diff --git a/ansible/README.dev.md b/ansible/README.dev.md
index 512d61570a..146a70e946 100644
--- a/ansible/README.dev.md
+++ b/ansible/README.dev.md
@@ -278,7 +278,7 @@ custom_image_config:
   - components:
       - mlserver
     image:
-      tag: 1.6.0
+      tag: 1.6.1
 
 custom_servers_values:
   mlserver:
@@ -346,7 +346,7 @@ custom_image_config:
   - components:
       - mlserver
     image:
-      tag: 1.6.0
+      tag: 1.6.1
 
 custom_components_values:
   kafka:
diff --git a/ansible/roles/grafana/defaults/main.yaml b/ansible/roles/grafana/defaults/main.yaml
index 65ed25e8e0..453db1de56 100644
--- a/ansible/roles/grafana/defaults/main.yaml
+++ b/ansible/roles/grafana/defaults/main.yaml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ---
-grafana_chart_version: 8.4.1
-grafana_app_version: 11.1.3
+grafana_chart_version: 8.6.4
+grafana_app_version: 11.3.1
 
 grafana_preloaded_dashboards:
   - name: mms
diff --git a/ansible/roles/jaeger/defaults/main.yaml b/ansible/roles/jaeger/defaults/main.yaml
index 610ce3b4a4..a6692661b0 100644
--- a/ansible/roles/jaeger/defaults/main.yaml
+++ b/ansible/roles/jaeger/defaults/main.yaml
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 ---
 jaeger_namespace: observability
 
-jaeger_version: v1.53.0
+jaeger_version: v1.62.0
 jaeger_yaml: "https://github.com/jaegertracing/jaeger-operator/releases/download/{{ jaeger_version }}/jaeger-operator.yaml"
 
 jaeger_wait_for_deployments: true
diff --git a/ansible/roles/opentelemetry/defaults/main.yaml b/ansible/roles/opentelemetry/defaults/main.yaml
index aecb733803..70cf99712f 100644
--- a/ansible/roles/opentelemetry/defaults/main.yaml
+++ b/ansible/roles/opentelemetry/defaults/main.yaml
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 ---
 opentelemetry_namespace: opentelemetry-operator-system
 
-opentelemetry_version: v0.92.0
+opentelemetry_version: v0.114.1
 opentelemetry_yaml: "https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-operator/releases/download/{{ opentelemetry_version }}/opentelemetry-operator.yaml"
 
 opentelemetry_wait_for_deployments: true
diff --git a/ansible/roles/prometheus/defaults/main.yaml b/ansible/roles/prometheus/defaults/main.yaml
index ce4445e1b2..37511149fe 100644
--- a/ansible/roles/prometheus/defaults/main.yaml
+++ b/ansible/roles/prometheus/defaults/main.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,8 @@
 ---
 seldon_monitoring_namespace: "seldon-monitoring"
 seldon_monitoring_prometheus_operator_values: "{{ lookup('file', 'prometheus-operator-values.yaml') | from_yaml }}"
-seldon_monitoring_prometheus_operator_chart_version: "8.3.6"
+seldon_monitoring_prometheus_adapter_values: "{{ lookup('file', 'prometheus-adapter-values.yaml') | from_yaml }}"
+seldon_monitoring_prometheus_operator_chart_version: "10.0.4"
+seldon_monitoring_prometheus_adapter_chart_version: "4.11.0"
+
+seldon_prometheus_adapter_config_rate: "5m"
diff --git a/ansible/roles/prometheus/files/prometheus-adapter-values.yaml b/ansible/roles/prometheus/files/prometheus-adapter-values.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..82aacc597e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ansible/roles/prometheus/files/prometheus-adapter-values.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+prometheus:
+  url: http://seldon-monitoring-prometheus
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/ansible/roles/prometheus/tasks/main.yaml b/ansible/roles/prometheus/tasks/main.yaml
index 2371c7a29c..482311a402 100644
--- a/ansible/roles/prometheus/tasks/main.yaml
+++ b/ansible/roles/prometheus/tasks/main.yaml
@@ -14,3 +14,22 @@
     chart_ref: "kube-prometheus"
