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

## Change #### (2025-R38) 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). ### 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. * Version [1.33.4-gke.1172000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.33.md#v1334) is now the default version for cluster creation in the Rapid channel. * The following versions are now available in the Rapid channel: * [1.30.14-gke.1150000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.30.md#v13014) * [1.31.12-gke.1110000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.31.md#v13112) * [1.32.8-gke.1170000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.32.md#v1328) * [1.33.4-gke.1245000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.33.md#v1334) * [1.34.0-gke.1662000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.34.md#v1340) * The following versions are no longer available in the Rapid channel: * 1.30.14-gke.1059000 * 1.30.14-gke.1108000 * 1.31.12-gke.1014000 * 1.32.8-gke.1026000 * 1.33.4-gke.1036000 * 1.33.4-gke.1134000 * Auto-upgrade targets are now available for the following minor versions: * Control planes and nodes with auto-upgrade enabled in the Rapid channel will be upgraded from version 1.29 to version [1.30.14-gke.1130000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.30.md#v13014) with this release. * Control planes and nodes with auto-upgrade enabled in the Rapid channel will be upgraded from version 1.30 to version [1.31.12-gke.1060000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.31.md#v13112) with this release. * Control planes and nodes with auto-upgrade enabled in the Rapid channel will be upgraded from version 1.31 to version [1.32.8-gke.1108000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.32.md#v1328) with this release. * Control planes and nodes with auto-upgrade enabled in the Rapid channel will be upgraded from version 1.32 to version [1.33.4-gke.1172000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.33.md#v1334) with this release. * The following patch-only version auto-upgrade targets are now available for clusters with [maintenance exclusions](https://cloud.google.com/kubernetes-engine/docs/concepts/maintenance-windows-and-exclusions#exclusions) or other factors preventing minor version upgrades: * Control planes and nodes with auto-upgrade enabled in the Rapid channel will be upgraded from version 1.30 to version [1.30.14-gke.1130000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.30.md#v13014) with this release. * Control planes and nodes with auto-upgrade enabled in the Rapid channel will be upgraded from version 1.31 to version [1.31.12-gke.1060000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.31.md#v13112) with this release. * Control planes and nodes with auto-upgrade enabled in the Rapid channel will be upgraded from version 1.32 to version [1.32.8-gke.1108000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.32.md#v1328) with this release. * Control planes and nodes with auto-upgrade enabled in the Rapid channel will be upgraded from version 1.33 to version [1.33.4-gke.1172000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.33.md#v1334) with this release. ### 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. * Version [1.33.4-gke.1036000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.33.md#v1334) is now the default version for cluster creation in the Regular channel. * The following versions are now available in the Regular channel: * [1.30.14-gke.1108000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.30.md#v13014) * [1.31.12-gke.1060000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.31.md#v13112) * [1.32.8-gke.1108000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.32.md#v1328) * [1.33.4-gke.1134000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.33.md#v1334) * The following versions are no longer available in the Regular channel: * 1.30.14-gke.1036000 * 1.31.12-gke.1014000 * 1.32.7-gke.1079000 * 1.33.3-gke.1136000 * Auto-upgrade targets are now available for the following minor versions: * Control planes and nodes with auto-upgrade enabled in the Regular channel will be upgraded from version 1.29 to version [1.30.14-gke.1059000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.30.md#v13014) with this release. * Control planes and nodes with auto-upgrade enabled in the Regular channel will be upgraded from version 1.31 to version [1.32.8-gke.1026000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.32.md#v1328) with this release. * Control planes and nodes with auto-upgrade enabled in the Regular channel will be upgraded from version 1.32 to version [1.33.4-gke.1036000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.33.md#v1334) with this release. * The following patch-only version auto-upgrade targets are now available for clusters with [maintenance exclusions](https://cloud.google.com/kubernetes-engine/docs/concepts/maintenance-windows-and-exclusions#exclusions) or other factors preventing minor version upgrades: * Control planes and nodes with auto-upgrade enabled in the Regular channel will be upgraded from version 1.30 to version [1.30.14-gke.1059000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.30.md#v13014) with this release. * Control planes and nodes with auto-upgrade enabled in the Regular channel will be upgraded from version 1.32 to version [1.32.8-gke.1026000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.32.md#v1328) with this release. * Control planes and nodes with auto-upgrade enabled in the Regular channel will be upgraded from version 1.33 to version [1.33.4-gke.1036000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.33.md#v1334) 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 now available in the Stable channel: * [1.30.14-gke.1036000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.30.md#v13014) * [1.32.7-gke.1079000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.32.md#v1327) * The following versions are no longer available in the Stable channel: * 1.30.12-gke.1414000 * 1.32.7-gke.1016000 * 1.33.2-gke.1043000 * Auto-upgrade targets are now available for the following minor versions: * Control planes and nodes with auto-upgrade enabled in the Stable channel will be upgraded from version 1.29 to version [1.30.14-gke.1011000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.30.md#v13014) with this release. * The following patch-only version auto-upgrade targets are now available for clusters with [maintenance exclusions](https://cloud.google.com/kubernetes-engine/docs/concepts/maintenance-windows-and-exclusions#exclusions) or other factors preventing minor version upgrades: * Control planes and nodes with auto-upgrade enabled in the Stable channel will be upgraded from version 1.30 to version [1.30.14-gke.1011000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.30.md#v13014) with this release. * Control planes and nodes with auto-upgrade enabled in the Stable channel will be upgraded from