diff --git a/playbookconfig/src/playbooks/roles/bootstrap/bringup-essential-services/tasks/main.yml b/playbookconfig/src/playbooks/roles/bootstrap/bringup-essential-services/tasks/main.yml
index 0ec863bb5..3f422ca88 100644
--- a/playbookconfig/src/playbooks/roles/bootstrap/bringup-essential-services/tasks/main.yml
+++ b/playbookconfig/src/playbooks/roles/bootstrap/bringup-essential-services/tasks/main.yml
@@ -135,7 +135,8 @@
   - name: Check controller-0 is in online state
     shell: source /etc/platform/openrc; system host-show controller-0 --column availability --format value
     register: check_online
-    retries: 10
+    retries: 15
+    delay: 10
     until: check_online.stdout == "online"
 
   - name: Set async parameters
diff --git a/playbookconfig/src/playbooks/roles/bootstrap/bringup-essential-services/templates/k8s-v1.24.4 b/playbookconfig/src/playbooks/roles/bootstrap/bringup-essential-services/templates/k8s-v1.24.4
new file mode 120000
index 000000000..3494e0984
--- /dev/null
+++ b/playbookconfig/src/playbooks/roles/bootstrap/bringup-essential-services/templates/k8s-v1.24.4
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+k8s-v1.22.5
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/playbookconfig/src/playbooks/roles/bootstrap/bringup-essential-services/templates/kubelet.conf.j2 b/playbookconfig/src/playbooks/roles/bootstrap/bringup-essential-services/templates/kubelet.conf.j2
index ab17d42e8..d465332b9 100644
--- a/playbookconfig/src/playbooks/roles/bootstrap/bringup-essential-services/templates/kubelet.conf.j2
+++ b/playbookconfig/src/playbooks/roles/bootstrap/bringup-essential-services/templates/kubelet.conf.j2
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 # to allow room for platform pods. The user apps are in fact
 # intended to run after the unlock anyway. During the unlock the correct
 # value is used, the one generated by sysinv as hieradata.
-KUBELET_EXTRA_ARGS=--cni-bin-dir={{ kubelet_cni_bin_dir }} \
+KUBELET_EXTRA_ARGS=\
 --node-ip={{ node_ip }} \
 --volume-plugin-dir={{ kubelet_vol_plugin_dir }} \
 --pod-max-pids 500
diff --git a/playbookconfig/src/playbooks/roles/bootstrap/prepare-env/tasks/main.yml b/playbookconfig/src/playbooks/roles/bootstrap/prepare-env/tasks/main.yml
index 9784ab1df..1db05ba9d 100644
--- a/playbookconfig/src/playbooks/roles/bootstrap/prepare-env/tasks/main.yml
+++ b/playbookconfig/src/playbooks/roles/bootstrap/prepare-env/tasks/main.yml
@@ -253,10 +253,47 @@
     etcd_root_ca_cert: "{{ etcd_root_ca_cert | default('') }}"
     etcd_root_ca_key: "{{ etcd_root_ca_key | default('') }}"
 
