Upgrading ECK Operator: A Side-by-Side Kubernetes Operator Upgrade Approach

Abhishek Munagekar from the Search Infrastructure Team at Mercari manages several Elasticsearch clusters on Kubernetes using the Elastic Cloud on Kubernetes (ECK) Operator. The team embarked on an upgrade project to leverage advancements in newer ECK operator versions. By implementing a custom side-by-side upgrade approach and modifying the ECK operator to support dual versions, the team was able to minimize risks and ensure a more resilient upgrade process for their critical infrastructure.