// Module included in the following assemblies:
//
// * disconnected/mirroring/index.adoc

:_mod-docs-content-type: CONCEPT
[id="installing-mirroring-disconnected-con_{context}"]
= Mirror registries for installing clusters in disconnected environments

[role="_abstract"]
You must mirror required container images into a disconnected environment before you can install and provision a cluster there. To mirror those container images, you must have a mirror registry.

Consider the following options for creating and using a mirror registry:

* If you already have a container image registry, such as {quay}, you can use it as your mirror registry. If you do not already have a registry, you must create one.

* After you establish your registry, you need mirroring tools. To mirror your {product-title} image repository to the mirror registry in your disconnected environment, you can use the oc-mirror {oc-first} plugin. The oc-mirror plugin is a single tool that mirrors all required {product-title} content and other images to your mirror registry. The oc-mirror plugin is the preferred method for mirroring.

* Alternately, you can use the `oc adm` command to mirror just release and catalog images for {product-title}.