     chart_version: "{{ seldon_monitoring_prometheus_operator_chart_version }}"
     values: "{{ seldon_monitoring_prometheus_operator_values }}"
+
+
+- name: Install Prometheus Adapter
+  kubernetes.core.helm:
+    name: prometheus-adapter
+    release_namespace: "{{ seldon_monitoring_namespace }}"
+    chart_repo_url: "https://prometheus-community.github.io/helm-charts"
+    chart_ref: "prometheus-adapter"
+    chart_version: "{{ seldon_monitoring_prometheus_adapter_chart_version }}"
+    values: "{{ seldon_monitoring_prometheus_adapter_values }}"
+
+- name: Create Seldon HPA ConfigMap
+  kubernetes.core.k8s:
+    state: present
+    namespace: "{{ seldon_monitoring_namespace }}"
+    template: "templates/seldon-prometheus-adapter-configmap.j2"
+
+- name: "Rollout Prometheus Adapter"
+  shell: "kubectl rollout restart deployment prometheus-adapter -n {{ seldon_monitoring_namespace }}"
diff --git a/ansible/roles/prometheus/templates/seldon-prometheus-adapter-configmap.j2 b/ansible/roles/prometheus/templates/seldon-prometheus-adapter-configmap.j2
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..a89e9c1606
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ansible/roles/prometheus/templates/seldon-prometheus-adapter-configmap.j2
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+apiVersion: v1
+kind: ConfigMap
+metadata:
+  name: prometheus-adapter
+data:
+  config.yaml: |-
+    "rules":
+    -
+      "seriesQuery": |
+         {__name__="seldon_model_infer_total",namespace!=""}
+      "resources":
+        "overrides":
+          "model": {group: "mlops.seldon.io", resource: "model"}
+          "server": {group: "mlops.seldon.io", resource: "server"}
+          "pod": {resource: "pod"}
+          "namespace": {resource: "namespace"}
+      "name":
+        "matches": "seldon_model_infer_total"
+        "as": "infer_rps"
+      "metricsQuery": |
+        sum by (<<.GroupBy>>) (
+          rate (
+            <<.Series>>{<<.LabelMatchers>>}[{{ seldon_prometheus_adapter_config_rate }}]
+          )
+        )
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/ansible/roles/strimzi/defaults/main.yaml b/ansible/roles/strimzi/defaults/main.yaml
index 9a82f686e4..cf0abd38fa 100644
--- a/ansible/roles/strimzi/defaults/main.yaml
+++ b/ansible/roles/strimzi/defaults/main.yaml
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 ---
 strimzi_kafka_operator_namespace: "strimzi-system"
-strimzi_kafka_operator_version: "0.33.2"
+strimzi_kafka_operator_version: "0.44.0"
 strimzi_kafka_operator_values: "{{ lookup('template', 'strimzi-operator-values.yaml.j2') | from_yaml }}"
 strimzi_kafka_operator_wait_timeout: "300s"
 
-strimzi_kafka_operator_feature_gates: "+UseKRaft,+UseStrimziPodSets"
+strimzi_kafka_operator_feature_gates: ""
diff --git a/docs-gb/kubernetes/kafka.md b/docs-gb/kubernetes/kafka.md
index 0b4632fcae..157691439a 100644
--- a/docs-gb/kubernetes/kafka.md
+++ b/docs-gb/kubernetes/kafka.md
@@ -53,7 +53,6 @@ You can enable `featureGates` during Helm installation via:
 helm upgrade --install strimzi-kafka-operator \
   strimzi/strimzi-kafka-operator \
   --namespace seldon-mesh --create-namespace \
-  --set featureGates='+UseKRaft\,+UseStrimziPodSets'
 ```
 
 {% hint style="warning" %}
@@ -89,5 +88,5 @@ ansible-playbook playbooks/setup-ecosystem.yaml -e full_install=no -e install_ka
 
 ## Notes
 - You can check [kafka-examples](https://github.com/strimzi/strimzi-kafka-operator/tree/main/examples/kafka) for more details.
-- As we are using [KRaft](https://kafka.apache.org/documentation/#kraft), use Kafka version 3.3 or above.
+- As we are using [KRaft](https://kafka.apache.org/documentation/#kraft), use Kafka version 3.4 or above.
