Building on a Secure Foundation
With the release of NKP 2.16, we began to include Ubuntu with Ubuntu Pro enabled as an option for the worker node base OS for NKP Pro and Ultimate. NKP 2.17 includes a validated and STIG-compliant Ubuntu image as an out-of-the-box option, further simplifying security compliance. These hardened OS images meet stringent U.S. government standards for cryptographic modules and secure configurations. For operators, this means less time manually hardening and verifying OS images and more confidence that their clusters meet compliance requirements from day one. Whether you’re building for the public sector, healthcare, or finance, this new inclusion makes securing your workloads even easier.
Policy-Driven Data Protection
Nutanix Data Services for Kubernetes (NDK) is now available through the NKP app catalog, making it easy for platform teams to enable application-aware replication and disaster recovery for stateful container workloads. This capability streamlines migration and resilience strategies for containerized workloads, ensuring business continuity without adding complexity. With support for synchronous and asynchronous replication for both block and file storage, your stateful workloads are easily protected no matter what your requirements are
NDK delivers enterprise-grade data services to your containerized workloads, making it easy to secure and protect your data. NDK operates at the application and namespace level, capturing both configuration and persistent data to ensure complete and consistent recovery across environments. Through Kubernetes-native tools such as kubectl, users can configure backup, snapshot, and replication policies enabling fast and consistent recovery without increasing operational overhead. NDK also supports multi-site compliance and governance by enabling geographically distributed data protection and uniform security policies across clusters.
Nutanix Native Integrations
Accelerating your Kubernetes journey has never been easier. With NKP now available for deployment directly from the Prism Central Marketplace, organizations can simplify lifecycle management, reduce operational overhead, and manage Kubernetes clusters alongside other Nutanix services. With just a few clicks, you can unlock the full potential of Kubernetes without compromise.
Visibility is critical for security, and NKP 2.17 delivers exactly that. NKP clusters are automatically registered and onboarded with Prism Central, giving infrastructure admins immediate, infrastructure-level visibility into all Kubernetes clusters and related resources in one centralized location. This makes it easier than ever to understand what’s running in your environment and maintain control.
Networking is equally essential, and Nutanix Flow CNI brings enterprise-grade capabilities to Kubernetes environments. Flow delivers simple, secure, and scalable networking with advanced microsegmentation and policy-driven security that spans VM and container workloads. Now you can accelerate your cloud-native journey while maintaining security, performance and compliance with confidence.
Other Updates
- External Secrets Operator in NKP Catalog: By bundling External Secrets Operator as a core NKP application, Nutanix makes it easy for platform teams to centralize secret management across multiple clouds and vaults.
- Additional Flux controllers: NKP 2.17 enables the Flux image‑reflector‑controller and image‑automation‑controller by default. This simplifies keeping workloads up‑to‑date and supports GitOps best practices.
- RHEL 9 support: NKP 2.17 adds support for RHEL 9 for the management and workload clusters, giving customers more OS choice for their base OS.
Summary
NKP 2.17 is a step forward in making Kubernetes secure, compliant, and cost-efficient without adding complexity. This makes it possible to deliver a Kubernetes experience optimized for platform engineers right out of the box that removes trade-offs between velocity and security. If you’re looking to develop or run containerized apps securely without compromising on security, this release is for you.
Ready to Learn More?
- Haven’t used NKP before? Explore NKP with a Test Drive today to see for yourself how easy Kubernetes operations can be!
- Ready to Upgrade to NKP 2.17? Checkout the upgrade guide, available in the Nutanix Portal.
- Other questions? Reach out to your sales team or let us know here and we’ll be happy to help!
©2025 Nutanix, Inc. All rights reserved. Nutanix, the Nutanix logo and all Nutanix product and service names mentioned are registered trademarks or trademarks of Nutanix, Inc. in the United States and other countries. Kubernetes is a registered trademark of The Linux Foundation in the United States and other countries. All other brand names mentioned are for identification purposes only and may be the trademarks of their respective holder(s).