version 1.33 to version [1.33.3-gke.1136000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.33.md#v1333) with this release. ### Extended 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. * Version [1.33.4-gke.1036000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.33.md#v1334) is now the default version for cluster creation in the Extended channel. * The following versions are now available in the Extended channel: * [1.28.15-gke.2599000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.28.md#v12815) * [1.28.15-gke.2630000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.28.md#v12815) * [1.29.15-gke.1820000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.29.md#v12915) * [1.29.15-gke.1851000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.29.md#v12915) * [1.30.14-gke.1108000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.30.md#v13014) * [1.31.12-gke.1060000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.31.md#v13112) * [1.32.8-gke.1108000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.32.md#v1328) * [1.33.4-gke.1134000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.33.md#v1334) * The following versions are no longer available in the Extended channel: * 1.28.15-gke.2547000 * 1.28.15-gke.2610000 * 1.29.15-gke.1756000 * 1.29.15-gke.1835000 * 1.30.14-gke.1036000 * 1.31.12-gke.1014000 * 1.32.7-gke.1079000 * 1.33.3-gke.1136000 * Auto-upgrade targets are now available for the following minor versions: * Control planes and nodes with auto-upgrade enabled in the Extended channel will be upgraded from version 1.27 to version [1.28.15-gke.2564000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.28.md#v12815) with this release. * The following patch-only version auto-upgrade targets are now available for clusters with [maintenance exclusions](https://cloud.google.com/kubernetes-engine/docs/concepts/maintenance-windows-and-exclusions#exclusions) or other factors preventing minor version upgrades: * Control planes and nodes with auto-upgrade enabled in the Extended channel will be upgraded from version 1.28 to version [1.28.15-gke.2564000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.28.md#v12815) with this release. * Control planes and nodes with auto-upgrade enabled in the Extended channel will be upgraded from version 1.29 to version [1.29.15-gke.1773000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.29.md#v12915) with this release. * Control planes and nodes with auto-upgrade enabled in the Extended channel will be upgraded from version 1.30 to version [1.30.14-gke.1059000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.30.md#v13014) with this release. * Control planes and nodes with auto-upgrade enabled in the Extended channel will be upgraded from version 1.32 to version [1.32.8-gke.1026000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.32.md#v1328) with this release. * Control planes and nodes with auto-upgrade enabled in the Extended channel will be upgraded from version 1.33 to version [1.33.4-gke.1036000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.33.md#v1334) with this release. ### 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. * Version [1.33.4-gke.1036000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.33.md#v1334) is now the default version for cluster creation. * The following versions are now available: * [1.30.14-gke.1150000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.30.md#v13014) * [1.31.12-gke.1110000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.31.md#v13112) * [1.32.8-gke.1170000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.32.md#v1328) * [1.33.4-gke.1245000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.33.md#v1334) * The following node versions are now available: * [1.28.15-gke.2630000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.28.md#v12815) * [1.29.15-gke.1851000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.29.md#v12915) * [1.30.14-gke.1150000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.30.md#v13014) * [1.31.12-gke.1110000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.31.md#v13112) * [1.32.8-gke.1170000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.32.md#v1328) * [1.33.4-gke.1245000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.33.md#v1334) * The following versions are no longer available: * 1.30.12-gke.1414000 * 1.31.12-gke.1014000 * 1.32.7-gke.1016000 * 1.33.2-gke.1043000 * 1.33.2-gke.1240000 * Auto-upgrade targets are now available for the following minor versions: * Control planes and nodes with auto-upgrade enabled will be upgraded from version 1.29 to version [1.30.14-gke.1059000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.30.md#v13014) with this release. * The following patch-only version auto-upgrade targets are now available for clusters with [maintenance exclusions](https://cloud.google.com/kubernetes-engine/docs/concepts/maintenance-windows-and-exclusions#exclusions) or other factors preventing minor version upgrades: * Control planes and nodes with auto-upgrade enabled will be upgraded from version 1.30 to version [1.30.14-gke.1059000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.30.md#v13014) with this release. * Control planes and nodes with auto-upgrade enabled will be upgraded from version 1.33 to version [1.33.4-gke.1036000](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.33.md#v1334) with this release. ## Feature GKE now provisions fast-starting nodes, which have significantly lower startup time, in Autopilot mode for G2 nodes with NVIDIA L4 GPUs. Fast-starting nodes are in Public Preview for clusters in the Rapid channel, and are available on a best-effort basis when workloads use compatible configurations. For more information, see [About quicker workload startup with fast-starting nodes](https://cloud.google.com/kubernetes-engine/docs/concepts/fast-starting-nodes). ## Feature The accelerator-optimized A4X VM, an exascale platform based on [NVIDIA GB200 NVL72](https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/data-center/gb200-nvl72/), is now Generally Available on GKE. A4X is the first GPU VM to run on Arm with the NVIDIA GB200 Grace Blackwell Superchips. You can use A4X to run your large artificial intelligence (AI) models, machine learning (ML), and high performance computing (HPC) workloads. The A4X machine type is available as `a4x-highgpu-4g` in the us-central1-a zone with the following GKE versions or later: * GKE Standard: 1.32.4-gke.1106000 * GKE Autopilot: 1.33.2-gke.1134000 To create GKE clusters with A4X, see the following instructions: * To quickly deploy production-ready clusters, see [Create an AI-optimized GKE cluster with default configuration](https://cloud.google.com/ai-hypercomputer/docs/create/gke-ai-hypercompute). * For precise customization or expansion of existing production GKE environments, see [Create a custom AI-optimized GKE cluster which uses A4X](https://cloud.google.com/ai-hypercomputer/docs/create/gke-ai-hypercompute-custom-a4x).