Hi guys! How long RKE1 will be maintained? Does it make sense to start new cluster using RKE1 instead of RKE2? If i remember correctly RKE1 use docker and there was a problem with dockershim. Is there any upgrade scenario for downstream cluster using RKE1 to RKE2?

RKE1 will be maintained indefinitely. There is no planned end of life. I’m on the RKE2/K3s team so I would probably recommend RKE2 for any new work, but I’m biased. The issues about dockershim in RKE1 that you mentioned are definitely a concern, but a fairly minor one at this point. There is not currently any support for migrating from RKE1 to RKE2, and if we ever do support that it probably will not be particularly easy or seamless.

Ok, so ~2 years ago there were concerns that if you use RKE1 you will be not able to use kubernetes 1.25+. How look it now?

so there is no such fear that suddenly I won't be able to upgrade to any version of k8s?

not that I’m aware of

There are also ways to migrate your cluster from RKE to RKE2 with backup solutions like Velero