+# Set the kubernetes_version if the user hasn't overridden it
+- name: Check if kubernetes_version is specified
+  set_fact:
+    found_kubernetes_version: "{{ kubernetes_version is defined }}"
+
+- block:
+  - name: Set kubernetes_version for fresh installs.
+    set_fact:
+      kubernetes_version: "{{ fresh_install_k8s_version }}"
+    when: migrate_platform_data is undefined or not migrate_platform_data
+
+  - name: Set kubernetes_version for upgrades.
+    set_fact:
+      kubernetes_version: "{{ upgrade_k8s_version }}"
+    when: migrate_platform_data is defined and migrate_platform_data
+
+  - name: Set kubernetes_version for restores.
+    set_fact:
+      kubernetes_version: "{{ restore_k8s_version }}"
+    when: restore_k8s_version is defined
+
+  when: not found_kubernetes_version
+
+- block:
+  - name: Set kubernetes long version
+    set_fact:
+      kubernetes_long_version: "{{ kubernetes_version if kubernetes_version.startswith('v')
+                               else 'v' + kubernetes_version }}"
+
+  - name: Read in kubernetes versioned configuration parameters
+    include_vars:
+      dir: "vars/k8s-{{ kubernetes_long_version }}"
+      extensions: ['yml']
+
+  when: kubernetes_version is defined
+
 - name: Combine k8s user overrides and default config parameters
   set_fact:
     apiserver_extra_args: "{{ apiserver_extra_args_defaults \
-                          | combine(apiserver_extra_args|default({})) }}"
+                          | combine({ 'feature-gates': apiserver_feature_gates|default(omit) }, \
+                          apiserver_extra_args|default({})) }}"
     controllermanager_extra_args: "{{ controllermanager_extra_args_defaults \
                                   | combine(controllermanager_extra_args|default({})) }}"
     scheduler_extra_args: "{{ scheduler_extra_args_defaults \
diff --git a/playbookconfig/src/playbooks/roles/bootstrap/prepare-env/vars/k8s-v1.21.8/k8s-versioned.yml b/playbookconfig/src/playbooks/roles/bootstrap/prepare-env/vars/k8s-v1.21.8/k8s-versioned.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..4cf5a7588
--- /dev/null
+++ b/playbookconfig/src/playbooks/roles/bootstrap/prepare-env/vars/k8s-v1.21.8/k8s-versioned.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+---
+apiserver_feature_gates: RemoveSelfLink=false
diff --git a/playbookconfig/src/playbooks/roles/bootstrap/prepare-env/vars/k8s-v1.22.5/k8s-versioned.yml b/playbookconfig/src/playbooks/roles/bootstrap/prepare-env/vars/k8s-v1.22.5/k8s-versioned.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..4cf5a7588
--- /dev/null
+++ b/playbookconfig/src/playbooks/roles/bootstrap/prepare-env/vars/k8s-v1.22.5/k8s-versioned.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+---
+apiserver_feature_gates: RemoveSelfLink=false
diff --git a/playbookconfig/src/playbooks/roles/bootstrap/prepare-env/vars/k8s-v1.23.1/k8s-versioned.yml b/playbookconfig/src/playbooks/roles/bootstrap/prepare-env/vars/k8s-v1.23.1/k8s-versioned.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..4cf5a7588
--- /dev/null
+++ b/playbookconfig/src/playbooks/roles/bootstrap/prepare-env/vars/k8s-v1.23.1/k8s-versioned.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+---
+apiserver_feature_gates: RemoveSelfLink=false
diff --git a/playbookconfig/src/playbooks/roles/bootstrap/prepare-env/vars/k8s-v1.24.4/k8s-versioned.yml b/playbookconfig/src/playbooks/roles/bootstrap/prepare-env/vars/k8s-v1.24.4/k8s-versioned.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..4cc249398
--- /dev/null
+++ b/playbookconfig/src/playbooks/roles/bootstrap/prepare-env/vars/k8s-v1.24.4/k8s-versioned.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+---
+# no customizations for this k8s version
diff --git a/playbookconfig/src/playbooks/roles/bootstrap/prepare-env/vars/main.yml b/playbookconfig/src/playbooks/roles/bootstrap/prepare-env/vars/main.yml
index 32801eeda..b0d2cd12c 100644
--- a/playbookconfig/src/playbooks/roles/bootstrap/prepare-env/vars/main.yml
+++ b/playbookconfig/src/playbooks/roles/bootstrap/prepare-env/vars/main.yml
@@ -27,7 +27,6 @@ apiserver_extra_args_defaults:
   encryption-provider-config: "{{ encryption_provider_config }}"
   default-not-ready-toleration-seconds: "30"
   default-unreachable-toleration-seconds: "30"
-  feature-gates: "TTLAfterFinished=true,RemoveSelfLink=false"
   event-ttl: "24h"
   audit-log-path: "/var/log/kubernetes/audit/audit.log"
   audit-log-maxage: "3"
@@ -38,7 +37,6 @@ controllermanager_extra_args_defaults:
   node-monitor-period: "2s"
   node-monitor-grace-period: "20s"
   pod-eviction-timeout: '30s'
-  feature-gates: "TTLAfterFinished=true"
   flex-volume-plugin-dir: "{{ kubelet_vol_plugin_dir }}"
 
 scheduler_extra_args_defaults: { }
@@ -49,8 +47,6 @@ kubelet_extra_args_defaults:
 kubelet_configurations_defaults:
   nodeStatusUpdateFrequency: "4s"
   failSwapOn: false
-  featureGates:
-    HugePageStorageMediumSize: true
   cgroupDriver: "cgroupfs"
   cgroupRoot: "{{ kubelet_cgroup_root }}"
   imageGCHighThresholdPercent: 79
diff --git a/playbookconfig/src/playbooks/roles/bootstrap/validate-config/tasks/main.yml b/playbookconfig/src/playbooks/roles/bootstrap/validate-config/tasks/main.yml
index e0ba9daeb..23009f7f0 100644
--- a/playbookconfig/src/playbooks/roles/bootstrap/validate-config/tasks/main.yml
+++ b/playbookconfig/src/playbooks/roles/bootstrap/validate-config/tasks/main.yml
@@ -825,29 +825,6 @@
         apiserver_oidc.username_claim is defined and
         apiserver_oidc.groups_claim is defined))
 
