diff --git a/pkg/controllers/constants.go b/pkg/controllers/constants.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..c7089c48c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/controllers/constants.go
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+/*
+Copyright 2025.
+
+Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+limitations under the License.
+*/
+
+package controllers
+
+const (
+	kubeRayDefaultNamespace  = "ray-system"
+	kubeRayOperatorNamespace = "kuberay-operator"
+	defaultDSCINamespace     = "default-dsci"
+	odhNamespace             = "opendatahub"
+	rhdsAppsNamespace        = "redhat-ods-applications"
+)
diff --git a/pkg/controllers/raycluster_controller.go b/pkg/controllers/raycluster_controller.go
index 02c1a307d..f22d24d43 100644
--- a/pkg/controllers/raycluster_controller.go
+++ b/pkg/controllers/raycluster_controller.go
@@ -269,18 +269,25 @@ func (r *RayClusterReconciler) Reconcile(ctx context.Context, req ctrl.Request)
 	// Locate the KubeRay operator deployment:
 	// - First try to get the ODH / RHOAI application namespace from the DSCInitialization
 	// - Or fallback to the well-known defaults
+	// add check if running on openshift or vanilla kubernetes
 	var kubeRayNamespaces []string
-	dsci := &dsciv1.DSCInitialization{}
-	err := r.Client.Get(ctx, client.ObjectKey{Name: "default-dsci"}, dsci)
-	if errors.IsNotFound(err) {
-		kubeRayNamespaces = []string{"opendatahub", "redhat-ods-applications"}
-	} else if err != nil {
-		return ctrl.Result{}, err
-	} else {
-		kubeRayNamespaces = []string{dsci.Spec.ApplicationsNamespace}
+	kubeRayNamespaces = []string{kubeRayDefaultNamespace}
+
+	if r.IsOpenShift {
+		dsci := &dsciv1.DSCInitialization{}
+
+		err := r.Client.Get(ctx, client.ObjectKey{Name: defaultDSCINamespace}, dsci)
+		if errors.IsNotFound(err) {
+			kubeRayNamespaces = []string{odhNamespace, rhdsAppsNamespace}
+		} else if err != nil {
+			return ctrl.Result{}, err
+		} else {
+			kubeRayNamespaces = []string{dsci.Spec.ApplicationsNamespace}
+		}
+
 	}
 
-	_, err = r.kubeClient.NetworkingV1().NetworkPolicies(cluster.Namespace).Apply(ctx, desiredHeadNetworkPolicy(cluster, r.Config, kubeRayNamespaces), metav1.ApplyOptions{FieldManager: controllerName, Force: true})
+	_, err := r.kubeClient.NetworkingV1().NetworkPolicies(cluster.Namespace).Apply(ctx, desiredHeadNetworkPolicy(cluster, r.Config, kubeRayNamespaces), metav1.ApplyOptions{FieldManager: controllerName, Force: true})
 	if err != nil {
 		logger.Error(err, "Failed to update NetworkPolicy")
 	}
@@ -550,7 +557,7 @@ func desiredHeadNetworkPolicy(cluster *rayv1.RayCluster, cfg *config.KubeRayConf
 				networkingv1ac.NetworkPolicyIngressRule().
 					WithFrom(
 						networkingv1ac.NetworkPolicyPeer().WithPodSelector(metav1ac.LabelSelector().
-							WithMatchLabels(map[string]string{"app.kubernetes.io/component": "kuberay-operator"})).
+							WithMatchLabels(map[string]string{"app.kubernetes.io/component": kubeRayOperatorNamespace})).
 							WithNamespaceSelector(metav1ac.LabelSelector().
 								WithMatchExpressions(metav1ac.LabelSelectorRequirement().
 									WithKey(corev1.LabelMetadataName).