Upgrade Cluster Skill

Safely upgrade Talos Linux, Kubernetes, and cluster components.

When to Use

•User wants to upgrade Kubernetes version
•User wants to upgrade Talos Linux
•User wants to upgrade Cilium or other core components
•Security patches needed

Pre-Upgrade Checklist

•

Check current versions:

bash

talosctl -n 172.16.1.50 version
kubectl version
cilium version
flux version

•

Verify cluster health:

bash

kubectl get nodes
talosctl -n 172.16.1.50 health
flux get ks -A | grep -v "Applied"

•
Check for pending HelmReleases:
bash
```
flux get hr -A | grep -v "Release"
```

Talos Upgrade Process

•Update Talos version pin in talos/talenv.yaml
•
Generate new configs:
bash
```
task talos:generate-config
```

•Upgrade control plane nodes one at a time:

bash

task talos:upgrade-node IP=172.16.1.50
# Wait for node to rejoin
kubectl get nodes -w
task talos:upgrade-node IP=172.16.1.51
task talos:upgrade-node IP=172.16.1.52

•
Upgrade worker nodes:
bash
```
task talos:upgrade-node IP=172.16.1.53
```

Kubernetes Upgrade Process

•Update Kubernetes version pin in talos/talenv.yaml
•
Regenerate configs:
bash
```
task talos:generate-config
```
•
Apply to control plane:
bash
```
task talos:upgrade-k8s
```

Component Upgrades (GitOps)

Components upgrade automatically via Renovate PRs:

•Review Renovate PR for the component
•Check release notes for breaking changes
•Merge PR - Flux will reconcile

Manual Component Upgrade

•Update version in relevant HelmRelease
•Commit and push
•Monitor: flux get hr <name> -n <namespace> -w

Rollback Procedures

Talos Rollback

bash

talosctl -n <node-ip> rollback

Flux HelmRelease Rollback

bash

flux suspend hr <name> -n <namespace>
# Revert git commit
git revert HEAD
git push
flux resume hr <name> -n <namespace>

Post-Upgrade Verification

bash

kubectl get nodes -o wide
flux get ks -A
flux get hr -A
cilium status