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2026

Interact with Your Rafay Managed Kubernetes Clusters Using MCP-compatible AI clients

The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open standard that enables AI assistants to securely interact with external tools and systems. When used with Kubernetes, MCP allows an AI assistant to execute operations (for example, kubectl commands), retrieve live cluster state, and reason about results without requiring users to manually copy and paste output into a chat interface.

This blog uses Claude Desktop as an example AI assistant. The same approach applies to any MCP-compatible AI client.

For platform administrators, this capability enables controlled, auditable, and policy-driven AI-assisted cluster operations.

For production environments, the recommended approach is to run the MCP server locally and connect to your Kubernetes cluster using a Rafay Zero Trust Kubectl Access (ZTKA) kubeconfig.

In this model:

  • The MCP server runs on the administrator’s workstation
  • Cluster access is established through Rafay’s ZTKA secure relay
  • No inbound access to the cluster is required
  • No VPN tunnels or exposed Kubernetes API endpoints are needed

This architecture aligns with zero-trust security principles and enterprise compliance requirements.

Kubernetes v1.35 for Rafay MKS

As part of our continuous effort to bring the latest Kubernetes versions to our users, support for Kubernetes v1.35 will be added soon to the Rafay Operations Platform for MKS cluster types.

Both new cluster provisioning and in-place upgrades of existing clusters are supported. As with most Kubernetes releases, this version deprecates and removes a number of features. To ensure zero impact to our customers, we have validated every feature in the Rafay Kubernetes Operations Platform on this Kubernetes version. Support will be promoted from Preview to Production in a few days and made available to all customers.

Important: Platform Version 1.2.0 Required

Kubernetes v1.35 requires etcd version 3.5.24 which is delivered as part of Rafay Platform Version 1.2.0. When creating new clusters based on Kubernetes v1.35, select Platform Version 1.2.0 along with it. For upgrading existing clusters to Kubernetes v1.35, upgrade to Platform Version 1.2.0 first or together with the Kubernetes upgrade. Clusters cannot be provisioned or upgraded to Kubernetes v1.35 without Platform Version 1.2.0.

Kubernetes v1.35 Release

Managing Environments at Scale with Fleet Plans

As organizations scale their cloud infrastructure, managing dozens or even hundreds of environments becomes increasingly complex. Whether you are rolling out security patches, updating configuration variables, or deploying new template versions, performing these operations manually on each environment is time-consuming, error-prone, and simply unsustainable.

Fleet Plans solve this challenge—a powerful feature that eliminates the need to manage environments individually by enabling bulk operations across multiple environments in parallel.

Fleet Plans General Flow

Fleet Plans provide a streamlined workflow for managing multiple environments at scale, enabling bulk operations with precision and control.

Note: Fleet Plans currently support day 2 operations only, focusing on managing and updating existing environments rather than initial provisioning.