Kubernetes 1.31 – What's new?

Kubernetes 1.31 introduces a range of significant updates and enhancements aimed at improving the functionality, security, and user-friendliness of the platform. Key features include the graduation of AppArmor support to stable, allowing for enhanced security through container-specific profiles, and improvements to Ingress connectivity reliability via KubeProxy, which facilitates better connection draining on terminating nodes. The release also debuts 34 new alpha features, notably pod-level resource limits, which are expected to catch the attention of security teams. Enhancements such as the randomized algorithm for Pod selection when downscaling ReplicaSets and the transition from SPDY to WebSockets for kubectl contribute to improved performance and reliability. Moreover, the removal of in-tree cloud provider code marks a significant step towards making Kubernetes a vendor-neutral platform. Additionally, the introduction of the PodHealthyPolicy for PodDisruptionBudget and improvements to the Job API reflect ongoing efforts to enhance application stability and workload management. This release continues to build on Kubernetes' ongoing commitment to scalability, security, and operational efficiency.