 - For security settings check [here](../getting-started/kubernetes-installation/security.md#kafka).
diff --git a/k8s/helm-charts/seldon-core-v2-setup/values.yaml b/k8s/helm-charts/seldon-core-v2-setup/values.yaml
index 1e1c0c75ab..3617fa44c6 100644
--- a/k8s/helm-charts/seldon-core-v2-setup/values.yaml
+++ b/k8s/helm-charts/seldon-core-v2-setup/values.yaml
@@ -265,7 +265,7 @@ serverConfig:
       pullPolicy: IfNotPresent
       registry: docker.io
       repository: seldonio/mlserver
-      tag: 1.6.0
+      tag: 1.6.1
     serverCapabilities: "mlserver,alibi-detect,alibi-explain,huggingface,lightgbm,mlflow,python,sklearn,spark-mlib,xgboost"
     modelVolumeStorage: 1Gi
     resources:
diff --git a/k8s/helm-charts/seldon-core-v2-setup/values.yaml.template b/k8s/helm-charts/seldon-core-v2-setup/values.yaml.template
index e4337192dd..dec1079ac7 100644
--- a/k8s/helm-charts/seldon-core-v2-setup/values.yaml.template
+++ b/k8s/helm-charts/seldon-core-v2-setup/values.yaml.template
@@ -265,7 +265,7 @@ serverConfig:
       pullPolicy: IfNotPresent
       registry: docker.io
       repository: seldonio/mlserver
-      tag: 1.6.0
+      tag: 1.6.1
     serverCapabilities: "mlserver,alibi-detect,alibi-explain,huggingface,lightgbm,mlflow,python,sklearn,spark-mlib,xgboost"
     modelVolumeStorage: 1Gi
     resources:
diff --git a/k8s/yaml/components.yaml b/k8s/yaml/components.yaml
index 3ed31a762f..a49a752018 100644
--- a/k8s/yaml/components.yaml
+++ b/k8s/yaml/components.yaml
@@ -1107,7 +1107,7 @@ spec:
         value: "false"
       - name: MLSERVER_GRPC_MAX_MESSAGE_LENGTH
         value: "1048576000"
-      image: 'docker.io/seldonio/mlserver:1.6.0'
+      image: 'docker.io/seldonio/mlserver:1.6.1'
       imagePullPolicy: 'IfNotPresent'
       lifecycle:
         preStop:
diff --git a/kafka/strimzi/README.md b/kafka/strimzi/README.md
index 02cb28f991..89460470b0 100644
--- a/kafka/strimzi/README.md
+++ b/kafka/strimzi/README.md
@@ -23,7 +23,6 @@ You can enable `featureGates` during Helm installation via:
 helm upgrade --install strimzi-kafka-operator \
   strimzi/strimzi-kafka-operator \
   --namespace seldon-mesh --create-namespace \
-  --set featureGates='+UseKRaft\,+UseStrimziPodSets'
 ```
 
 ```{warning}
diff --git a/kafka/strimzi/templates/cluster.yaml b/kafka/strimzi/templates/cluster.yaml
index a6ae168dae..0c50791080 100644
--- a/kafka/strimzi/templates/cluster.yaml
+++ b/kafka/strimzi/templates/cluster.yaml
@@ -2,11 +2,15 @@ apiVersion: kafka.strimzi.io/v1beta2
 kind: Kafka
 metadata:
   name: {{ .Values.cluster.name }}
+  annotations:
+    strimzi.io/node-pools: enabled
+    strimzi.io/kraft: enabled
 spec:
   entityOperator:
     userOperator: {}
   kafka:
     version: {{ .Values.cluster.version }}
+    metadataVersion: {{ .Values.cluster.metadataVersion }}
     replicas: {{ .Values.broker.replicas }}
     listeners:
       {{- if .Values.broker.plaintext.enabled }}
@@ -29,12 +33,6 @@ spec:
     livenessProbe:
       initialDelaySeconds: {{ .Values.broker.liveness.initialDelaySeconds }}
       timeoutSeconds: {{ .Values.broker.liveness.timeoutSeconds }}
-    resources:
-      requests:
-        cpu: '{{ .Values.broker.resources.cpu }}'
-        memory: '{{ .Values.broker.resources.memory }}'
-      limits:
-        memory: '{{ .Values.broker.resources.memory }}'
     config:
       auto.create.topics.enable: {{ .Values.topic.autoCreate }}
       offsets.topic.replication.factor: {{ .Values.topic.offsetReplicationFactor }}
@@ -42,40 +40,10 @@ spec:
       transaction.state.log.min.isr: {{ .Values.topic.txStateMinISR }}
       default.replication.factor: {{ .Values.topic.defaultReplicationFactor }}
