requiring sub-millisecond response times for critical operations

  • CPU Isolation: Dedicated CPU cores for time-sensitive workloads without interference from system processes

  • Real-time Kernels: Deterministic scheduling and reduced jitter for predictable performance

  • Hardware Acceleration: Direct hardware access via SR-IOV for network-intensive applications

  • Memory Optimization: HugePages and NUMA-aware allocation for reduced memory management overhead

Workshop Technologies

This workshop leverages several OpenShift 4.19 enterprise features:

  • Performance Addon Operator: Automated node tuning for real-time workloads

  • Red Hat Advanced Cluster Management (RHACM): Multi-cluster governance and policy management

  • OpenShift GitOps (ArgoCD): Declarative configuration management and deployment automation

  • Node Tuning Operator: Fine-grained system parameter optimization

  • SR-IOV Network Operator: High-performance networking with direct hardware access

  • OpenShift Virtualization: KubeVirt-based virtual machines with performance optimization

Why Choose OpenShift for Low-Latency Workloads?

Enterprise-Grade Performance: OpenShift provides certified, supportable low-latency capabilities backed by Red Hat engineering and extensive performance testing across diverse hardware platforms.

Automated Lifecycle Management: RHACM enables consistent performance profile deployment, policy enforcement, and governance across multiple clusters without manual intervention.

Production-Ready Integration: Native integration between performance tuning, container orchestration, and enterprise security provides a complete platform for mission-critical low-latency applications.

Next Steps

Ready to start? Begin with Module 1 to understand the fundamentals, then progress through hands-on exercises that build upon each other.

Learning Path: 1. Start Here: Module 1 - Low-Latency Fundamentals 2. Multi-Cluster Setup: Module 2 - RHACM & ArgoCD Integration 3. Performance Baseline: Module 3 - Baseline Testing 4. Core Optimization: Module 4 - Performance Tuning

Additional Resources: * OpenShift Performance Documentation * RHACM Documentation * Kube-burner Performance Testing

Requirements for the Lab Environment

Prerequisites: * OpenShift 4.19+ cluster with cluster-admin privileges * Minimum 3 worker nodes with metal instance types (for best performance characteristics) * RHACM operator installed and configured * Terminal access with oc CLI configured * Basic understanding of Kubernetes/OpenShift concepts

Hardware Recommendations: * Worker nodes with dedicated CPU cores (minimum 8 cores per node) * At least 32GB RAM per worker node for performance testing * SR-IOV capable network interfaces (for Module 5) * NVMe storage for optimal I/O performance