Merge pull request #3259 from replicatedhq/123615

don't skip minor versions of k8s during upgrades

Author: paigecalvert

docs/partials/embedded-cluster/_warning-do-not-downgrade.mdx

@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
 :::important
-Do not downgrade the Embedded Cluster version. This is not supported but is not prohibited, and it can lead to unexpected behavior.
+Do not downgrade the Embedded Cluster version, downgrade the Kubernetes version, nor upgrade Kubernetes by more than one minor version at a time. These actions are not prevented by the Admin Console and can lead to unexpected behavior. For more information, see [Limitations](/vendor/embedded-overview#limitations) in _Embedded Cluster Overview_.
 :::

docs/reference/embedded-config.mdx

@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+import DoNotDowngrade from "../partials/embedded-cluster/_warning-do-not-downgrade.mdx"
+
 # Embedded Cluster Config
 
 This topic is a reference for the Replicated Embedded Cluster Config custom resource. For more information about Embedded Cluster, see [Use Embedded Cluster](/vendor/embedded-overview).
@@ -67,9 +69,13 @@ spec:
 
 ## version
 
-You must specify which version of Embedded Cluster to install. Each version of Embedded Cluster includes particular versions of components like KOTS (Admin Console) and OpenEBS.
+Specify which version of Embedded Cluster to install. Each version of Embedded Cluster includes particular versions of components like KOTS (Admin Console) and OpenEBS.
+
+Additionally, each version of Embedded Cluster also specifies a version of Kubernetes. For example, Embedded Cluster 2.1.3+k8s-1.30 uses Kubernetes 1.30, while 2.1.3+k8s-1.29 uses Kubernetes 1.29.
+
+For a full list of versions, see the [Embedded Cluster Release Notes](/release-notes/rn-embedded-cluster). Replicated recommends that you update the version frequently to ensure that you are using the latest version of Embedded Cluster.
 
-For a full list of versions, see the Embedded Cluster [releases page](https://github.com/replicatedhq/embedded-cluster/releases) in GitHub. It's recommended to keep this version as up to date as possible because Embedded Cluster is changing rapidly.
+<DoNotDowngrade/>
 
 ## roles (Beta)
 

docs/vendor/embedded-overview.mdx

@@ -113,7 +113,9 @@ Embedded Cluster has the following limitations:
 
 * **KOTS Auto-GitOps workflow not supported**: Embedded Cluster does not support the KOTS Auto-GitOps workflow. If an end-user is interested in GitOps, consider the Helm install method instead. For more information, see [Install with Helm](/vendor/install-with-helm).
 
-* **Downgrading Kubernetes not supported**: Embedded Cluster does not support downgrading Kubernetes. The admin console will not prevent end-users from attempting to downgrade Kubernetes if a more recent version of your application specifies a previous Embedded Cluster version. You must ensure that you do not promote new versions with previous Embedded Cluster versions.
+* **Downgrading Embedded Cluster or Kubernetes not supported**: Downgrading the versions of Embedded Cluster or Kubernetes that are installed in the cluster is not supported. However, the Admin Console does not prevent end-users from attempting to downgrade Emebdded Cluster or Kubernetes. To avoid issues in customer installations that could be caused by downgrading, do not promote new application releases with Embedded Cluster or Kubernetes versions that are earlier than the versions used by the previous release.
+
+* **Upgrading by more than one Kubernetes version at a time not supported**: Kubernetes does not support upgrading by more than one minor version at a time. However, the Admin Console does not prevent end-users from attempting to upgrade to a release that specifies a Kubernetes version more than one minor version later than what is currently installed. To avoid issues that could be caused by skipping a minor version of Kubernetes, Replicated recommends that you select **Prevent this release from being skipped during upgrades** when you promote a new application release that increases the Kubernetes version. For more information about required releases, see [Properties](/vendor/releases-about#properties) in _About Channels and Releases_.
 
 * **Templating not supported in Embedded Cluster Config**: The [Embedded Cluster Config](/reference/embedded-config) resource does not support the use of Go template functions, including [KOTS template functions](/reference/template-functions-about). This only applies to the Embedded Cluster Config. You can still use template functions in the rest of your release as usual.