Revision poster: upgrade, observe and cut cost.
Top: the upgrade sequence. Bottom left: observability choices. Bottom right: cost levers.
- 1Check deprecated APIs and add-on compatibility before anything else.
- 2Upgrade the control plane, then add-ons with PRESERVE, then nodes.
- 3Choose in-place or blue and green node upgrades; verify before removing old nodes.
- 4Container Insights, ADOT, managed Prometheus and Grafana, and Fluent Bit cover metrics, traces and logs.
- 5Karpenter consolidation, Spot, Savings Plans and Graviton are the main cost levers.
Self-check: cover the poster and answer
- Why must nodes never be newer than the control plane?
- Which cost lever usually gives the biggest saving for a spiky fleet?
Upgrade in order and measure before you optimise.