diff --git a/pkg/kubelet/cm/devicemanager/plugin/v1beta1/handler.go b/pkg/kubelet/cm/devicemanager/plugin/v1beta1/handler.go
index d1bca0cccae..204afd3d1b1 100644
--- a/pkg/kubelet/cm/devicemanager/plugin/v1beta1/handler.go
+++ b/pkg/kubelet/cm/devicemanager/plugin/v1beta1/handler.go
@@ -43,8 +43,8 @@ func (s *server) RegisterPlugin(pluginName string, endpoint string, versions []s
 	return s.connectClient(pluginName, endpoint)
 }
 
-func (s *server) DeRegisterPlugin(pluginName string) {
-	klog.V(2).InfoS("Deregistering plugin", "plugin", pluginName)
+func (s *server) DeRegisterPlugin(pluginName, endpoint string) {
+	klog.V(2).InfoS("Deregistering plugin", "plugin", pluginName, "endpoint", endpoint)
 	client := s.getClient(pluginName)
 	if client != nil {
 		s.disconnectClient(pluginName, client)
@@ -88,7 +88,6 @@ func (s *server) disconnectClient(name string, c Client) error {
 	s.deregisterClient(name)
 	return c.Disconnect()
 }
-
 func (s *server) registerClient(name string, c Client) {
 	s.mutex.Lock()
 	defer s.mutex.Unlock()
diff --git a/pkg/kubelet/cm/dra/manager.go b/pkg/kubelet/cm/dra/manager.go
index 8e965c6b694..26043a0fd28 100644
--- a/pkg/kubelet/cm/dra/manager.go
+++ b/pkg/kubelet/cm/dra/manager.go
@@ -98,7 +98,20 @@ func NewManagerImpl(kubeClient clientset.Interface, stateFileDirectory string, n
 }
 
 func (m *ManagerImpl) GetWatcherHandler() cache.PluginHandler {
-	return cache.PluginHandler(dra.NewRegistrationHandler(m.kubeClient, m.getNode))
+	// The time that DRA drivers have to come back after being unregistered
+	// before the kubelet removes their ResourceSlices.
+	//
+	// This must be long enough to actually allow stopping a pod and
+	// starting the replacement (otherwise ResourceSlices get deleted
+	// unnecessarily) and not too long (otherwise the time window were
+	// pods might still get scheduled to the node after removal of a
+	// driver is too long).
+	//
+	// 30 seconds might be long enough for a simple container restart.
+	// If a DRA driver wants to be sure that slices don't get wiped,
+	// it should use rolling updates.
+	wipingDelay := 30 * time.Second
+	return cache.PluginHandler(dra.NewRegistrationHandler(m.kubeClient, m.getNode, wipingDelay))
 }
 
 // Start starts the reconcile loop of the manager.
diff --git a/pkg/kubelet/cm/dra/manager_test.go b/pkg/kubelet/cm/dra/manager_test.go
index bc2448690a8..f65ac87575a 100644
--- a/pkg/kubelet/cm/dra/manager_test.go
+++ b/pkg/kubelet/cm/dra/manager_test.go
@@ -580,11 +580,11 @@ func TestPrepareResources(t *testing.T) {
 			}
 			defer draServerInfo.teardownFn()
 
-			plg := plugin.NewRegistrationHandler(nil, getFakeNode)
+			plg := plugin.NewRegistrationHandler(nil, getFakeNode, time.Second /* very short wiping delay for testing */)
 			if err := plg.RegisterPlugin(test.driverName, draServerInfo.socketName, []string{drapb.DRAPluginService}, pluginClientTimeout); err != nil {
 				t.Fatalf("failed to register plugin %s, err: %v", test.driverName, err)
 			}
-			defer plg.DeRegisterPlugin(test.driverName) // for sake of next tests
+			defer plg.DeRegisterPlugin(test.driverName, draServerInfo.socketName) // for sake of next tests
 
 			if test.claimInfo != nil {
 				manager.cache.add(test.claimInfo)
@@ -717,11 +717,11 @@ func TestUnprepareResources(t *testing.T) {
 			}
 			defer draServerInfo.teardownFn()
 
