Container Engine for Kubernetes now supports the on-demand cycling of managed worker nodes. Cycling nodes simplifies both the upgrading of the Kubernetes and host OS versions running on worker nodes, and the updating of other worker node properties.

Before cycling the nodes, you can specify both a maximum allowed number of new nodes that can be created during the operation, and a maximum allowed number of nodes that can be unavailable.

When you cycle the nodes in a node pool, Container Engine for Kubernetes automatically replaces all existing worker nodes with
new worker nodes that have the updated properties you specified. When cycling nodes, Container Engine for Kubernetes cordons, drains, and terminates nodes according to the node pool's cordon and drain options.

For more information see:

• Performing an In-Place Worker Node Update by Cycling Nodes in an Existing Node Pool
• Performing an In-Place Worker Node Kubernetes Upgrade by Cycling Nodes in an Existing Node Pool