The release of Kubernetes v1.31, named “Elli” marks a significant milestone as it commemorates the first decade of Kubernetes. This release introduces 45 enhancements, with 11 graduating to Stable, 22 entering Beta, and 12 advancing to Alpha. These improvements span across stability, security, and scalability, reflecting the ongoing contributions and development of the vibrant Kubernetes community.
The release team says,
The Kubernetes v1.31 Release Theme is “Elli”.
Kubernetes v1.31’s Elli is a cute and joyful dog, with a heart of gold and a nice sailor’s cap, as a playful wink to the huge and diverse family of Kubernetes contributors.
Features Graduating to Stable
1. AppArmor Support
Now generally available, AppArmor support enhances container security by allowing the use of AppArmor profiles through the appArmorProfile.type field in a container’s securityContext. This feature, part of KEP-24, provides a more robust security posture for containerized applications.
2. Improved Ingress Connectivity Reliability for Kube-proxy
This enhancement, detailed in KEP-3836, improves synchronization between load balancers and kube-proxy, reducing traffic drops during node termination for services of type LoadBalancer with externalTrafficPolicy: Cluster.
3. Persistent Volume Last Phase Transition Time
Implemented as part of KEP-3762, this feature adds a .status.lastTransitionTime field to PersistentVolume objects, enabling better monitoring and management of volume lifecycle transitions.
Highlights of Features Graduating to Beta
1. nftables Backend for Kube-proxy
The nftables backend, introduced in KEP-3866, moves to beta. It offers improved performance and scalability over iptables, particularly for clusters with a large number of services.
2. Multiple Service CIDRs
This feature, part of KEP-1880, allows dynamic modification of Service CIDR ranges, addressing IP exhaustion in large or long-lived clusters.
3. Traffic Distribution for Services
Advancing to beta, this feature (from KEP-4444) introduces the trafficDistribution field in Service specifications, providing more granular control over traffic routing.
New Features in Alpha
1. New DRA APIs for Better Accelerator Management
Introduced in KEP-3063, these APIs aim to improve resource allocation and management for specialized hardware, with a focus on structured parameters for transparent resource information.
2. Support for Image Volumes
This alpha feature, part of KEP-4639, allows using OCI images as native volume sources, enhancing Kubernetes’ capabilities in AI and ML use cases.
3. Exposing Device Health Information through Pod Status
Implemented in KEP-4680, this feature adds the allocatedResourcesStatus field to container statuses, providing health information for assigned devices.
Deprecations and Removals
- Cgroup v1 enters maintenance mode
- Removal of in-tree cloud provider integrations
- Deprecation of non-CSI volume limit plugins in kube-scheduler
Refer to the official release notes and release blog for a comprehensive list of changes, deprecations, and removals.
Getting Started with Kubernetes v1.31
To get started with Kubernetes v1.31:
- Download Kubernetes v1.31
- Explore interactive tutorials
- Set up a local cluster using minikube
- Install v1.31 using kubeadm
For more information on the release and upcoming events, visit the Kubernetes blog and community events page.
Kubernetes v1.31.1 offers enhanced features and stability. As we celebrate a decade of Kubernetes, the v1.31 release sets the stage for continued innovation in cloud-native technologies.
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