Red Hat makes Node.js a first-class citizen on OpenShift with RHOAR

The traditional view of Red Hat is that it's all about Enterprise Linux and Java/Jakarta EE, but things have changed a lot in Raleigh and Westford over the past couple of years.

The brilliant pivot of OpenShift 3 was perfectly timed to take advantage of the meteoric rise of Kubernetes. We continue to be amazed and delighted by the demand around DevOps and DevSecOps in this area.

However, the story around Node on OpenShift has been patchy to-date. Some OpenShift offerings were still on Node 4 until recently and Node 8 support came very late. We were also disappointed to see Node listed as a Tech Preview when RHOAR (Red Hat OpenShift Application Runtimes) was announced and to see openshift.io lead with a niche JVM-based language.

That all changed yesterday with the GA of Node.js in RHOAR . You now have a Red Hat-supported up-to-date LTS version of Node on OpenShift. This is far more than a box-ticking exercise for Red Hat. It shows they are fully committed to and executing on their vision of Modern Application Development and AMM (Application Migration and Modernisation).

Whilst some traditional Red Hat customers will continue to use Java EE in VMs, RHOAR means that the vast majority can assuredly take the steps from legacy systems, through containerization and on to re-builds and new builds in Node.js and JavaScript.

Our initial impressions of the GA using OpenShift Online have been extremely positive. Both Community and Supported images are provided. We'll have more blog-posts on RHOAR and OpenShift very soon. In the meantime head on over to the Red Hat Developers launch site and give RHOAR a go.

If you are attending Red Hat Summit in San Francisco in May, we'll be there in force and will have lots to say on the subjects of Node.js and OpenShift. Keep an eye out for our booth and make sure to attend our talk on this very subject .

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