Switch to gen2 reference images

[mboersma]

/kind feature

Describe the solution you'd like

The CAPZ reference images use Azure generation 2 VMs by default.

• When I follow the quick start, I end up with a cluster running on gen2 VMs.
• Reference images for future Kubernetes releases are only published in gen2 versions.

Describe alternatives you've considered

We could leave gen1 as the default.
We could publish both gen1 and gen2 reference images.

Additional context

See also #1003 and kubernetes-sigs/image-builder#878 (comment)

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/lifecycle stale

[mboersma]

/remove-lifecycle stale

[k8s-triage-robot]

The Kubernetes project currently lacks enough contributors to adequately respond to all issues and PRs.

This bot triages issues and PRs according to the following rules:

• After 90d of inactivity, lifecycle/stale is applied
• After 30d of inactivity since lifecycle/stale was applied, lifecycle/rotten is applied
• After 30d of inactivity since lifecycle/rotten was applied, the issue is closed

You can:

• Mark this issue or PR as fresh with /remove-lifecycle stale
• Mark this issue or PR as rotten with /lifecycle rotten
• Close this issue or PR with /close
• Offer to help out with Issue Triage

Please send feedback to sig-contributor-experience at kubernetes/community.

/lifecycle stale

[k8s-triage-robot]

The Kubernetes project currently lacks enough active contributors to adequately respond to all issues and PRs.

This bot triages issues and PRs according to the following rules:

• After 90d of inactivity, lifecycle/stale is applied
• After 30d of inactivity since lifecycle/stale was applied, lifecycle/rotten is applied
• After 30d of inactivity since lifecycle/rotten was applied, the issue is closed

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/lifecycle rotten

[k8s-triage-robot]

The Kubernetes project currently lacks enough active contributors to adequately respond to all issues and PRs.

This bot triages issues according to the following rules:

• After 90d of inactivity, lifecycle/stale is applied
• After 30d of inactivity since lifecycle/stale was applied, lifecycle/rotten is applied
• After 30d of inactivity since lifecycle/rotten was applied, the issue is closed

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/close not-planned

[k8s-ci-robot]

@k8s-triage-robot: Closing this issue, marking it as "Not Planned".

In response to this:

The Kubernetes project currently lacks enough active contributors to adequately respond to all issues and PRs.

This bot triages issues according to the following rules:

• After 90d of inactivity, lifecycle/stale is applied
• After 30d of inactivity since lifecycle/stale was applied, lifecycle/rotten is applied
• After 30d of inactivity since lifecycle/rotten was applied, the issue is closed

You can:

• Reopen this issue with /reopen
• Mark this issue as fresh with /remove-lifecycle rotten
• Offer to help out with Issue Triage

Please send feedback to sig-contributor-experience at kubernetes/community.

/close not-planned

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[ffais]

Hi @mboersma, gen2 reference images are still missing. Do you know why?

[mboersma]

Hi @ffais! I guess we never really committed to switching to -gen2 images by default, and this work item fell by the wayside.

The reference images are primarily for tests, and we try to keep the matrix of (k8s version * OS distro) small to keep costs down. There hasn't been a business justification that drove us to complete this switch.

Our strong recommendation if you're using CAPZ is to build and host your own images, because we may not publish every variation you need, and because we don't patch them with security fixes or other updates.

Also note that CAPZ switched from defaulting to Azure Marketplace to a community gallery in the main branch.

• Updated docs: https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/cluster-api-provider-azure/blob/main/docs/book/src/self-managed/custom-images.md
• Use community gallery for default VM images #5167