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Packs Maintenance Policy

Palette supports two pack categories: Infrastructure and Add-on. Infrastructure packs are often sourced from third parties and are infrastructure-related or support critical container-based environments. Packs are used to create layers in cluster profiles. Infrastructure packs are grouped as follows:

  • Operating System (OS)
  • Kubernetes
  • Container Network Interface (CNI)
  • Container Storage Interface (CSI)

Add-on packs provide additional functionality that you can add to your cluster profile and are grouped as follows:

  • Authentication
  • Ingress
  • Load balancer
  • Logging
  • Monitoring
  • Security
  • Service mesh
  • System apps

Check out the Packs List document, where you can use the filter buttons to display a list of Palette packs in each category and learn about the individual packs.

Pack Updates

Packs undergo rigorous vulnerability scans and penetration testing before they become available in Palette. The following sections describe our update schedule for each infrastructure pack category. For update information about verified packs, review Palette Verified Packs.

OS Packs

We provide Ubuntu LTS and CentOS updates for IaaS clusters as follows:

Update VersionSchedule
MajorAdded within eight weeks of release.
Minor & PatchUpdated at runtime using Palette’s on-demand or scheduled OS upgrades and patch-on-boot capabilities.

Kubernetes Packs

We provide Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) Kubernetes updates as follows:

Update VersionSchedule
MajorAssessed based on the extent of changes.
MinorProvided within eight weeks of a new Kubernetes release.
PatchProvided within four weeks of a new Kubernetes release.

CNI Packs

We provide CNI pack updates as follows:

Update VersionSchedule
MajorAssessed based on the extent of changes.
MinorProvided within six weeks of release.
PatchProvided within four weeks of release.

CSI Packs

We provide CSI pack updates as follows:

Update VersionSchedule
MajorAssessed based on the extent of changes.
MinorProvided within six weeks of release.
PatchProvided within four weeks of release.

Add-on Packs

We provide add-on pack updates as follows:

Update VersionSchedule
MajorAssessed based on the extent of changes.
MinorProvided within six weeks of release.
PatchProvided within four weeks of release.

Pack Deprecations

We deprecate and remove packs when a more stable version of the pack is available or when the underlying technology becomes obsolete. When a pack is deprecated, you will still be able to create new cluster profiles using the pack and deploy clusters that use profiles containing the pack.

Palette displays the deprecation stage when you click the information icon next to the pack name during profile creation.

Screenshot showing how Palette indicates a pack's stage of deprecation.

An information icon in the profile stack also displays a message that instructs about required pack versions.

Screenshot showing message in profile stack that tells you the required pack version to use.

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You can review deprecated packs in the Deprecated Packs resource.

We adhere to the following stages of deprecation:

  • Deprecated: When a pack or a pack version is deprecated, this indicates it will be removed in the future. You will still be able to create new cluster profiles using the pack and launch clusters using existing profiles that contain the pack.

    The pack remains in Deprecated state for three months before it moves to Disabled state.

  • Disabled: When a pack is disabled, it is no longer available for selection in Palette. When creating new profiles, you must use a newer version of the pack. You can still launch clusters using existing profiles that contain the disabled pack.

    The pack remains in Disabled state for three months before it is deleted.

  • Deleted: When a pack is deleted, it is removed from Palette. An active cluster that contains the deleted pack will continue to operate. However, you will not be able to deploy a new cluster profile that contains the deleted pack.

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For important guidelines on updating pack versions, review Update the Pack Version.

Kubernetes Packs

Refer to the Kubernetes Support Lifecycle page to learn about the Kubernetes versions we support and the duration of support.

CNI / CSI / Add-on Packs

Palette supports a minor version of CNI, CSI, and add-on packs until two newer versions are available. At that time, packs in these categories are deprecated.