Keep your cluster on a supported Kubernetes version with scheduled, prechecked upgrades.
Limitations
Auto upgrade is supported only for ACK Serverless clusters running Kubernetes 1.22 or later.
Why use auto upgrade
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ACK stops releasing new features and patches for clusters on outdated Kubernetes versions and provides only limited support. See Risks in outdated Kubernetes versions. Use a supported Kubernetes version for security and stability.
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Auto upgrade eliminates the need for manual scheduling and ensures timely adoption of new Kubernetes features.
How it works
After you enable auto upgrade, ACK generates each upgrade plan at least one day in advance. The plan covers a precheck followed by the control plane upgrade, within your maintenance window.
Upgrades cannot be rolled back. To skip an upgrade, cancel its plan. Canceling a plan affects only that upgrade; auto upgrade remains enabled.
Manually upgrade the cluster at any time. See Manually upgrade a cluster.
Prerequisites
Before you begin, make sure you have:
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An ACK Serverless cluster running Kubernetes 1.22 or later
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Access to the ACK console
Enable auto upgrade
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Log on to the ACK console. In the left-side navigation pane, click Clusters.
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On the Clusters page, click the target cluster name. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Operations > Upgrade Cluster.
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On the Upgrade Cluster page, configure the auto upgrade policy. ACK runs a precheck before each upgrade. If the precheck fails, fix the reported issues and wait for ACK to retry. View precheck results and upgrade history in the History section.
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Select an Upgrade Channel (Patch, Stable, or Rapid). See Upgrade channels.
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Set a Maintenance Window of at least 2 hours.
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(Optional) On the Clusters page, verify that the Kubernetes version is updated.
Upgrade channels
The upgrade channel determines which Kubernetes version ACK upgrades your cluster to.
Example: Current cluster version is 1.26.3-aliyun.1. Available versions are 1.26.15-aliyun.1, 1.28.9-aliyun.1, and 1.30.1-aliyun.1 (latest minor: 1.30, second-latest minor: 1.28).
| Channel | Behavior | Target version |
|---|---|---|
| Patch | Upgrades to the latest patch version of the current minor version. No breaking changes. | 1.26.15-aliyun.1 |
| Stable | Upgrades to the latest patch version of the second-latest minor version. Stability is verified, but API and feature changes may apply. | 1.28.9-aliyun.1 |
| Rapid | Upgrades to the latest patch version of the latest minor version for the newest Kubernetes features. | 1.30.1-aliyun.1 |
The Version guide defines patch and minor versions.
Maintenance window
The maintenance window controls when ACK runs auto upgrades and node O&M operations.
Set the maintenance window to at least 2 hours.
If you change the maintenance window:
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Before an upgrade begins: The current upgrade plan is canceled.
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While an upgrade is in progress: The ongoing upgrade is canceled.
View and manage upgrade plans
View plan details on the O&M Plan tab or call the ListOperationPlans API.
To skip a scheduled upgrade, cancel the plan on the O&M Plan tab. Canceling a plan does not disable auto upgrade.
Upgrade notifications
If an upgrade fails, ACK sends notifications via email and internal site messages.
Next steps
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To upgrade immediately, manually upgrade the cluster:
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ACK console: Manually upgrade a cluster
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ACK API: UpgradeCluster
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Review supported Kubernetes versions, upgrade considerations, and deprecated features and APIs in the Version guide.
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For large-scale production workloads, consider migrating to ACK Serverless Pro clusters. See ACK Serverless Pro clusters.