> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.nebius.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Managing maintenance in Managed Service for Kubernetes®

[Maintenance in Managed Service for Kubernetes](/kubernetes/maintenance) is scheduled automatically when Nebius AI Cloud issues a maintenance event. However, you also have an option to [launch maintenance manually](#how-to-launch-maintenance-manually-in-managed-kubernetes).

You can only do that if a maintenance event is issued for a given node. You can [check the event](#how-to-check-that-a-maintenance-event-is-issued) upfront, before you proceed with the manual maintenance launch.

## How to check that a maintenance event is issued

1. [Connect](../connect) to your Managed Kubernetes cluster.

2. Get the node ID:

   ```bash theme={null}
   kubectl get nodes -o name
   ```

   Output:

   ```text theme={null}
   node/computeinstance-***
   node/computeinstance-***
   ...
   ```

   The node ID is `computeinstance-***`.

3. Check that a maintenance event is issued and the time that it is scheduled for:

   ```bash theme={null}
   kubectl describe node <node_ID> | grep -A 10 "Conditions:"
   ```

   If the event is issued, the command shows the `NebiusMaintenanceScheduled` [Kubernetes condition](https://kubernetes.io/docs/reference/node/node-status/#condition). For example:

   ```text theme={null}
   Conditions:
     Type                         Status   LastHeartbeatTime                 LastTransitionTime                Reason                 Message
     ----                         ------   -----------------                 ------------------                ------                 -------
     NebiusMaintenanceScheduled   True     Wed, 08 Aug 2025 14:28:31 +0200   Wed, 08 Aug 2025 14:28:31 +0200   MaintenanceScheduled   Node scheduled for urgent maintenance, SLA deadline is 2025-08-13T12:26:00Z
     ...
   ```

   In the `Message` column, the command shows the SLA deadline: the latest time the maintenance event should take place.

## How to launch maintenance manually in Managed Kubernetes

1. [Connect](../connect) to your Managed Kubernetes cluster.

2. [Make sure](#how-to-check-that-a-maintenance-event-is-issued) that a maintenance event is issued.

3. Get the node group ID:

   ```bash theme={null}
   nebius mk8s node-group list --parent-id <cluster_ID> 
   ```

   The node group ID is specified in the `items.metadata.id` parameter of the output.

4. Change the maintenance event time:

   ```bash theme={null}
   kubectl label node <node_group_ID> nebius.com/perform-maintenance=<true|certain_time>
   ```

   If you want to start the node drain and the maintenance as soon as possible, set the `true` value for the `nebius.com/perform-maintenance` Kubernetes label.

   Alternatively, you can set a specific time for the maintenance. For a specific time, make sure that the following conditions are met:

   * The time should not be in the past. If you set a time in the past, the `true` value applies instead, and the node drain starts as soon as possible.
   * The time should be at least five minutes earlier than the SLA deadline. Otherwise, the time is ignored, and the `true` value applies.

   Managed Kubernetes supports the following two formats for the time value:

   * Unix time in seconds, for example, `1262304000`.

     This format implies the UTC timezone by default.

   * [RFC 3339](https://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc3339.txt) modified for Kubernetes labels:

     * Use a full stop `.` as a separator, instead of a colon `:`.
     * Use the `_hh.mm` format to specify a UTC+N timezone (for example, `_02.00` for UTC+2).
     * Use the `-hh.mm` format to specify a UTC-N timezone (for example, `-03.00` for UTC-3).

     You may opt not to specify a timezone in the value. In this case, Managed Kubernetes uses the UTC timezone by default.

     Examples of RFC 3339 values:

     | **Time in a given timezone** | **Value**                   | **Time in UTC**                                      |
     | ---------------------------- | --------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------- |
     | June 12, 2025, 8:05 UTC-2    | `2025-06-12T08.05.00-02.00` | June 12, 2025, 10:05 UTC,<br />`2025-06-12T10.05.00` |
     | June 12, 2025, 8:05 UTC+2    | `2025-06-12T08.05.00_02.00` | June 12, 2025, 6:05 UTC,<br />`2025-06-12T06.05.00`  |