Picking the Latest Kubernetes Release on AKS Without Shooting Yourself in the Foot

Short summary

A practical guide to selecting Kubernetes versions on Azure AKS, covering Microsoft's sliding support window (N, N-1, N-2), per-region version availability, and the difference between default and latest GA patches. The post explains auto-upgrade channels (none, patch, stable, rapid, node-image) and recommends pinning versions for production clusters while documenting the rationale. Includes CLI commands for querying and creating clusters with specific versions.

• •AKS supports a sliding window of ~3 minor Kubernetes versions; retired versions lose security patches and SLA coverage
• •Version availability varies by region — always query your deployment region before planning upgrades
• •Auto-upgrade channels (patch, stable, rapid, node-image) let you express upgrade intent instead of manual management

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