Upgrade the Redpanda Operator

Upgrading the Redpanda Operator ensures your deployment benefits from the latest features, fixes, and improvements. Follow these steps carefully to ensure a successful upgrade.

  1. Make sure to review the release notes to understand any significant changes, bug fixes, or potential disruptions that could affect your existing deployment.

  2. Review the Kubernetes compatibility matrix and determine the version of the Redpanda Operator that is compatible with the Helm chart version you plan to use. The Redpanda Operator must be able to understand and manage the Helm chart and the Redpanda version you are deploying.

  3. If the new version of the Redpanda Operator introduces changes to the custom resource definitions (CRDs), apply these changes first. Upgrading CRDs ensures that the Kubernetes API can manage and interact with Redpanda resources according to the new specifications.

    kubectl kustomize "https://github.com/redpanda-data/redpanda-operator//operator/config/crd?ref=v2.2.5-24.2.7" \
    | kubectl apply --server-side -f -

  4. Back up your current Helm values for the Redpanda Operator Helm chart:

    helm get values redpanda-controller --namespace <namespace> > redpanda-operator-values-backup.yaml

    You’ll need to apply these overrides in the next step.

  5. Upgrade the Redpanda Operator. Replace <operator-version> with the version of the Redpanda Operator you want to install.

    helm repo add redpanda https://charts.redpanda.com
helm upgrade --install redpanda-controller redpanda/operator \
  --namespace <namespace> \
  --set image.tag=<operator-version>
    Make sure to include all existing overrides, otherwise the upgrade may fail.

  6. Ensure that the Deployment is successfully rolled out:

    kubectl --namespace <namespace> rollout status --watch deployment/redpanda-controller-operator
    deployment "redpanda-controller-operator" successfully rolled out

Next steps

Upgrade Redpanda in Kubernetes.