Get started in the BC Gov Private Cloud PaaS
Ready to start building your application in the BC Gov Private Cloud PaaS? Learn how to onboard your team onto the platform.
On this page
- What you’ll need to onboard to the platform
- Step 1: Attend an onboarding meeting
- Step 2: Set up your access to OpenShift
- Step 3: Join Rocket.Chat
- Step 4: OpenShift 101 training
- Step 5: Begin using the platform
- Step 6: Stay Connected
- Related pages
What you’ll need to onboard to the platform
Before you start the onboarding process for the BC Gov Private Cloud PaaS, make sure you and your team have the recommended knowledge and skills to use the platform.
Step 1: Attend an onboarding meeting
If your team is interested in joining the BC Gov Private Cloud PaaS, the first step is to request an onboarding meeting with the platform product director. During the meeting, you’ll get an overview of the BC Gov Private Cloud PaaS and what we do to support the platform. You’ll also learn what your responsibilities will be as a product team working on the platform.
The meeting will also cover:
- A high-level discussion of the technical architecture of your planned application
- An overview of how to get set up on the platform and the resources that your product will be allocated
- Where to get help or support while working on the platform
- Our communication channels: the platform newsletter, Rocket.Chat and Platform Community Meetups
- What it means to be a part of the platform community
The onboarding meeting is also your opportunity to ask questions and learn more about RedHat® OpenShift®, the technology behind the platform that product teams use to build and deploy cloud-native applications.
Email PlatformServicesTeam@gov.bc.ca to request an onboarding meeting.
Preparing for your onboarding meeting
To get the most out of your onboarding meeting, we recommend preparing for it by reading about the platform.
- Learn more about the BC Gov Private Cloud PaaS
- Browse the products and tools we provide on the platform
- Read about the expectations for product teams on the platform
Step 2: Set up your access to OpenShift
There are two types of accounts supported on the BC Gov Private Cloud PaaS for accessing OpenShift and all other products: IDIR and GitHub ID.
You need to have at least one of these two accounts before you can work on the platform or participate in the platform community. Every member of your product team should have their own account(s).
GitHub
GitHub® is a leading hosting platform for building, deploying and maintaining open-source projects. It provides tools for project management, collaborative development, issue tracking, team administration, automation and more. You’ll use GitHub to store and manage your code and collaborate with the open-source community.
In order to contribute to GitHub repositories in bcgov organization owned by BC Government, including your own project repository, you must have a GitHub account with two-factor authentication enabled and added as a member to the bcgov organization in GitHub.
You can create a GitHub account at any time. Accounts can be added to the bcgov organization in GitHub by an existing bcgov organization member using the Just Ask! tool.
Learn more about how we work in the open with GitHub.
Learn more about different organizations owned by the B.C. government in GitHub.
IDIR
IDIR is an official identity issued by the B.C. government to its employees and contracted resources. You receive your IDIR when you begin working with the B.C. government.
Step 3: Join Rocket.Chat
Rocket.Chat® is a communication tool we use to engage with product teams and individuals in the B.C. public service who are building digital products. You can use Rocket.Chat to contact us, interact with teams working on the platform, get support, discover upcoming events, and find solutions to common problems.
Set up your Rocket.Chat account.
Step 4: OpenShift 101 training
Before you start your project, we provide OpenShift training to help you and your team get comfortable using the platform. There are two components to the training: a one-day workshop for your whole team and a self-guided lab for developers.
Your team must complete OpenShift 101 training before you can start building your application on the platform. An optional OpenShift 201 course is also available.
Learn more about OpenShift training.
Step 5: Begin using the platform
Once your developers and DevOps specialists have completed the OpenShift lab, you’re ready to begin working on the platform.
To get started, you need to provision a new product in OpenShift.
Once your product provisioning request is processed, your product administrators (the product owner and the technical leads listed on the provisioning request) will be emailed a link to the OpenShift console. You can use this link to access your product namespaces. Product administrators can grant access to the namespaces as needed.
If you have any questions while getting set up on the platform, there are many ways to get support or help.
Step 6: Stay Connected
Platform newsletter
To receive notifications about important changes and maintenance activities that may impact your application, subscribe to our platform newsletter.
Platform Community Meetups
We also recommend that your team attends Platform Community Meetups. At meetups, we share information about new tools and services on the platform, and discuss application development and security best practices. Meetups also feature demonstrations from other product teams and guest speakers.
Learn more about Platform Community Meetups.
Stack Overflow
The Government of B.C. Stack Overflow group is a private space in Stack Overflow for B.C. public service developers and other technical roles. Here, you can ask and answer questions, and support your colleagues in the B.C. government developer community.
