How to Install / Upgrade: Gateway API v1.6: TCPRoute and UDPRoute Graduate to Standard

Gateway API v1.6.0 was released on June 30th of this year by the Kubernetes SIG Network community. In this release, TCPRoute and UDPRoute graduate to Standard. Earlier Gateway API releases already built a production-grade foundation for HTTP and TLS, and Gateway API remains the standard for modern, role-oriented, and expressive service networking in Kubernetes.

To install or upgrade, move your cluster to Gateway API v1.6.0 so TCPRoute and UDPRoute are available on the Standard channel. Keep using your existing Gateway API HTTP and TLS setup as the base, then add or enable TCPRoute and UDPRoute only after the v1.6.0 release is in place. Treat this as an upgrade of the Gateway API install itself, not a replacement of the HTTP and TLS path you already rely on.

Gotchas: TCPRoute and UDPRoute are the new Standard pieces in v1.6.0; do not assume they were Standard before this release. After the upgrade, confirm you are on Gateway API v1.6.0 and that TCPRoute and UDPRoute are present and usable as Standard resources, while existing HTTP and TLS Gateway API behavior continues to work as before.