Clarify the K8s compatibility guidelines

[JakeSCahill]

Description

Resolves https://redpandadata.atlassian.net/browse/DOC-1262
Review deadline: April 30

This pull request updates Kubernetes compatibility information and refines documentation around Redpanda Console integration. The changes include updating the supported Kubernetes version, adding a Kubernetes version policy section, and simplifying the description of Redpanda Console deployment.

Kubernetes compatibility updates:

• Updated the supported-kubernetes-version in antora.yml to 1.27.0-0.
• Added a footnote explaining the suggested Kubernetes version ranges in k-compatibility.adoc.
• Introduced a new "Kubernetes version policy" section in k-compatibility.adoc, detailing the minimum supported version and compatibility testing process.
• Adjusted the compatibility matrix to reflect the updated Kubernetes version range (1.28.x - 1.32.x).

Redpanda Console documentation refinements:

• Simplified and clarified the description of how Redpanda Console is deployed and updated via the Helm chart in k-compatibility.adoc.

Page previews

https://deploy-preview-1094--redpanda-docs-preview.netlify.app/current/upgrade/k-compatibility/

Checks

• New feature
• Content gap
• Support Follow-up
• Small fix (typos, links, copyedits, etc)

Summary by CodeRabbit

• Documentation
  • Updated the supported Kubernetes version to 1.27.0-0.
  • Added a footnote clarifying the suggested nature of Kubernetes version ranges.
  • Introduced a new "Kubernetes version policy" section with guidance on compatibility and support.
  • Improved clarity and consistency in descriptions of Redpanda Operator, Helm chart, and Redpanda Console integration.

[coderabbitai]

Important

Review skipped

Auto incremental reviews are disabled on this repository.

Please check the settings in the CodeRabbit UI or the .coderabbit.yaml file in this repository. To trigger a single review, invoke the @coderabbitai review command.

You can disable this status message by setting the reviews.review_status to false in the CodeRabbit configuration file.

📝 Walkthrough

Walkthrough

This change updates documentation related to Kubernetes compatibility for Redpanda. The antora.yml configuration file is updated to reflect a new minimum supported Kubernetes version of 1.27.0-0. The compatibility documentation is enhanced with a new footnote clarifying that the listed Kubernetes versions are suggestions based on testing and usage, not exhaustive testing. A new section details the Kubernetes version policy, specifying the minimum supported version, the indirect dependency of Redpanda Core on Kubernetes, and guidance for requesting compatibility checks. The compatibility matrix and related descriptions are also updated for clarity and accuracy.

Changes

File(s)	Change Summary
antora.yml	Updated the supported Kubernetes version attribute from 1.25.0-0 to 1.27.0-0.
modules/upgrade/pages/k-compatibility.adoc	Added a footnote clarifying the suggested nature of Kubernetes version ranges. Introduced a "Kubernetes version policy" section specifying the minimum supported version and guidance for requesting compatibility testing. Clarified that Redpanda Core has no direct Kubernetes dependency. Updated the compatibility matrix to reference the footnote and changed the lower bound from 1.29.x to 1.28.x. Rewrote the Redpanda Console integration section for clarity and to highlight the dependency between Helm chart and Console versions.

Assessment against linked issues

Objective	Addressed	Explanation
Add a footnote/asterisk clarifying that listed Kubernetes versions are suggested, with a strict minimum version, and customers can request verification for specific versions (DOC-1262)	✅
State that Redpanda Core does not directly depend on Kubernetes, only indirectly via Helm Chart or Operator (DOC-1262)	✅
Update minimum supported Kubernetes version to match 24.2.x minimum supported version (DOC-1262)	✅
Provide a clear Kubernetes version policy section in documentation (DOC-1262)	✅

---

🪧 Tips

Chat

There are 3 ways to chat with CodeRabbit:

• Review comments: Directly reply to a review comment made by CodeRabbit. Example:
  • I pushed a fix in commit <commit_id>, please review it.
  • Generate unit testing code for this file.
  • Open a follow-up GitHub issue for this discussion.
• Files and specific lines of code (under the "Files changed" tab): Tag @coderabbitai in a new review comment at the desired location with your query. Examples:
  • @coderabbitai generate unit testing code for this file.
  • @coderabbitai modularize this function.
• PR comments: Tag @coderabbitai in a new PR comment to ask questions about the PR branch. For the best results, please provide a very specific query, as very limited context is provided in this mode. Examples:
  • @coderabbitai gather interesting stats about this repository and render them as a table. Additionally, render a pie chart showing the language distribution in the codebase.
  • @coderabbitai read src/utils.ts and generate unit testing code.
  • @coderabbitai read the files in the src/scheduler package and generate a class diagram using mermaid and a README in the markdown format.
  • @coderabbitai help me debug CodeRabbit configuration file.