       min.insync.replicas: {{ .Values.topic.minISR }}
-      inter.broker.protocol.version: {{ .Values.broker.interBrokerProtocolVersion }}
       message.max.bytes: {{ .Values.broker.messageMaxBytes }}
-    template:
-      pod:
-        tmpDirSizeLimit: {{ .Values.broker.tmpDirSizeLimit }}
-    storage:
-      type: jbod
-      volumes:
-      - id: 0
-        type: persistent-claim
-        size: {{ .Values.broker.pvcSize }}
-        deleteClaim: false
     metricsConfig:
       type: jmxPrometheusExporter
       valueFrom:
         configMapKeyRef:
           name: kafka-metrics
           key: kafka-metrics-config.yml
-  # zookeeper settings should not be use in case of STRIMZI_FEATURE_GATES=+UseStrimziPodSets,+UseKRaft (raft)
-  # to enable raft run:
-  # `kubectl set env deployment/strimzi-cluster-operator STRIMZI_FEATURE_GATES=+UseStrimziPodSets,+UseKRaft -n kafka`
-  # which is the default with ansible install
-  zookeeper:
-    replicas: {{ .Values.zookeeper.replicas }}
-    readinessProbe:
-      initialDelaySeconds: {{ .Values.zookeeper.readiness.initialDelaySeconds }}
-      timeoutSeconds: {{ .Values.zookeeper.readiness.timeoutSeconds }}
-    livenessProbe:
-      initialDelaySeconds: {{ .Values.zookeeper.liveness.initialDelaySeconds }}
-      timeoutSeconds: {{ .Values.zookeeper.liveness.timeoutSeconds }}
-    storage:
-      type: persistent-claim
-      size: {{ .Values.zookeeper.pvcSize }}
-      deleteClaim: false
-  kafkaExporter:
-    topicRegex: ".*"
-    groupRegex: ".*"
diff --git a/kafka/strimzi/templates/pool.yaml b/kafka/strimzi/templates/pool.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..be7ceb51d3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/kafka/strimzi/templates/pool.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+apiVersion: kafka.strimzi.io/v1beta2
+kind: KafkaNodePool
+metadata:
+  name: kafka
+  labels:
+    strimzi.io/cluster: {{ .Values.cluster.name }}
+spec:
+  replicas: {{ .Values.broker.replicas }}
+  roles:
+    - broker
+    - controller
+
+  resources:
+    requests:
+      cpu: '{{ .Values.broker.resources.cpu }}'
+      memory: '{{ .Values.broker.resources.memory }}'
+    limits:
+      memory: '{{ .Values.broker.resources.memory }}'
+  template:
+    pod:
+      tmpDirSizeLimit: {{ .Values.broker.tmpDirSizeLimit }}
+  storage:
+    type: jbod
+    volumes:
+      - id: 0
+        type: ephemeral
+        sizeLimit: {{ .Values.broker.kraftMetadataSizeLimit }}
+        kraftMetadata: shared
+      - id: 1
+        type: persistent-claim
+        size: {{ .Values.broker.pvcSize }}
+        deleteClaim: false
diff --git a/kafka/strimzi/values.yaml b/kafka/strimzi/values.yaml
index 223213a3fd..cdf5bb445a 100644
--- a/kafka/strimzi/values.yaml
+++ b/kafka/strimzi/values.yaml
@@ -2,7 +2,8 @@
 
 cluster:
   name: "seldon"
-  version: "3.3.1"
+  version: "3.8.0"
+  metadataVersion: "3.8.0"
 
 metrics:
   enabled: true
@@ -30,10 +31,10 @@ broker:
     initialDelaySeconds: 15
     timeoutSeconds: 5
 
-  interBrokerProtocolVersion: "3.3"
-
   tmpDirSizeLimit: 100Mi
 
+  kraftMetadataSizeLimit: 1Gi
+  
   pvcSize: 100Gi
 
   messageMaxBytes: 1000000000
@@ -50,15 +51,3 @@ topic:
   defaultReplicationFactor: 1
   minISR: 1
 
-zookeeper:
-  replicas: 1
-
-  readiness:
-    initialDelaySeconds: 15
-    timeoutSeconds: 5
-
-  liveness:
-    initialDelaySeconds: 15
-    timeoutSeconds: 5
-
-  pvcSize: 100Gi
diff --git a/operator/Makefile b/operator/Makefile
index 43ce171711..f58a30e9f7 100644
--- a/operator/Makefile
+++ b/operator/Makefile
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ IMG ?= ${DOCKERHUB_USERNAME}/seldonv2-controller:${CUSTOM_IMAGE_TAG}
