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RKE2/K3S Cluster Support for Mixed Operating Systems

Article Number: 000021992

Environment

Rancher 2.x

RKE2

K3S

Situation

Creation of RKE2/K3S cluster by using a mix of Linux OS. For instance, using Red Hat OS for master nodes and Ubuntu for worker nodes.

Cause

Using a mixed-OS configuration within a single cluster is not officially supported. This is due to potential issues that can arise from the differences between operating systems. Variations in kernel versions, system libraries, and networking can lead to unpredictable behaviour and make troubleshooting difficult.

Resolution

For a stable and supported deployment, a single, consistent operating system should be used across all master and worker nodes in a cluster.

  • Unsupported Configuration: The SUSE engineering team doesn't test or validate mixed-OS setups for RKE2 or K3S.  This means that any problems encountered may be challenging to diagnose and fix, as the root cause could be related to the OS differences rather than a software bug.
  • Recommendation: To ensure cluster stability, simplify management, and receive reliable support, always use the same OS for every node in your cluster.