Support

Need help? Create a ticket on our support page for assistance with any issues or questions.

Note: Be mindful of the bot's finite context window. It's strongly recommended to break down tasks such as reading entire modules into smaller chunks. For a focused discussion, use review comments to chat about specific files and their changes, instead of using the PR comments.

CodeRabbit Commands (Invoked using PR comments)

• @coderabbitai pause to pause the reviews on a PR.
• @coderabbitai resume to resume the paused reviews.
• @coderabbitai review to trigger an incremental review. This is useful when automatic reviews are disabled for the repository.
• @coderabbitai full review to do a full review from scratch and review all the files again.
• @coderabbitai summary to regenerate the summary of the PR.
• @coderabbitai generate docstrings to generate docstrings for this PR.
• @coderabbitai generate sequence diagram to generate a sequence diagram of the changes in this PR.
• @coderabbitai resolve resolve all the CodeRabbit review comments.
• @coderabbitai configuration to show the current CodeRabbit configuration for the repository.
• @coderabbitai help to get help.

Other keywords and placeholders

• Add @coderabbitai ignore anywhere in the PR description to prevent this PR from being reviewed.
• Add @coderabbitai summary to generate the high-level summary at a specific location in the PR description.
• Add @coderabbitai anywhere in the PR title to generate the title automatically.

CodeRabbit Configuration File (.coderabbit.yaml)

• You can programmatically configure CodeRabbit by adding a .coderabbit.yaml file to the root of your repository.
• Please see the configuration documentation for more information.
• If your editor has YAML language server enabled, you can add the path at the top of this file to enable auto-completion and validation: # yaml-language-server: $schema=https://coderabbit.ai/integrations/schema.v2.json

Documentation and Community

• Visit our Documentation for detailed information on how to use CodeRabbit.
• Join our Discord Community to get help, request features, and share feedback.
• Follow us on X/Twitter for updates and announcements.

[netlify]

✅ Deploy Preview for redpanda-docs-preview ready!

Name	Link
🔨 Latest commit	4aff706
🔍 Latest deploy log	https://app.netlify.com/sites/redpanda-docs-preview/deploys/6813372b66f5ba0009e88d9e
😎 Deploy Preview	https://deploy-preview-1094--redpanda-docs-preview.netlify.app
📱 Preview on mobile	Toggle QR Code... Use your smartphone camera to open QR code link.

---

To edit notification comments on pull requests, go to your Netlify site configuration.

[coderabbitai]

Actionable comments posted: 1

🧹 Nitpick comments (1)

modules/upgrade/pages/k-compatibility.adoc (1)

28-36: Reduce duplication in the "Kubernetes version policy" section

The sentence in line 32 repeats the content of the footnote. Consider referencing {fn-k8s-compatibility} to keep the text DRY:

- The Kubernetes versions listed in the compatibility matrix are suggested ranges, based on testing and reported usage. Not every patch or minor version within these ranges is explicitly tested.
+ See {fn-k8s-compatibility} for details on the suggested Kubernetes version ranges based on testing and reported usage.

This ensures consistency if the footnote text changes in the future.

📜 Review details

Configuration used: CodeRabbit UI
Review profile: CHILL
Plan: Pro

📥 Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between 460f54a and 5ce4de4.

📒 Files selected for processing (2)

• antora.yml (1 hunks)
• modules/upgrade/pages/k-compatibility.adoc (4 hunks)

⏰ Context from checks skipped due to timeout of 90000ms (3)

• GitHub Check: Redirect rules - redpanda-docs-preview
• GitHub Check: Header rules - redpanda-docs-preview
• GitHub Check: Pages changed - redpanda-docs-preview

🔇 Additional comments (4)

antora.yml (1)

34-34: Verify the Kubernetes version bump aligns with compatibility policy

The supported-kubernetes-version was updated from 1.25.0-0 to 1.27.0-0. Confirm this matches the minimum version defined in k-compatibility.adoc and that metadata across antora.yml and the documentation are in sync.

modules/upgrade/pages/k-compatibility.adoc (3)

24-24: Approve EoL phrasing update for Operator and Helm chart

The reworded note on EoL support for Operator and Helm chart is clear and consistent. Good improvement.

---

56-56: Verify footnote rendering in the compatibility matrix

You added {fn-k8s-compatibility} to the Kubernetes range for Redpanda Core 25.1.x. Ensure the attribute is correctly defined (line 4) and that the footnote marker renders properly in all output formats.

---

79-84: Approve refined Console integration description

The updated paragraphs on Redpanda Console integration are concise and clarify the subchart and version dependency. This enhances reader clarity on how Helm chart upgrades impact Console versions.

[asimms41]

LGTM

[david-yu]

Could you also do the same for the rows below on K8s? We could also move the footnote to outside the table but leave the reference i.e. [1] here.

[david-yu]

Looks good thank you!