AKS upgrade scenarios: Choose your path

2025-08-02

Upgrading Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) clusters safely requires the right strategy for your specific situation. Use this hub to quickly identify your scenario and get targeted guidance.

What this article covers

This decision hub helps you choose the right AKS upgrade approach based on:

A quick scenario finder with time constraints and priorities.
Emergency upgrade paths for critical security responses.
A strategy matrix that compares downtime tolerance and complexity.
Role-based guidance for site reliability engineers, database administrators, developers, and security teams.
Decision trees for complex multi-environment setups.

This hub is best for first-time upgraders, teams that need to evaluate options, and complex environments that require tailored approaches.

For more information, see these related articles:

To upgrade your production AKS clusters, see AKS production upgrade strategies.
To get upgrade patterns for AKS clusters with stateful workloads, see Stateful workload upgrade patterns.
To check for and apply basic upgrades to your AKS cluster, see Upgrade an Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) cluster.

Quick scenario finder

What's your primary concern? Select your answer from the following table.

My priority	Time constraint	Go to
Zero production downtime	Upgrade needed within hours	Production upgrade strategies
Multi-environment safety	Planned windows	Staged fleet upgrades
New Kubernetes version risk	Safety-first approach	Safe version intake
Security compliance	Response required for common vulnerabilities and exposures	Fast security patching
Database/stateful apps	Running databases	Stateful workload patterns
Architecture planning	Design for upgrades	Seamless architecture

Emergency upgrade (30-90 minutes)

If you need a critical security patch now, select a link for instructions:

Immediate action: Automated security patching
With stateful workloads: Database safety patterns
Rollback ready: Quick recovery guide

Upgrade strategy matrix

Find your ideal approach based on business constraints.

Downtime tolerance	Environment	Best strategy	Time investment
<2 minutes	Production	Blue-green deployment	45-60 min
<30 seconds	Stateful apps	Ferris wheel pattern	60-90 min
Planned window	Multi-environment	Staged fleet upgrade	2-4 hours
Zero tolerance	Mission-critical	Application architecture	Ongoing

Key upgrade topics

Core upgrade mechanics

Production-ready strategies

Advanced topics

Quick wins (5-15 minutes)

Immediate actions that you can take:

Pre-upgrade health check: Run cluster diagnostics.
Backup validation: Verify your disaster recovery setup.
Monitoring setup: Enable upgrade notifications.
Team preparation: Review support policies.

Learning path

If you're new to AKS upgrades, follow this learning sequence:

Learn: Learn about Kubernetes concepts and read the Upgrade overview.
Practice: Take the tutorial on how to upgrade an AKS cluster.
Production: Use the production strategies.
Optimize: Find out about stateful patterns.

Pro tips

Always test in nonproduction first: Perform tests even for emergency patches.
Monitor during upgrades: Set up real-time alerts.
Plan for rollback: Have a tested recovery procedure.
Communicate with teams: Coordinate with app owners during upgrades.

For more help, choose your scenario from the preceding options or start with Production upgrade strategies.
For more information, see AKS support options or the Troubleshooting guide.