Kubernetes - 1

2026 (12)

October (9)

k8s: From Working Group to SIG Architecture: spotlight on AI Conformance

Kubernetes Official Blog

2026-10-29

Kubernetes moved AI Conformance from a temporary Working Group into a permanent SIG Architecture subproject after establishing the initial requirements and certification process. The change is meant to keep AI infrastructure requirements vendor-neutral and aligned with Kubernetes architecture as AI workloads become more common.

aks: Release 2026-10-25

Release notes from AKS

2026-10-27

AKS release v20261025 adds Kubernetes 1.37 GA/LTS, makes 1.36 the default for new clusters, and ships multiple component and image upgrades. It also introduces several NAP enhancements and previews, plus notable behavior changes around automatic upgrades, Istio, AKS Automatic, etcd encryption, and VMAS-to-VMS migration.

k8s: Announcing the Workload Conformance Working Group

Kubernetes Official Blog

2026-10-27

Kubernetes announced a new Workload Conformance Working Group to define a shared, testable standard for workload behavior at runtime. The group will produce a per-minor-version specification, objective tests, and upstream conformance tooling, with initial coverage focused on runtime behavior rather than application logic.

k8s: Why Is My Kubernetes Job Still Pending? Tracing Kueue Admission with Headlamp

Kubernetes Official Blog

2026-10-14

The article introduces the Headlamp Kueue plugin, which helps trace why a Kubernetes Job is still suspended by checking Kueue admission state before looking at Pod scheduling. It walks through a Headlamp-based workflow for inspecting Workloads, LocalQueues, ClusterQueues, ResourceFlavors, and Cohorts, and notes that the 0.1.0-alpha release is read-only.

azure: Retirement: Azure Key Vault Secrets Provider Extension for Azure Arc enabled Kubernetes clusters

Azure Updates

2026-10-09

Azure Key Vault Secrets Provider Extension for Azure Arc-enabled Kubernetes will be retired on October 9, 2027. Users should migrate to the Azure Key Vault Secret Store Extension before that date.

k8s: The Shift to cgroup v2 in Kubernetes: What You Need to Know

Kubernetes Official Blog

2026-10-06

Kubernetes is deprecating cgroup v1 and is moving toward cgroup v2 as the default path: in v1.35, kubelet startup fails by default on cgroup v1 nodes, and kubeadm preflight checks now error on v1.35+ when v1 is detected. The post also summarizes cgroup v2-related behaviors and features in Kubernetes 1.36, including Memory QoS, container-scoped OOM handling, PSI metrics, and in-place pod-level resource updates.

azure: [In preview] Public Preview: AKS on bare metal now on Ubuntu

Azure Updates

2026-10-06

Azure has a public preview for running AKS on bare metal using Ubuntu, aimed at on-premises Kubernetes deployments without a virtualization layer. The update highlights support for local control of hardware and software, with a focus on AI workloads.

k8s: Scaling Kubernetes Workloads with Node Swap

Kubernetes Official Blog

2026-10-05

Kubernetes node swap is now GA in v1.34, and this post reports that using fast NVMe Local SSDs for swap can raise pod density for memory-heavy workloads with little latency impact when active working sets remain in RAM.

aks: Release Notes 2026-09-25

Release notes from AKS

2026-10-01

AKS release v20260925 adds GA identity bindings, preview support for Ubuntu 26.04 and Windows Server 2022 to 2025 OS SKU migration, and includes multiple behavioral changes, bug fixes, and component updates across Kubernetes versions. It also announces upcoming VMAS cluster auto-migration to VM node pools starting 2026-09-30 and notes that Windows Server 2022 is unsupported on Kubernetes 1.37+.

September (3)

azure: [In preview] Public Preview: Flex Nodes for AKS

Azure Updates

2026-09-22

Flex Nodes for AKS is now in public preview. It lets application and platform teams use hybrid and edge infrastructure as connected worker nodes to an AKS control plane in Azure, while keeping a consistent Kubernetes control plane.

k8s: Spotlight on SIG Apps

Kubernetes Official Blog

2026-09-22

SIG Apps is working on workload controller reliability, node lifecycle handling, and new patterns for AI and distributed workloads while preserving backward compatibility. The article highlights current focus areas, the trade-offs in changing core APIs, and a proposed Job API update for Kubernetes 1.38.

k8s: Kubernetes v1.37: Tracking When a PersistentVolumeClaim Was Last Used (Beta)

Kubernetes Official Blog

2026-09-21

Kubernetes v1.37 promotes PersistentVolumeClaimUnusedSinceTime to Beta and enables it by default. PVCs now get an Unused condition in status so you can tell whether any running or pending pod references the claim, and use lastTransitionTime to see when it last became idle.