Feature Spec: Radius Control Plane Upgrades

tools/2025-02-control-plane-upgrades-feature-spec.md

@@ -0,0 +1,73 @@
+# Topic: Radius Control Plane Upgrades
+
+* **Author**: Will Tsai (@WillTsai)
+
+## Topic Summary
+The Radius control plane upgrades feature aims to provide a seamless and efficient process for upgrading the control plane components of the Radius project. This feature will ensure that users can easily upgrade their Radius control plane without downtime, leveraging best practices from similar projects like Dapr, Crossplane, and Istio.
+
+### Top level goals
+- Enable zero-downtime upgrades for the Radius control plane.
+- Provide clear and concise documentation for the upgrade process.
+- Ensure compatibility with existing Radius deployments and configurations.
+
+### Non-goals (out of scope)
+- Upgrading data plane components.
+- Handling custom user configurations beyond the default settings.
+
+## User profile and challenges
+The primary users of this feature are DevOps engineers and system administrators responsible for managing Radius deployments. They face challenges in maintaining high availability and minimizing downtime during control plane upgrades.
+
+### User persona(s)
+- DevOps engineers at medium to large enterprises.
+- System administrators managing Kubernetes clusters with Radius deployments.
+
+### Challenge(s) faced by the user
+Users experience pain points related to downtime and complexity during control plane upgrades. Current offerings may not provide a seamless upgrade process, leading to potential disruptions in service.
+
+### Positive user outcome
+By delivering this feature, users will be able to upgrade the Radius control plane with minimal disruption, ensuring high availability and reliability of their deployments.
+
+## Key scenarios
+### Scenario 1: Zero-downtime upgrade
+Users can perform a control plane upgrade without any downtime, ensuring continuous availability of their Radius deployment.
+
+### Scenario 2: Rollback capability
+Users can easily rollback to a previous version of the control plane in case of any issues during the upgrade process.
+
+### Scenario 3: Compatibility checks
+The upgrade process includes compatibility checks to ensure that the new version is compatible with existing configurations and deployments.
+
+## Key dependencies and risks
+- **Kubernetes cluster** – The upgrade process relies on a functioning Kubernetes cluster.
+- **Helm** – The upgrade process uses Helm for managing the control plane components.
+- **Risk: Incompatible configurations** – Mitigation plan: Implement compatibility checks and provide clear documentation for handling custom configurations.
+
+## Key assumptions to test and questions to answer
+- Assumption: Users have a basic understanding of Kubernetes and Helm.
+- Question: How can we ensure compatibility with custom user configurations?
+- Plan: Conduct user research and gather feedback during the beta testing phase.
+
+## Current state
+The current state of the Radius control plane upgrade process is manual and may involve downtime. There is no standardized process for performing upgrades.
+
+## Details of user problem
+When I try to upgrade the Radius control plane, I face challenges related to downtime and complexity. The current process is manual and error-prone, leading to potential disruptions in service. These issues result in increased operational overhead and reduced reliability of my Radius deployment.
+
+## Desired user experience outcome
+After this scenario is implemented, I can perform control plane upgrades seamlessly and without downtime. As a result, I can maintain high availability and reliability of my Radius deployment, reducing operational overhead and ensuring a smooth upgrade process.
+
+### Detailed user experience
+1. User initiates the upgrade process using Helm.
+2. The system performs compatibility checks to ensure the new version is compatible with existing configurations.
+3. The control plane components are upgraded without downtime.
+4. User verifies the upgrade and confirms successful completion.
+
+## Key investments
+### Feature 1
+Zero-downtime upgrade capability for the Radius control plane.
+
+### Feature 2
+Rollback capability to revert to a previous version in case of issues.
+
+### Feature 3
+Compatibility checks to ensure seamless upgrades with existing configurations.