---
title: "Version compatibility for Aerospike Kubernetes Operator"
description: "AKO version compatibility with Aerospike Database and Aerospike Backup Service: supported version ranges at a glance."
---

# Version compatibility for Aerospike Kubernetes Operator

> For the complete documentation index see: [llms.txt](https://aerospike.com/docs/llms.txt)
> 
> All documentation pages available in markdown.

This page lists which Aerospike Database and Aerospike Backup Service (ABS) versions are supported for each Aerospike Kubernetes Operator (AKO) minor release line. All patch releases in that line (for example, 4.4.1 in the 4.4 line) share the same supported ranges.

For example, if you deploy AKO 4.4.0, you can run Aerospike Database versions 6.0.0.0 through 8.1.2.x. If you are on AKO 3.4.x with Aerospike Database 7.2.0.0 and want to upgrade the database beyond 7.2.x, you must upgrade AKO first. See more: [Upgrading AKO](https://aerospike.com/docs/kubernetes/manage/upgrade/upgrading-operator) and [Upgrading Aerospike Database on Kubernetes](https://aerospike.com/docs/kubernetes/install/deploy/upgrade-aerospike).

## Applies to

-   Aerospike Kubernetes Operator (AKO)
-   Aerospike Database Enterprise Edition (EE) and Federal Edition (FE) 6.0 and later (Community Edition is not supported; see [Limitations](https://aerospike.com/docs/kubernetes/install/limitations))
-   Aerospike Backup Service (ABS), when AKO backup and restore Custom Resources (CRs) are used

## Compatibility matrix

::: note
For Kubernetes platform requirements, see [AKO system requirements](https://aerospike.com/docs/kubernetes/install/requirements).
:::

Supported columns apply to all `major.minor.patch` releases following a minor release.

| AKO version | Aerospike Database (supported) | Aerospike Backup Service (supported) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [4.4.0](https://aerospike.com/docs/kubernetes/release#440) | 6.0.0.0 – 8.1.2.x | 3.0.0 – 3.5.0 |
| [4.3.0](https://aerospike.com/docs/kubernetes/release#430) | 6.0.0.0 – 8.1.1.x | 3.0.0 – 3.4.0 |
| [4.2.0](https://aerospike.com/docs/kubernetes/release#420) | 6.0.0.0 – 8.1.0.x | 3.0.0 – 3.4.0 |
| [4.1.0](https://aerospike.com/docs/kubernetes/release#410) | 6.0.0.0 – 8.1.0.x | 3.0.0 – 3.2.0 |
| [4.0.0](https://aerospike.com/docs/kubernetes/release#400) | 6.0.0.0 – 8.0.0.x | 3.0.0 – 3.0.0 |
| [3.4.0](https://github.com/aerospike/aerospike-kubernetes-operator/releases/tag/3.4.0) | 4.9.0.3 – 7.2.x.x | 2.x |
| [3.3.0](https://github.com/aerospike/aerospike-kubernetes-operator/releases/tag/3.3.0) | 4.9.0.3 – 7.1.x.x | — |
| [3.2.0](https://github.com/aerospike/aerospike-kubernetes-operator/releases/tag/3.2.0) | 4.9.0.3 – 7.0.x.x | — |
| [3.1.0](https://github.com/aerospike/aerospike-kubernetes-operator/releases/tag/3.1.0) | 4.9.0.3 – 6.4.x.x | — |
| [3.0.0](https://github.com/aerospike/aerospike-kubernetes-operator/releases/tag/3.0.0) | 4.9.0.3 – 6.4.x.x | — |
| [2.5.0](https://github.com/aerospike/aerospike-kubernetes-operator/releases/tag/2.5.0) | 5.6.0.0 – 6.3.x.x | — |
| [2.4.0](https://github.com/aerospike/aerospike-kubernetes-operator/releases/tag/2.4.0) | 5.6.0.0 – 6.2.x.x | — |
| [2.3.0](https://github.com/aerospike/aerospike-kubernetes-operator/releases/tag/2.3.0) | 5.6.0.0 – 6.2.x.x | — |
| [2.2.0](https://github.com/aerospike/aerospike-kubernetes-operator/releases/tag/2.2.0) | 5.6.0.0 – 6.1.x.x | — |
| [2.1.0](https://github.com/aerospike/aerospike-kubernetes-operator/releases/tag/2.1.0) | 5.6.0.0 – 6.0.x.x | — |
| [2.0.0](https://github.com/aerospike/aerospike-kubernetes-operator/releases/tag/2.0.0) | 5.6.0.0 – 5.7.x.x | — |
| [1.0.0](https://github.com/aerospike/aerospike-kubernetes-operator/releases/tag/1.0.0) | — | — |

## Notes

### AKO 4.0.0 breaking changes

AKO 4.0.0 and later dropped support for Database versions older than 6.0.0.0, ABS 2.x, Kubernetes 1.22 and earlier, and the `aerospike.com/v1beta1` `AerospikeCluster` API (use `aerospike.com/v1`). To upgrade to AKO 4.0.0, complete these steps in order:

1.  Upgrade Kubernetes to a supported version.
2.  Migrate `AerospikeCluster` CRs from `v1beta1` to `v1`.
3.  Upgrade Aerospike Database to 6.0.0.0 or later.
4.  Upgrade AKO to 4.0.0.
5.  Upgrade ABS to 3.x and complete its migration.

See [Release notes for 4.0.0](https://aerospike.com/docs/kubernetes/release#400) and [Breaking changes in AKO 4.0.2](https://aerospike.com/docs/kubernetes/4.0.x/manage/upgrade/breaking-changes).

### ABS upgrades

ABS 3.0.0 introduced breaking configuration, storage schema, and restore API changes from 2.x. Later minor releases can require configuration updates even within a supported AKO range. See [Upgrade ABS on Kubernetes](https://aerospike.com/docs/kubernetes/tools/backup/upgrade-backup-service) and [ABS release notes](https://aerospike.com/docs/database/tools/backup-and-restore/backup-service/release) for breaking changes and upgrade guidance by version.

### Incremental on-demand backups (AKO 4.4.x + ABS 3.5.0)

The [Backup CR `Incremental` backup type](https://aerospike.com/docs/kubernetes/tools/backup/backup-configuration#on-demand-backups) requires ABS 3.5.0 or later when used with AKO 4.4.x. Earlier ABS versions support full on-demand backups through the legacy schedule API.