-# Set the kubernetes_version if the user hasn't overridden it
-- name: Check if kubernetes_version is specified
-  set_fact:
-    found_kubernetes_version: "{{ kubernetes_version is defined }}"
-
-- block:
-  - name: Set kubernetes_version for fresh installs.
-    set_fact:
-      kubernetes_version: "{{ fresh_install_k8s_version }}"
-    when: migrate_platform_data is undefined or not migrate_platform_data
-
-  - name: Set kubernetes_version for upgrades.
-    set_fact:
-      kubernetes_version: "{{ upgrade_k8s_version }}"
-    when: migrate_platform_data is defined and migrate_platform_data
-
-  - name: Set kubernetes_version for restores.
-    set_fact:
-      kubernetes_version: "{{ restore_k8s_version }}"
-    when: restore_k8s_version is defined
-
-  when: not found_kubernetes_version
-
 - name: Check overridden kubernetes_version matches the backup.
   fail:
     msg: >
diff --git a/playbookconfig/src/playbooks/roles/common/load-images-information/tasks/main.yml b/playbookconfig/src/playbooks/roles/common/load-images-information/tasks/main.yml
index 628b11d9e..9cd9f5b40 100644
--- a/playbookconfig/src/playbooks/roles/common/load-images-information/tasks/main.yml
+++ b/playbookconfig/src/playbooks/roles/common/load-images-information/tasks/main.yml
@@ -8,10 +8,13 @@
 #   This role loads variables containing images.
 #
 
-- name: Set kubernetes long version
-  set_fact:
-    kubernetes_long_version: "{{ kubernetes_version if kubernetes_version.startswith('v')
-                              else 'v' + kubernetes_version }}"
+- name: Fail if kubernetes_version is not defined
+  fail: msg="The mandatory parameter kubernetes_version is not defined."
+  when: kubernetes_version is not defined
+
+- name: Fail if kubernetes_long_version is not defined
+  fail: msg="The mandatory parameter kubernetes_long_version is not defined."
+  when: kubernetes_long_version is not defined
 
 - block:
   - name: Get the list of kubernetes images
diff --git a/playbookconfig/src/playbooks/roles/common/load-images-information/vars/k8s-v1.24.4 b/playbookconfig/src/playbooks/roles/common/load-images-information/vars/k8s-v1.24.4
new file mode 120000
index 000000000..3494e0984
--- /dev/null
+++ b/playbookconfig/src/playbooks/roles/common/load-images-information/vars/k8s-v1.24.4
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+k8s-v1.22.5
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/playbookconfig/src/playbooks/roles/common/upgrade-k8s-networking/tasks/main.yml b/playbookconfig/src/playbooks/roles/common/upgrade-k8s-networking/tasks/main.yml
index 02d65157e..9ee95e324 100644
--- a/playbookconfig/src/playbooks/roles/common/upgrade-k8s-networking/tasks/main.yml
+++ b/playbookconfig/src/playbooks/roles/common/upgrade-k8s-networking/tasks/main.yml
@@ -11,11 +11,6 @@
 
   when: mode is defined
 
-- name: Set kubernetes long version
-  set_fact:
-    kubernetes_long_version: "{{ kubernetes_version if kubernetes_version.startswith('v')
-                              else 'v' + kubernetes_version }}"
-
 - name: Initialize variables
   set_fact:
     overrides_file: "/tmp/upgrade_overrides.yaml"
@@ -25,6 +20,10 @@
   fail: msg="The mandatory parameter kubernetes_version is not defined."
   when: kubernetes_version is not defined
 
+- name: Fail if kubernetes_long_version is not defined
+  fail: msg="The mandatory parameter kubernetes_long_version is not defined."
+  when: kubernetes_long_version is not defined
+
 - name: Create the upgrade overrides file
   command: "/usr/bin/sysinv-utils create-host-overrides {{ overrides_file }}"
 
diff --git a/playbookconfig/src/playbooks/roles/k8s-storage-backends/snapshot-controller/files/k8s-v1.24.4 b/playbookconfig/src/playbooks/roles/k8s-storage-backends/snapshot-controller/files/k8s-v1.24.4
new file mode 120000
index 000000000..3abbe23ca
--- /dev/null
+++ b/playbookconfig/src/playbooks/roles/k8s-storage-backends/snapshot-controller/files/k8s-v1.24.4
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+k8s-v1.21.8
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/playbookconfig/src/playbooks/roles/k8s-storage-backends/snapshot-controller/templates/k8s-v1.24.4 b/playbookconfig/src/playbooks/roles/k8s-storage-backends/snapshot-controller/templates/k8s-v1.24.4
new file mode 120000
index 000000000..3abbe23ca
--- /dev/null
+++ b/playbookconfig/src/playbooks/roles/k8s-storage-backends/snapshot-controller/templates/k8s-v1.24.4
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+k8s-v1.21.8
\ No newline at end of file