Kubernetes now faces an evolutionary hurdle that only Docker before it has faced so soon in its life cycle: the problem of multiple concurrent versions. Version 1.7 is upon us today, even though other versions are still in active use. At the rate Kubernetes is evolving now, over a dozen viable versions could be deployed over the standard life cycle of organizations’ IT projects — some three to four years’ time.

“We try to make every new Kubernetes release as stable as possible,” said Caleb Miles, who leads the Kubernetes Project Management SIG. “We have a long code freeze and stabilization period to shake out any of the rough edges before a new version of Kubernetes lands.”

Learn more about how the Project Management SIG maintains consistency and concurrency without introducing obsolescence, in this special edition of The New Stack Makers podcast.