tjh.dev
1# RKE2 Version
2
3RKE2, Kubernetes, and other clustered software has the property of not being able to update
4atomically. Most software in nixpkgs, like for example bash, can be updated as part of a
5`nixos-rebuild switch` without having to worry about the old and the new bash interacting in some
6way. RKE2/Kubernetes, on the other hand, is typically run across several machines, and each machine
7is updated independently. As such, different versions of the package and NixOS module must maintain
8compatibility with each other through temporary version skew during updates. The upstream Kubernetes
9project documents this in their
10[version-skew policy](https://kubernetes.io/releases/version-skew-policy/#supported-component-upgrade-order).
11
12Within nixpkgs, we strive to maintain a valid "upgrade path" that does not run afoul of the upstream
13version skew policy.
14
15> [!NOTE]
16> Upgrade the server nodes first, one at a time. Once all servers have been upgraded, you may then
17> upgrade agent nodes.
18
19## Release Channels
20
21RKE2 has two named release channels, i.e. `stable` and `latest`. Additionally, there exists a
22release channel tied to each Kubernetes minor version, e.g. `v1.32`.
23
24Nixpkgs follows active minor version release channels (typically 4 at a time) and sets aliases for
25`rke2_stable` and `rke2_latest` accordingly.
26
27Patch releases should be backported to to the latest stable release branch, however, new minor
28versions are not backported.
29
30For further information visit the
31[RKE2 release channels documentation](https://docs.rke2.io/upgrades/manual_upgrade?_highlight=manua#release-channels).
32
33## EOL Versions
34
35Approximately every 4 months a minor RKE2 version reaches EOL. EOL versions should be removed from
36`nixpkgs-unstable`, preferably by throwing with an explanatory message in
37`pkgs/top-level/aliases.nix`. With stable releases, however, it isn't expected that packages will be
38removed. Instead we set `meta.knownVulnerabilities` for stable EOL packages, like it is also done
39for EOL JDKs, browser engines, Node.js versions, etc.
40
41For further information on the RKE2 lifecycle, see the
42[SUSE Product Support Lifecycle page](https://www.suse.com/lifecycle#rke2).