What's new in Kubernetes 1.14?

Kubernetes 1.14 introduces a range of new features and enhancements, including support for Windows Server containers, which allows developers to schedule Windows-based applications on Kubernetes, marking a significant milestone after nearly three years of effort by SIG-Windows. The update also includes the integration of Kustomize into kubectl, enabling more streamlined management of Kubernetes objects through declarative specifications, and the promotion of node OS/Arch labels to stable status, ensuring backward compatibility. Additional advancements include the graduation of HugePages support to stable, enabling better memory management for applications like databases, and enhancements in cluster operations such as dynamic HA cluster creation using kubeadm. The release also emphasizes improvements in security and storage, such as the hardening of default RBAC discovery cluster role bindings to enhance privacy and the graduation of CSI block storage support to beta, which caters to high-performance applications requiring raw block devices. Moreover, Kubernetes 1.14 enhances the plugin mechanism for kubectl, allowing simpler integration and execution of plugins, and introduces features like server-side apply to improve Kubernetes' declarative config workflow. The update continues to push for feature parity between in-tree and CSI storage plugins, with several enhancements in storage management and cloud provider support, encouraging users to upgrade their clusters to take full advantage of these new capabilities.