controller manager binary. Additionally we added [aws-k8s-tester](https://github.com/kubernetes/test-infra/issues/9814), deployer interface for kubetest, to the test-infra repository. This plugin allowed us to integrate Prow to the 3 subprojects defined above in order to provide CI signal for all 3 features. The CI signal is visible [here](https://testgrid.k8s.io/) under SIG-AWS.

For detailed release notes on the three alpha features from SIG AWS, please refer to the following Changelogs:...

- Improved scheduler performance when no scoring plugins were defined.
   ([#122058](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/122058), [@aleksandra-malinowska](https://github.com/aleksandra-malinowska))
- Improved scheduler performance when no scoring plugins were defined.

- When scaling down a ReplicaSet, delete doubled up replicas first, where a "doubled up replica" is defined as one that is on the same node as an active replica belonging to a related ReplicaSet.  ReplicaSets are considered "related" if they have a common controller (typically a Deployment). ([#80004](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/80004),...

In-tree bug fixes and improvements included:
- Fix load balancer status without VIP.
- Fix filtering of server status.
- Fix resizing PVC of Cinder volume.
- Disable load balancer configuration if it is not defined in cloud config.
- Add support for node shutdown taint.

The external provider includes all of the above with the additional fixes and features:
- Fix bug to prevent allocation of existing floating IP.

    Potential impacts:

* Performance test framework and basic tests for the IPAM controller, to simulate behavior of the four supported modes under lightly loaded and loaded conditions, where load is defined as the number of operations to perform as against the configured kubernetes. ([#61143](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/61143), [@satyasm](https://github.com/satyasm))

    * Introduce a RuntimeClass v1beta1 API. This new beta API renames `runtimeHandler` to `handler`, makes it a required field,...

- Added support for in-place vertical scaling of Pods with sidecars (containers defined within `initContainers` where the `restartPolicy` is set to `Always`). ([#128367](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/128367), [@vivzbansal](https://github.com/vivzbansal)) [SIG API Machinery, Apps, CLI, Node, Scheduling and Testing]

For the 1.8 release, SIG Scalability focused on automating large cluster
scalability testing in a continuous integration (CI) environment. The SIG
defined a concrete process for scalability testing, created
documentation for the current scalability thresholds, and defined a new set of
Service Level Indicators (SLIs) and Service Level Objectives (SLOs) for the system.
Here's the release [scalability validation report].

- Kubeadm: the `--feature-gates` flag is deprecated and no-op for `kubeadm upgrade apply/plan`, and it will be removed in a future release. The upgrade workflow is not designed to reconfigure the cluster. Please edit the 'featureGates' field of ClusterConfiguration which is defined in the kube-system/kubeadm-config ConfigMap instead. ([#125797](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/125797), [@SataQiu](https://github.com/SataQiu))