 IMG_CLI ?= ${DOCKERHUB_USERNAME}/seldon-cli:${CUSTOM_IMAGE_TAG}
 AGENT_IMG ?= ${DOCKERHUB_USERNAME}/seldon-agent:${CUSTOM_IMAGE_TAG}
 RCLONE_IMG ?= ${DOCKERHUB_USERNAME}/seldon-rclone:${CUSTOM_IMAGE_TAG}
-MLSERVER_IMG ?= seldonio/mlserver:1.6.0
+MLSERVER_IMG ?= seldonio/mlserver:1.6.1
 TRITON_IMG ?= nvcr.io/nvidia/tritonserver:23.03-py3
 # ENVTEST_K8S_VERSION refers to the version of kubebuilder assets to be downloaded by envtest binary.
 ENVTEST_K8S_VERSION = 1.22
diff --git a/operator/config/serverconfigs/kustomization.yaml b/operator/config/serverconfigs/kustomization.yaml
index 1c751358e6..9f80734795 100644
--- a/operator/config/serverconfigs/kustomization.yaml
+++ b/operator/config/serverconfigs/kustomization.yaml
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ images:
   newTag: latest
 - name: mlserver
   newName: seldonio/mlserver
-  newTag: 1.6.0
+  newTag: 1.6.1
 - name: rclone
   newName: seldonio/seldon-rclone
   newTag: latest
diff --git a/samples/smoke-tests.sh b/samples/smoke-tests.sh
index e18997359b..8c1f84d810 100755
--- a/samples/smoke-tests.sh
+++ b/samples/smoke-tests.sh
@@ -28,13 +28,13 @@ function load() {
   else
       if [ $1 == "model" ]
       then
-            seldon model load -f $2
+            SELDON_FORCE_CONTROL_PLANE=true seldon model load -f $2
       elif [ $1 == "pipeline" ]
       then
-            seldon pipeline load -f $2
+            SELDON_FORCE_CONTROL_PLANE=true seldon pipeline load -f $2
       elif [ $1 == "experiment" ]
       then
-            seldon experiment start -f $2
+            SELDON_FORCE_CONTROL_PLANE=true seldon experiment start -f $2
       fi
   fi
 }
@@ -47,13 +47,13 @@ function unload() {
   else
       if [ $1 == "model" ]
       then
-            seldon model unload $2
+            SELDON_FORCE_CONTROL_PLANE=true seldon model unload $2
       elif [ $1 == "pipeline" ]
       then
-            seldon pipeline unload $2
+            SELDON_FORCE_CONTROL_PLANE=true seldon pipeline unload $2
       elif [ $1 == "experiment" ]
       then
-            seldon experiment stop $2
+            SELDON_FORCE_CONTROL_PLANE=true seldon experiment stop $2
       fi
   fi
 }
@@ -74,10 +74,10 @@ function status() {
   else
       if [ $1 == "model" ]
       then
-            seldon model status $2 -w ModelAvailable | jq -M .
+            seldon model status $2 -w ModelAvailable -t 10 | jq -M .
       elif [ $1 == "pipeline" ]
       then
-            seldon pipeline status $2 -w PipelineReady | jq -M .
+            seldon pipeline status $2 -w PipelineReady -t 10 | jq -M .
       elif [ $1 == "experiment" ]
       then
             seldon experiment status $2 -w | jq -M .
@@ -189,9 +189,9 @@ unload pipeline trigger-joins ./pipelines/trigger-joins.yaml
 unload model mul10 ./models/mul10.yaml
 unload model add10 ./models/add10.yaml
 
+sleep $sleepTime
 
 # MLServer
-sleep $sleepTime
 load model ./models/sklearn-iris-gs.yaml
 status model iris
 seldon model infer iris '{"inputs": [{"name": "predict", "shape": [1, 4], "datatype": "FP32", "data": [[1, 2, 3, 4]]}]}' 
@@ -199,6 +199,7 @@ seldon model infer iris --inference-mode grpc \
    '{"model_name":"iris","inputs":[{"name":"input","contents":{"fp32_contents":[1,2,3,4]},"datatype":"FP32","shape":[1,4]}]}' | jq -M .
