<p>I'm using the GKE cluster and using the release version as a Regular channel. I noticed that the pods are restarting due to the GKE's auto-upgrade feature. In my cluster, I have a deployment of NiFi in the cluster couldn't bear continuous reboots because of some internal functionality. I know that's not the expected behavior of containers, but we are working on that. But till its completion, I would like my cluster not to reboot nodes or restart pods. Is there a way for that? I found that, using 'Stable version' instead of 'Regular Release Channels' would work, but in the documentation I noticed that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Even if the cluster is not enrolled in a release channel, GKE will
still regularly upgrade the cluster's control plane to newer versions.
GKE will upgrade control planes to the next minor version on its
scheduled upgrades start date.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>from this documentation <a href="https://cloud.google.com/kubernetes-engine/docs/concepts/release-channels#no_channel" rel="nofollow noreferrer">link</a></p>
<p>Is there a way, if I want to stop/pause the auto-upgrade (security/patch update) in the GKE cluster?</p>
<p>I also noticed 'Maintenance exclusions'. If I exclude upgrades for a couple of weeks, does that works?</p>

<p>Yes. Maintenance exclusions will stop upgrades to your cluster, depending on what you specify. If you specify NO upgrades allowed during the interval, then  you are only allowed to set a 30-day window max (the window can be longer if you specify certain parts can be upgraded -- e.g. allow patch upgrades, allow minor upgrades, etc.)</p>
<p>The window can be moved but you will need to make sure you're still covering the current day or you may get upgraded.</p>
