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48 changes: 48 additions & 0 deletions docs/kubernetes/kubernetes-upgrades.md
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# Kubernetes Cluster Upgrade Policy

To maintain a secure, stable, and supported platform, we regularly upgrade our Kubernetes clusters. We use **[RKE2](https://docs.rke2.io/)** as our Kubernetes distribution.

---

## 🔄 Upgrade Flow

- **Phased Rollout**:
- Upgrades are first applied to **TDS clusters** (Test and Development Systems).
- After a **minimum of 2 weeks**, if no critical issues are observed, the same upgrade will be applied to **PROD clusters**.

- **No Fixed Schedule**:
- Upgrades are not done on a strict calendar basis.
- Timing may depend on compatibility with **other infrastructure components** (e.g., storage, CNI plugins, monitoring tools).
- However, all clusters will be upgraded **before the current Kubernetes version reaches End of Life (EOL)**.

---

## ⚠️ Upgrade Impact

The **impact of a Kubernetes upgrade can vary**, depending on the nature of the changes involved:

- **Minimal Impact**:
- For example, upgrades that affect only the `kubelet` may be **transparent to workloads**.
- Rolling restarts may occur, but no downtime is expected for well-configured applications.

- **Potentially Disruptive**:
- Upgrades involving components such as the **CNI (Container Network Interface)** may cause **temporary network interruptions**.
- Other control plane or critical component updates might cause short-lived disruption to scheduling or connectivity.

> 💡 Applications that follow cloud-native best practices (e.g., readiness probes, multiple replicas, graceful shutdown handling) are **less likely to be impacted** by upgrades.

---

## ✅ What You Can Expect

- Upgrades are performed using safe, tested procedures with minimal risk to production workloads.
- TDS clusters serve as a **canary environment**, allowing us to identify issues early.
- All clusters are kept **aligned with supported Kubernetes versions**.

---

## 💬 Questions?

If you have any questions about upcoming Kubernetes upgrades or want help verifying your application’s readiness, please contact the Network and Cloud team via Service Desk ticket.

Thank you for your support and collaboration in keeping our platform secure and reliable.
59 changes: 59 additions & 0 deletions docs/kubernetes/node-upgrades.md
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# Kubernetes Nodes OS Update Policy

To ensure the **security** and **stability** of our infrastructure, CSCS will perform **monthly OS updates** on all nodes of our Kubernetes clusters.

---

## 🔄 Maintenance Schedule

- **Frequency**: Every **first week of the month**
- **Reboot Window**: **Monday to Friday**, between **09:00 and 15:00**
- **Time Zone**: Europe/Zurich

These updates include important security patches and system updates for the operating systems of cluster nodes.

> ⚠️ **Note:** Nodes will be **rebooted only if required** by the updates. If no reboot is necessary, nodes will remain in service without disruption.

---

## 🚨 Urgent Security Patches

In the event of a **critical zero-day vulnerability**, we will apply patches and perform reboots (if required) **as soon as possible**, outside of the regular update schedule if needed.

- Affected nodes will be updated **immediately** to protect the platform.
- Users will be notified ahead of time **when possible**.
- Standard safety and rolling reboot practices will still be followed.

---

## 🛠️ Reboot Management with Kured

We use [**Kured** (KUbernetes REboot Daemon)](https://github.com/kubereboot/kured) to safely automate the reboot process. Kured ensures that:

- Reboots are triggered **only when necessary** (e.g., after kernel updates).
- Nodes are rebooted **one at a time** to avoid service disruption.
- Reboots occur **only during the defined window**
- Nodes are **cordoned**, **drained**, and **gracefully reintegrated** after reboot.

---

## ✅ Application Requirements

To avoid service disruption during node maintenance, applications **must be designed for high availability**. Specifically:

- Use **multiple replicas** spread across nodes.
- Follow **cloud-native best practices**, including:
- Proper **readiness** and **liveness probes**
- **Graceful shutdown** support
- **Stateless design** or resilient handling of state
- Appropriate **resource requests and limits**

> ❗ Applications that do not meet these requirements **may experience temporary disruption** during node reboots.

---

## 👩‍💻 Need Help?

If you have questions or need help preparing your applications for rolling node maintenance, please contact the Network and Cloud team via Service Desk ticket.

Thank you for your cooperation and commitment to building robust, cloud-native services.
3 changes: 3 additions & 0 deletions mkdocs.yml
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- 'LLM Inference': guides/mlp_tutorials/llm-inference.md
- 'LLM Finetuning': guides/mlp_tutorials/llm-finetuning.md
- 'LLM Training': guides/mlp_tutorials/llm-nanotron-training.md
- 'Kubernetes':
- 'Kubernetes Upgrades': kubernetes/kubernetes-upgrades.md
- 'Node OS Upgrades': kubernetes/node-upgrades.md
- 'Policies':
- policies/index.md
- 'User Regulations': policies/regulations.md
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