-			plg := plugin.NewRegistrationHandler(nil, getFakeNode)
+			plg := plugin.NewRegistrationHandler(nil, getFakeNode, time.Second /* very short wiping delay for testing */)
 			if err := plg.RegisterPlugin(test.driverName, draServerInfo.socketName, []string{drapb.DRAPluginService}, pluginClientTimeout); err != nil {
 				t.Fatalf("failed to register plugin %s, err: %v", test.driverName, err)
 			}
-			defer plg.DeRegisterPlugin(test.driverName) // for sake of next tests
+			defer plg.DeRegisterPlugin(test.driverName, draServerInfo.socketName) // for sake of next tests
 
 			manager := &ManagerImpl{
 				kubeClient: fakeKubeClient,
@@ -887,11 +887,11 @@ func TestParallelPrepareUnprepareResources(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 	defer draServerInfo.teardownFn()
 
-	plg := plugin.NewRegistrationHandler(nil, getFakeNode)
+	plg := plugin.NewRegistrationHandler(nil, getFakeNode, time.Second /* very short wiping delay for testing */)
 	if err := plg.RegisterPlugin(driverName, draServerInfo.socketName, []string{drapb.DRAPluginService}, nil); err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("failed to register plugin %s, err: %v", driverName, err)
 	}
-	defer plg.DeRegisterPlugin(driverName)
+	defer plg.DeRegisterPlugin(driverName, draServerInfo.socketName)
 
 	// Create ClaimInfo cache
 	cache, err := newClaimInfoCache(t.TempDir(), draManagerStateFileName)
diff --git a/pkg/kubelet/cm/dra/plugin/plugin_test.go b/pkg/kubelet/cm/dra/plugin/plugin_test.go
index 396c4439388..95f10083702 100644
--- a/pkg/kubelet/cm/dra/plugin/plugin_test.go
+++ b/pkg/kubelet/cm/dra/plugin/plugin_test.go
@@ -136,7 +136,7 @@ func TestGRPCConnIsReused(t *testing.T) {
 
 	// ensure the plugin we are using is registered
 	draPlugins.add(p)
-	defer draPlugins.delete(pluginName)
+	defer draPlugins.remove(pluginName, addr)
 
 	// we call `NodePrepareResource` 2 times and check whether a new connection is created or the same is reused
 	for i := 0; i < 2; i++ {
@@ -210,7 +210,7 @@ func TestNewDRAPluginClient(t *testing.T) {
 			setup: func(name string) tearDown {
 				draPlugins.add(&Plugin{name: name})
 				return func() {
-					draPlugins.delete(name)
+					draPlugins.remove(name, "")
 				}
 			},
 			pluginName: "dummy-plugin",
@@ -298,7 +298,7 @@ func TestGRPCMethods(t *testing.T) {
 			}
 
 			draPlugins.add(p)
-			defer draPlugins.delete(pluginName)
+			defer draPlugins.remove(pluginName, addr)
 
 			client, err := NewDRAPluginClient(pluginName)
 			if err != nil {
diff --git a/pkg/kubelet/cm/dra/plugin/plugins_store.go b/pkg/kubelet/cm/dra/plugin/plugins_store.go
index d2f36c17849..cc2fc240b5b 100644
--- a/pkg/kubelet/cm/dra/plugin/plugins_store.go
+++ b/pkg/kubelet/cm/dra/plugin/plugins_store.go
@@ -18,13 +18,16 @@ package plugin
 
 import (
 	"errors"
+	"fmt"
+	"slices"
 	"sync"
 )
 
 // PluginsStore holds a list of DRA Plugins.
 type pluginsStore struct {
 	sync.RWMutex
-	store map[string]*Plugin
+	// plugin name -> Plugin in the order in which they got added
+	store map[string][]*Plugin
 }
 
 // draPlugins map keeps track of all registered DRA plugins on the node
@@ -37,43 +40,57 @@ func (s *pluginsStore) get(pluginName string) *Plugin {
 	s.RLock()
 	defer s.RUnlock()
 
-	return s.store[pluginName]
+	instances := s.store[pluginName]
+	if len(instances) == 0 {
+		return nil
+	}
+	// Heuristic: pick the most recent one. It's most likely
+	// the newest, except when kubelet got restarted and registered
+	// all running plugins in random order.
+	return instances[len(instances)-1]
 }
 
