Upgrading Linux nodes

This page explains how to upgrade a Linux Worker Nodes created with kubeadm.

Before you begin

You need to have a Kubernetes cluster, and the kubectl command-line tool must be configured to communicate with your cluster. It is recommended to run this tutorial on a cluster with at least two nodes that are not acting as control plane hosts. If you do not already have a cluster, you can create one by using minikube or you can use one of these Kubernetes playgrounds:

To check the version, enter kubectl version.

Upgrading worker nodes

Upgrade kubeadm

Upgrade kubeadm:

# replace x in 1.27.x-00 with the latest patch version
apt-mark unhold kubeadm && \
apt-get update && apt-get install -y kubeadm=1.27.x-00 && \
apt-mark hold kubeadm


# replace x in 1.27.x-0 with the latest patch version
yum install -y kubeadm-1.27.x-0 --disableexcludes=kubernetes

Call "kubeadm upgrade"

  • For worker nodes this upgrades the local kubelet configuration:

    sudo kubeadm upgrade node

Drain the node

  • Prepare the node for maintenance by marking it unschedulable and evicting the workloads:

    # replace <node-to-drain> with the name of your node you are draining
kubectl drain <node-to-drain> --ignore-daemonsets

Upgrade kubelet and kubectl

  • Upgrade the kubelet and kubectl:

    # replace x in 1.27.x-00 with the latest patch version
apt-mark unhold kubelet kubectl && \
apt-get update && apt-get install -y kubelet=1.27.x-00 kubectl=1.27.x-00 && \
apt-mark hold kubelet kubectl


    # replace x in 1.27.x-0 with the latest patch version
yum install -y kubelet-1.27.x-0 kubectl-1.27.x-0 --disableexcludes=kubernetes

  • Restart the kubelet:

    sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl restart kubelet

Uncordon the node

  • Bring the node back online by marking it schedulable:

    # replace <node-to-uncordon> with the name of your node
kubectl uncordon <node-to-uncordon>

What's next

Last modified March 02, 2023 at 11:57 AM PST: Update page weights (6a38d82e3a)