Feature Overview (aka. Goal Summary)  

OLM v1 enables users to preserve resources, data, and configurations upon extension/operator removal, providing flexible management options.

Goals (aka. expected user outcomes)

• Users can define whether Kubernetes resources associated with an extension/operator are orphaned or deleted upon removal.
• Users can preview Kubernetes resources to be orphaned or retained before removal.
• Users can safely remove and reinstall extensions/operators without data loss for troubleshooting or migration.
• Users can resume management of orphaned resources by reinstalling an extension/operator with matching APIs.

Background

By default, OLM v1 deletes all Kubernetes resources associated with an extension/operator upon removal.  This declarative approach reverts the cluster to its pre-installation state. 

However, this differs from the current OLM behavior, which preserves CRDs and their associated custom resource objects upon operator removal.  To accommodate diverse user needs and the existing OLM behavior, OLM v1 aims to support orphaning Kubernetes resources during operator deletion.  This allows users to maintain data and configurations even after removing an extension/operator, enabling scenarios such as extension/operator transitions, i.e., switching to another operator managing the same APIs, troubleshooting, or data retention.

Requirements (aka. Acceptance Criteria):

• Resource orphaning opt-in configuration: OLM v1 provides a declarative way to configure resource orphaning behavior when extension/operator deletion.

• Resource orphaning preview: OLM v1 provides a preview of Kubernetes resources to be orphaned or retained before extension/operator deletion.

• Orphaned resource management: OLM v1 provides a declarative approach for managing orphaned resources associated with newly installed extensions/operators, allowing users to easily delete these resources during the removal process.

• User experience in troubleshooting: OLM v1 provides error logs/messages for failed orphaning operations (if any).

Documentation Considerations

• The steps for configuring resource orphaning behavior when extension/operator deletion.

• The steps for previewing the Kubernetes resources to be orphaned or retained before extension/operator deletion.

• The steps for re-installing/creating extensions/operators to manage orphaned resources and later entirely delete them upon the extensions/operators removal process.

• The steps for troubleshooting failed orphaning operations (if any).