CoreDNS Configuration

SMI allows configuration of CoreDNS parameters for policy and cache updates via the SMI Cluster Manager. This enhancement streamlines DNS management and improves network performance.

Command Introduced: clusters cluster_name configuration core-dns string

Kubernetes Version Upgrade

With this release, you can upgrade the Kubernetes version from 1.30 to 1.31.

Software Upgrade from 2024.03.1 to 2025.01.1

You can upgrade SMI directly from 2024.03.1 to the latest 2025.01.1 release, which includes a new base image and a security patch. This release also upgrades the K8s version from 1.29 to 1.31.

The following actions must be performed before upgrade:

• Initiate complete cluster synchronization.

• Trigger concurrent upgrade for cluster synchronization to upgrade the cluster and all nodes using the upgrade-strategy concurrent command.

CPU Frequency Scaling

SMI provides configuration options to improve CPU performance by adjusting the CPU scaling governor settings. This feature allows the operator to switch between "powersave" and "performance" modes, with "powersave" as the default setting.

The operator changes the governor setting to "performance" to increase system performance during demanding workloads.

Commands Introduced:

• clusters cluster_name node-defaults os tuned base-profile { balanced | latency-performance }

• clusters cluster_name nodes node_name os tuned base-profile { balanced | latency-performance }

• clusters cluster_name node-type-defaults node_type os tuned base-profile { balanced | latency-performance }

UPF HDD Size Customization for Enhanced Data Storage

SMI introduces the ability to customize the HDD size for UPF, ranging from the default 16GB up to a maximum of 999GB. This flexibility supports additional storage needs for EDRs, CDRs, and PCAP traces.

Commands Introduced: clusters cluster_name disk-size size_value

Updated Versions for Third-Party Software

SMI supports updated versions for the following third-party software in this release:

• Calico—3.29.1

• Containerd—1.7.24

• Confd—7.7.16

• Docker—27.4.1

• Helm—3.16.2

• nginx-ingress—4.12.0

Upgrade of OS to Ubuntu 22.4

This release recommends upgrading the SMI base image and Cluster Manager to Ubuntu 22.04. Additionally, it is recommended to update the Inception Server to the latest SMI disk ISO and refresh the container images in smi-app, smi-library, smi-build, smi-shared, smi-incubator, and related components.

Change in VPP Defaults for UPF Deployment on M6 and M7 Servers

Previous Behavior: The default VPP count was a third of the available cores for UPF.

New Behavior: The VPP count is now hardcoded for UCS C220 M6 and M7 servers as follows:

• With Hyperthreading:

  • Full: 48

  • Half: 24

  • Quarter: 12

• Without Hyperthreading:

  • Full: 24

  • Half: 12

  • Quarter: 6

Note that the VPP count can be configured in the Cluster Manager. If this configuration is available, the configured VPP values take precedence over the default values.

Each host can reserve only one core if hyperthreading is enabled.

Customer Impact: Existing deployments and upgrades will retain their current settings. These new values apply only to new deployments.