GKE cluster versions have been updated. New versions available for upgrades and new clusters

## Change #### (2024-R11) Version updates GKE cluster versions have been updated. **New versions available for upgrades and new clusters** The following Kubernetes versions are now available for new clusters and for opt-in control plane upgrades and node upgrades for existing clusters. For more information on versioning and upgrades, see [GKE versioning and support](https://cloud.google.com/kubernetes-engine/versioning)and [Upgrades](https://cloud.google.com/kubernetes-engine/upgrades). ### No channel **Note:** Your clusters might not have these versions available. Rollouts are already in progress when we publish the release notes, and can take multiple days to complete across all Google Cloud zones. * The following control plane and node versions are now available: * [1.26.15-gke.1191000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.26.md#v12615) * [1.27.11-gke.1062001](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.27.md#v12711) * [1.27.13-gke.1000000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.27.md#v12713) * [1.28.9-gke.1000000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.28.md#v1289) * [1.29.3-gke.1093006](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.29.md#v1293) * [1.29.4-gke.1043000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.29.md#v1294) * The following versions are no longer available: * 1.25.16-gke.1460000 * 1.25.16-gke.1537000 * 1.25.16-gke.1570000 * 1.25.16-gke.1711000 * 1.25.16-gke.1759000 * 1.26.14-gke.1006000 * 1.27.7-gke.1121002 * 1.27.10-gke.1055000 * 1.28.5-gke.1217000 * Control planes and nodes with auto-upgrade enabled will be upgraded from version 1.26 to version [1.27.12-gke.1115000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.27.md#v12712) with this release. * Control planes and nodes with auto-upgrade enabled will be upgraded from version 1.27 to version [1.27.12-gke.1115000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.27.md#v12712) with this release. ### Stable channel **Note:** Your clusters might not have these versions available. Rollouts are already in progress when we publish the release notes, and can take multiple days to complete across all Google Cloud zones. * The following versions are no longer available in the Stable channel: * 1.25.16-gke.1460000 * 1.25.16-gke.1537000 ### Regular channel **Note:** Your clusters might not have these versions available. Rollouts are already in progress when we publish the release notes, and can take multiple days to complete across all Google Cloud zones. * The following versions are now available in the Regular channel: * [1.26.15-gke.1090000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.26.md#v12615) * [1.27.12-gke.1115000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.27.md#v12712) * [1.28.8-gke.1095000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.28.md#v1288) * The following versions are no longer available in the Regular channel: * 1.25.16-gke.1537000 * 1.25.16-gke.1570000 * 1.26.14-gke.1006000 * 1.27.10-gke.1055000 * 1.28.3-gke.1286000 * Control planes and nodes with auto-upgrade enabled in the Regular channel will be upgraded from version 1.25 to version [1.26.14-gke.1044000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.26.md#v12614) with this release. * Control planes and nodes with auto-upgrade enabled in the Regular channel will be upgraded from version 1.26 to version [1.26.14-gke.1044000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.26.md#v12614) with this release. ### Rapid channel **Note:** Your clusters might not have these versions available. Rollouts are already in progress when we publish the release notes, and can take multiple days to complete across all Google Cloud zones. * The following versions are now available in the Rapid channel: * [1.26.15-gke.1191000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.26.md#v12615) * [1.27.13-gke.1000000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.27.md#v12713) * [1.28.9-gke.1000000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.28.md#v1289) * [1.29.3-gke.1093006](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.29.md#v1293) * [1.29.4-gke.1043000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.29.md#v1294) * The following versions are no longer available in the Rapid channel: * 1.25.16-gke.1711000 * 1.25.16-gke.1759000 * 1.26.15-gke.1090000 * 1.27.12-gke.1115000 * 1.28.8-gke.1095000 * Control planes and nodes with auto-upgrade enabled in the Rapid channel will be upgraded from version 1.25 to version [1.26.15-gke.1158000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.26.md#v12615) with this release. * Control planes and nodes with auto-upgrade enabled in the Rapid channel will be upgraded from version 1.26 to version [1.27.12-gke.1190000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.27.md#v12712) with this release. * Control planes and nodes with auto-upgrade enabled in the Rapid channel will be upgraded from version 1.27 to version [1.28.8-gke.1175000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.28.md#v1288) with this release. * Control planes and nodes with auto-upgrade enabled in the Rapid channel will be upgraded from version 1.28 to version [1.28.8-gke.1175000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.28.md#v1288) with this release. ## Feature You can now configure access to private image registries that use private certificates using a containerd configuration file. For details, see [Customize containerd configuration in GKE nodes](https://cloud.google.com/kubernetes-engine/docs/how-to/customize-containerd-configuration). ## Feature In GKE 1.29.2-gke.1355000 and later, GPU workloads using the Accelerator compute class in GKE Autopilot support scheduling multiple GPU pods on a single node. To schedule multiple GPU Pods on the same node, specify the `gke-accelerator-count` node selector with a value that's higher than the Pod GPU request. For details, see [Deploy GPU workloads in GKE Autopilot](https://cloud.google.com/kubernetes-engine/docs/how-to/autopilot-gpus#request-gpus). ## Feature A [Quick Start Solution](https://console.cloud.google.com/marketplace/product/google/rag-on-gke) and [Reference Architecture](https://github.com/GoogleCloudPlatform/ai-on-gke/tree/main/applications/rag#rag-on-gke-application) are now available for developing and deploying Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) applications on GKE. RAG improves the quality of Large Language Model (LLM) responses for a specific application. For example, RAG can enable a customer service chatbot to access help center articles, a shopping assistant to tap into product catalogs and customer reviews, or a travel booking agent to access up-to-date flight and hotel information.