The CLM software can be deployed only in a supported version of Kubernetes environment. A CLM software bundle includes the latest supported version as of the CLM release date; a CLM system installation uses the bundled Kubernetes version.

A CLM system may be compatible with a Kubernetes version that is released after the CLM deployment. In such a case, you can upgrade the Kubernetes deployment environment without upgrading the CLM software, as described in Upgrading Kubernetes.

A CLM system upgrade typically includes an upgrade of the Kubernetes deployment environment. Each CLM system upgrade procedure has a link to To upgrade the CLM Kubernetes environment, which describes the upgrade process for a standalone or DR CLM deployment.

Supported upgrade schemes

A Kubernetes upgrade must be version-sequential, which means that you cannot upgrade directly from version A to version C and skip version B; you must first upgrade from version A to version B, and only then can you upgrade to version C.

Rather than performing a series of sequential Kubernetes upgrades, you can choose to uninstall your current Kubernetes environment and then install the new version.

Note: Performing a series of sequential upgrades preserves the CLM cluster data in the Kubernetes etcd database, while uninstalling Kubernetes deletes the etcd data.

Off-cycle upgrades

CAUTION Misconfiguration Risk

The Kubernetes upgrade procedure in this guide is specific to an upgrade to the Kubernetes version introduced in the CLM release of this guide, and cannot be used for upgrading to a later version. Using the Kubernetes upgrade procedure in this guide to upgrade to a Kubernetes version issued with a later CLM release is not supported, and may result in system misconfiguration.

To upgrade to a later Kubernetes version, you must use the Kubernetes upgrade procedure in the CLM Installation and Upgrade Guide for the CLM release associated with the new Kubernetes version.

After a CLM installation or upgrade, if a new Kubernetes version is made available that your CLM release supports, you can perform an “off-cycle” Kubernetes upgrade to the new version without upgrading the CLM software. See the Host Environment Compatibility Reference for NSP and CLM for information about the supported Kubernetes versions for various CLM releases.

To upgrade the CLM Kubernetes environment describes how to upgrade your Kubernetes version to the version introduced with the CLM release of the CLM release of this guide..