Azure versioning and support
This page explains the versioning approach and support policies for GKE on Azure. Each release of GKE on Azure supports several Kubernetes minor versions, each of which can have several GKE patch versions.
Version support
In accordance with Anthos Version Support Policy, GKE on Azure supports a minor version for up to 12 months, or until the release of the third subsequent minor version, whichever is longer. Minor version releases are scheduled three times a year, typically around April, August, and December, resulting in at least three minor versions being supported at any given time.
During the support period, bug fixes for a minor version are released as a new Kubernetes patch version, typically on a monthly basis.
Once the 12-month support period concludes, the minor version, along with all its associated patch versions, reaches end of life. This means that these versions are no longer supported, and no new patches of the minor version will be released.
Properties of unsupported versions
Once a minor version reaches its end of life, the following rules apply:
- End-of-life patch versions can't be used to create new clusters.
- End-of-life events don't disrupt your control planes and workloads. Regular operations on existing clusters can continue with end-of-life versions. To ensure support from Google and avoid potential bug-related failures or security vulnerabilities, you must manually upgrade your clusters and node pools to a supported version as soon as possible.
- Upgrades of existing clusters/node pools to newer versions can occur even if the upgraded version is at end of life. However, you must eventually upgrade to one of the supported versions.
- New node pools can still be created with an end-of-life version, but this isn't recommended. Upgrades to a supported version should be prioritized.
Check available versions
For information on supported versions, see the GKE on Azure version notes.
To see all available versions -- including those which have reached their end of life and are unsupported -- run this command:
gcloud container azure get-server-config \
--location=GOOGLE_CLOUD_LOCATION
Replace GOOGLE_CLOUD_LOCATION with the Google Cloud
location from which you manage your clusters. The supported versions will be
returned with their enabled flag set to true. Any end of life patch versions
will also be returned in the output with their end_of_life flag set to true.
Version notes
Each GKE on Azure release comes with Kubernetes version notes. These are similar to release notes but are specific to a Kubernetes version and may offer more technical detail. These version notes are listed on the GKE on Azure version notes page.
Version lifespans
These are the Kubernetes versions now or recently supported by GKE on Azure, along with their release and approximate end of life dates.
| Kubernetes version | Release date | Approximate support end date |
|---|---|---|
| 1.28.7-gke.1700 | 2024/04/03 | 2024/12/14 |
| 1.28.5-gke.1200 | 2024/03/05 | 2024/12/14 |
| 1.28.5-gke.100 | 2024/02/05 | 2024/12/14 |
| 1.28.3-gke.700 | 2023/12/14 | 2024/12/14 |
| 1.27.11-gke.1600 | 2024/04/03 | 2024/08/24 |
| 1.27.10-gke.500 | 2024/03/05 | 2024/08/24 |
| 1.27.9-gke.100 | 2024/02/05 | 2024/08/24 |
| 1.27.7-gke.600 | 2023/12/14 | 2024/08/24 |
| 1.27.6-gke.700 | 2023/10/30 | 2024/08/24 |
| 1.27.5-gke.200 | 2023/10/02 | 2024/08/24 |
| 1.27.4-gke.1600 | 2023/09/06 | 2024/08/24 |
| 1.26.14-gke.1500 | 2024/04/03 | 2024/05/04 |
| 1.26.13-gke.400 | 2024/03/05 | 2024/05/04 |
| 1.26.12-gke.100 | 2024/02/05 | 2024/05/04 |
| 1.26.10-gke.600 | 2023/12/14 | 2024/05/04 |
| 1.26.9-gke.700 | 2023/10/30 | 2024/05/04 |
| 1.26.8-gke.200 | 2023/10/02 | 2024/05/04 |
| 1.26.7-gke.500 | 2023/09/06 | 2024/05/04 |
| 1.26.5-gke.1400 | 2023/08/03 | 2024/05/04 |
| 1.26.5-gke.1200 | 2023/07/13 | 2024/05/04 |
| 1.26.4-gke.2200 | 2023/06/05 | 2024/05/04 |
| 1.26.2-gke.1001 | 2023/05/04 | 2024/05/04 |