 unload model iris ./models/sklearn-iris-gs.yaml
 
+sleep $sleepTime
 
 # Experiments
 load model ./models/sklearn1.yaml
diff --git a/samples/stress-tests.sh b/samples/stress-tests.sh
index 5aa55c9288..30d0e93de5 100755
--- a/samples/stress-tests.sh
+++ b/samples/stress-tests.sh
@@ -40,13 +40,13 @@ function load() {
   else
       if [ $1 == "model" ]
       then
-            seldon model load -f $2
+            SELDON_FORCE_CONTROL_PLANE=true seldon model load -f $2
       elif [ $1 == "pipeline" ]
       then
-            seldon pipeline load -f $2
+            SELDON_FORCE_CONTROL_PLANE=true seldon pipeline load -f $2
       elif [ $1 == "experiment" ]
       then
-            seldon experiment start -f $2
+            SELDON_FORCE_CONTROL_PLANE=true seldon experiment start -f $2
       fi
   fi
 }
@@ -59,13 +59,13 @@ function unload() {
   else
       if [ $1 == "model" ]
       then
-            seldon model unload $2
+            SELDON_FORCE_CONTROL_PLANE=true seldon model unload $2
       elif [ $1 == "pipeline" ]
       then
-            seldon pipeline unload $2
+            SELDON_FORCE_CONTROL_PLANE=true seldon pipeline unload $2
       elif [ $1 == "experiment" ]
       then
-            seldon experiment stop $2
+            SELDON_FORCE_CONTROL_PLANE=true seldon experiment stop $2
       fi
   fi
 }
@@ -86,13 +86,13 @@ function status() {
   else
       if [ $1 == "model" ]
       then
-            seldon model status $2 -w ModelAvailable | jq -M .
+            seldon model status $2 -w ModelAvailable -t 10 | jq -M .
       elif [ $1 == "pipeline" ]
       then
-            seldon pipeline status $2 -w PipelineReady | jq -M .
+            seldon pipeline status $2 -w PipelineReady -t 10 | jq -M .
       elif [ $1 == "experiment" ]
       then
-            seldon experiment status $2 -w | jq -M .
+            seldon experiment status $2 -w -t 10 | jq -M .
       fi
   fi
 }
diff --git a/scheduler/Makefile b/scheduler/Makefile
index b118dcbc6e..c7bb8d5e9e 100644
--- a/scheduler/Makefile
+++ b/scheduler/Makefile
@@ -8,9 +8,9 @@ ENVOY_IMG ?= ${DOCKERHUB_USERNAME}/seldon-envoy:${CUSTOM_IMAGE_TAG}
 GRAFANA_IMG ?= ${DOCKERHUB_USERNAME}/seldon-grafana:${CUSTOM_IMAGE_TAG}
 PROMETHEUS_IMG ?= prom/prometheus:latest
 HODOMETER_IMG ?= ${DOCKERHUB_USERNAME}/seldon-hodometer:${CUSTOM_IMAGE_TAG}
-KAFKA_IMG ?= docker.io/bitnami/kafka:3.3.1
+KAFKA_IMG ?= docker.io/bitnami/kafka:3.8.1
 ZOOKEEPER_IMG ?= docker.io/bitnami/zookeeper:3.8
-MLSERVER_IMG ?= seldonio/mlserver:1.6.0
+MLSERVER_IMG ?= seldonio/mlserver:1.6.1
 MODELGATEWAY_IMG ?= ${DOCKERHUB_USERNAME}/seldon-modelgateway:${CUSTOM_IMAGE_TAG}
 OTELCOL_IMG ?= otel/opentelemetry-collector-contrib-dev:latest
 JAEGER_IMG ?= jaegertracing/all-in-one:latest
diff --git a/scheduler/env.all b/scheduler/env.all
index 57cb872a21..10decc8a97 100644
--- a/scheduler/env.all
+++ b/scheduler/env.all
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ PIPELINEGATEWAY_IMAGE_AND_TAG=seldonio/seldon-pipelinegateway:latest
 SERVER_MLSERVER_IMAGE_AND_TAG=seldonio/mlserver:1.3.5
 SERVER_TRITON_IMAGE_AND_TAG=nvcr.io/nvidia/tritonserver:23.03-py3
 SCHEDULER_IMAGE_AND_TAG=seldonio/seldon-scheduler:latest
-KAFKA_IMAGE_AND_TAG=docker.io/bitnami/kafka:3.3
+KAFKA_IMAGE_AND_TAG=docker.io/bitnami/kafka:3.8
 GRAFANA_IMAGE_AND_TAG=seldonio/seldon-grafana:latest
 
 AGENT_OVERCOMMIT_PERCENTAGE=20