Posted On: May 18, 2021
Kubernetes is rapidly evolving, with frequent feature releases and bug fixes. Highlights of the Kubernetes 1.20 release include RuntimeClass and Process ID Limits reaching stable status, API Priority and Fairness being enabled by default, and kubectl debug reaching beta status. Learn more about Kubernetes version 1.20 in the Kubernetes project release notes.
Kubernetes version 1.20 is now available in all regions where EKS is available, including the Amazon Web Services China (Beijing) Region, operated by Sinnet, and the Amazon Web Services China (Ningxia) Region, operated by NWCD. Learn more about the Kubernetes versions available for production workloads on Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS) and how to update your cluster to version 1.20 in the EKS documentation. Amazon EKS Distro builds of Kubernetes 1.20 are available through ECR Public Gallery and GitHub.
A note on Kubernetes version 1.16 support:
Amazon EKS provides support for at least 4 Kubernetes versions at any given time. Kubernetes 1.16, 1.17, 1.18, 1.19, and 1.20 are all fully supported by EKS today, and new clusters can be started using any of these releases. However, given the Kubernetes quarterly release cycle, it is critical for all customers to have an ongoing upgrade plan.
Kubernetes version 1.16 will no longer be supported on July 25th, 2021. On this day, you will no longer be able to create new 1.16 clusters and all existing EKS clusters running Kubernetes version 1.16 will eventually be updated to the latest available platform version of Kubernetes version 1.17.
We recommend customers upgrade existing 1.16 clusters and worker nodes to at least 1.17 as soon as practical. Learn more about the EKS version lifecycle policies in the documentation.