Hewlett Packard Enterprise Distributions of Kubernetes
The Hewlett Packard Enterprise distribution of Kubernetes,
identified by the -hpe<number> suffix, incorporates the
containerd runtime, which is required for all Kubernetes clusters created
with HPE Ezmeral Runtime Enterprise version 5.5.0 and later.
Beginning with HPE Ezmeral Runtime Enterprise 5.5.0, Hewlett Packard Enterprise provides its own CNCF-certified distribution of Kubernetes, HPE Ezmeral Runtime Enterprise, as its default Kubernetes distribution.
By creating its own distribution of Kubernetes, Hewlett Packard Enterprise can add advanced features such as security improvements. There is no change to the core Kubernetes functions and no impact to your day to day Kubernetes usage.
The -hpe Suffix Identifies the Kubernetes Distribution
The suffix -hpe<number> labels the Hewlett Packard Enterprise distributions of Kubernetes. Other than the suffix,
the version numbers are equivalent to the community version of Kubernetes.
For example:
- 1.22.12-hpe1
- 1.23.9-hpe1
Runtime is containerd
The Kubernetes distribution provided with HPE Ezmeral Runtime Enterprise is based
on the containerd runtime.
The containerd runtime is used on all hosts except for the following:
- The HPE Ezmeral Runtime Enterprise control plane hosts (Controller, Shadow Controller, Arbiter, and Gateway), which continue to use the Docker runtime.
- Kubernetes clusters that were created in on deployments running releases prior to HPE Ezmeral Runtime Enterprise 5.5.0 that are now on a deployment that has been upgraded to HPE Ezmeral Runtime Enterprise 5.5.0 or later. These legacy clusters are supported for a limited time. See Kubernetes Cluster Types and Compatibility.