GKE on Bare Metal runs on Linux. GKE on Bare Metal version 1.28.0 and subsequent patch releases support the following Linux distributions and versions. GKE on Bare Metal supports only kernels supplied with supported distributions.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
GKE on Bare Metal is tested on and supports the following Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) minor releases:
GKE on Bare Metal 1.28
- RHEL 9.2 (Preview: qualified and supported for GKE on Bare Metal 1.28.0 and higher)
- RHEL 8.9 (qualified and supported for GKE on Bare Metal 1.28.200 and higher)
- RHEL 8.8
- RHEL 8.6
GKE on Bare Metal 1.16
- RHEL 8.9 (qualified and supported for GKE on Bare Metal 1.16.6 and higher)
- RHEL 8.8
- RHEL 8.6
GKE on Bare Metal 1.15
- RHEL 8.9 (qualified and supported for GKE on Bare Metal 1.15.10 and higher)
- RHEL 8.8
- RHEL 8.6
GKE on Bare Metal supports only RHEL minor releases that are covered under Red Hat's Full and Maintenance support phases. OS versions that go out of support are removed from the list. For information about the support phases for RHEL, see Red Hat Enterprise Linux Life Cycle.
For instructions about how to configure RHEL on your node machines, see Configure RHEL.
Ubuntu
GKE on Bare Metal is tested on and supports the following Long Term Support (LTS) versions of Ubuntu:
GKE on Bare Metal 1.28
- 22.04 LTS
- 20.04 LTS
GKE on Bare Metal 1.16
- 22.04 LTS
- 20.04 LTS
GKE on Bare Metal 1.15
- 22.04 LTS
- 20.04 LTS
For each LTS version, Ubuntu maintains multiple kernel packages, but the support lifecycle for individual LTS version and kernel version pairings varies. GKE on Bare Metal supports only LTS and kernel pairings that are covered by Ubuntu's Standard support offering. OS versions that go out of support are removed from the list. For more information about the Ubuntu kernel support lifecycle, see The Ubuntu lifecycle and release cadence.
To successfully install GKE on Bare Metal, you must use an Ubuntu Hardware Enablement (HWE) kernel.
For instructions to configure Ubuntu on your node machines, see Configure Ubuntu.