aks patching and node pool upgrade azure kubernetes services (aks) explained in plain english

This is part 3 of a multi-part series explaining "everything you need to know about node pools in Azure Kubernetes Services AKS" in plain english using animations. For part 1 click here https://youtu.be/aGT3UtZoiA0 and part 2 please click here - https://youtu.be/45UxnRj11_g

In this video we will talk about:

1. The different patching and upgrade options for nodepool - Kubernetes Version upgrade and NodeImage upgrade
2. The upgrade process using cordon and drain methodology
3. Auto upgrade channels and options for AKS

Commands from the video

Command to list the kubernetes version and the available kubernetes version upgrades on control plane

az aks get-upgrades \
--resource-group ResourceGroupName --name AKSClusterName --output table

Command to list the kubernetes version for all the nodes in your nodepools

az aks nodepool list \

--resource-group ResourceGroupName --cluster-name AKSClusterName \
--query "[].{Name:name,k8version:orchestratorVersion}" --output table

Upgrade kubernetes version on all nodes at once

In order to upgrade all nodes at once - we run the following command, this will upgrade all control plane and worker nodes at once to the desired kubernetes version

az aks upgrade \
--resource-group ResourceGroupName --name AKSClusterName \
--no-wait \
--kubernetes-version KubernetesVersion

Upgrade kubernetes version on control plane alone

If we only want to upgrade the kubernetes version for control plane alone - we run the same command but with the --control-plane-only switch

az aks upgrade \
--resource-group ResourceGroupName --name AKSClusterName \
--control-plane-only --no-wait \
--kubernetes-version KubernetesVersion

Upgrade Kubernetes version on specific node pools

If we need to upgrade the kubernetes version on only specific node pools we can run the following command by specifiying the nodepoolname and the kubernetes version

az aks nodepool upgrade \
--resource-group ResourceGroupName --cluster-name AKSClusterName --name NodePoolName \
--no-wait --kubernetes-version KubernetesVersion

Nodepool image upgrade

Running the following command lists all the current nodeimage versions of the nodepool

az aks nodepool list \
--resource-group ResourceGroupName --cluster-name AKSClusterName \
--query "[].{Name:name,NodeImageVersion:nodeImageVersion}" --output table

the following command to list the available latest nodeimage version for us

az aks nodepool get-upgrades \
--resource-group ResourceGroupName --cluster-name AKSClusterName \
--nodepool-name NodePoolName --output table

Upgrade nodeimage version for specific nodepool

In order to upgrade the nodeimage vefsion for a specific nodepool we run the following command :

az aks nodepool upgrade \
--resource-group myResourceGroup \
--cluster-name myAKSCluster \
--name mynodepool \
--node-image-only

az aks nodepool show \
--resource-group myResourceGroup \
--cluster-name myAKSCluster \
--name mynodepool

Upgrade nodeimage version for all nodepools at once

az aks upgrade \
--resource-group myResourceGroup \
--name myAKSCluster \
--node-image-only

Remember If you don’t run the nodeimage switch remember the whole cluster including the kubernetes version of the control plane is also upgraded.

az aks show \
--resource-group myResourceGroup \
--name myAKSCluster

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For more simplified video tutorials on Azure and Kubernetes - check out www.azuremonk.com/video