Upgrade the default kubernetes version

[ChengyuZhu6]

Do we have a plan to upgrade the default version of Kubernetes? Currently, it’s v1.24.0 in the operator. The latest release for v1.24 from upstream was on August 24, 2023: https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/releases/tag/v1.24.17

[mythi]

Do we have a plan to upgrade the default version of Kubernetes?

What upgrades are needed and where?

[stevenhorsman]

I think we definitely should as 1.24 has been out of support for a long time. I think we need to update our docs and the operator CI. I'm not sure if the operator SDK might need bumping in tandem though, or if the bumps that you are doing Mikko will be enough. I can give it a try and find out I guess!

[mythi]

I think we need to update our docs and the operator CI.

Is this what this issue is about? If yes, I could also help a bit with the envtest parts since #426 is related.

[stevenhorsman]

If yes, I could also help a bit with the envtest parts since #426 is related.

That's my interpretation (as it's been on my list for a while), but Chengyu might have meant something else. And you are correct that it makes more sense to include the ENVTEST_K8S_VERSION, K8S_VERSION and ansible group_vars bumps in #426 as anyone else would probably have to build on the PR anyway.

[ChengyuZhu6]

I think we definitely should as 1.24 has been out of support for a long time.

That’s what I meant. There are many new and interesting features in Kubernetes versions higher than 1.24 (the newest is 1.31), and version 1.24 has not been supported for a long time from upstream. I raised this issue because I’m unsure whether the community intentionally set the version to 1.24 for some specific reasons (since I tried version 1.26 and it didn’t work), or if there are other considerations.

[mythi]

This is WIP in #429.