 // Set lets you save a DRA Plugin to the list and give it a specific name.
 // This method is protected by a mutex.
-func (s *pluginsStore) add(p *Plugin) (replacedPlugin *Plugin, replaced bool) {
+func (s *pluginsStore) add(p *Plugin) error {
 	s.Lock()
 	defer s.Unlock()
 
 	if s.store == nil {
-		s.store = make(map[string]*Plugin)
+		s.store = make(map[string][]*Plugin)
 	}
-
-	replacedPlugin, exists := s.store[p.name]
-	s.store[p.name] = p
-
-	if replacedPlugin != nil && replacedPlugin.cancel != nil {
-		replacedPlugin.cancel(errors.New("plugin got replaced"))
+	for _, oldP := range s.store[p.name] {
+		if oldP.endpoint == p.endpoint {
+			// One plugin instance cannot hijack the endpoint of another instance.
+			return fmt.Errorf("endpoint %s already registered for plugin %s", p.endpoint, p.name)
+		}
 	}
-
-	return replacedPlugin, exists
+	s.store[p.name] = append(s.store[p.name], p)
+	return nil
 }
 
-// Delete lets you delete a DRA Plugin by name.
-// This method is protected by a mutex.
-func (s *pluginsStore) delete(pluginName string) *Plugin {
+// remove lets you remove one endpoint for a DRA Plugin.
+// This method is protected by a mutex. It returns the
+// plugin if found and true if that was the last instance
+func (s *pluginsStore) remove(pluginName, endpoint string) (*Plugin, bool) {
 	s.Lock()
 	defer s.Unlock()
 
-	p, exists := s.store[pluginName]
-	if !exists {
-		return nil
+	instances := s.store[pluginName]
+	i := slices.IndexFunc(instances, func(p *Plugin) bool { return p.endpoint == endpoint })
+	if i == -1 {
+		return nil, false
 	}
+	p := instances[i]
+	last := len(instances) == 1
+	if last {
+		delete(s.store, pluginName)
+	} else {
+		s.store[pluginName] = slices.Delete(instances, i, i+1)
+	}
+
 	if p.cancel != nil {
 		p.cancel(errors.New("plugin got removed"))
 	}
-	delete(s.store, pluginName)
-
-	return p
+	return p, last
 }
diff --git a/pkg/kubelet/cm/dra/plugin/plugins_store_test.go b/pkg/kubelet/cm/dra/plugin/plugins_store_test.go
index b4d95abf30e..2550aaa3dd1 100644
--- a/pkg/kubelet/cm/dra/plugin/plugins_store_test.go
+++ b/pkg/kubelet/cm/dra/plugin/plugins_store_test.go
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ import (
 	"testing"
 
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
 )
 
 func TestAddSameName(t *testing.T) {
@@ -30,26 +31,35 @@ func TestAddSameName(t *testing.T) {
 
 	firstWasCancelled := false
 	p := &Plugin{
-		name:   pluginName,
-		cancel: func(err error) { firstWasCancelled = true },
+		name:     pluginName,
+		endpoint: "old",
+		cancel:   func(err error) { firstWasCancelled = true },
 	}
 
 	// ensure the plugin we are using is registered
-	draPlugins.add(p)
-	defer draPlugins.delete(p.name)
+	require.NoError(t, draPlugins.add(p))
+	defer draPlugins.remove(p.name, p.endpoint)
 
 	assert.False(t, firstWasCancelled, "should not cancel context after the first call")
 
+	// Same name, same endpoint -> error.
+	require.Error(t, draPlugins.add(p))
+
 	secondWasCancelled := false
 	p2 := &Plugin{
-		name:   pluginName,
-		cancel: func(err error) { secondWasCancelled = true },
+		name:     pluginName,
+		endpoint: "new",
+		cancel:   func(err error) { secondWasCancelled = true },
 	}
+	require.NoError(t, draPlugins.add(p2))
+	defer draPlugins.remove(p2.name, p2.endpoint)
 
-	draPlugins.add(p2)
-	defer draPlugins.delete(p2.name)
+	assert.False(t, firstWasCancelled, "should not cancel context after registering the second instance")
+	assert.False(t, secondWasCancelled, "should not cancel context of a new plugin")
 
-	assert.True(t, firstWasCancelled, "should cancel context after the second call")
+	// Remove old plugin.
+	draPlugins.remove(p.name, p.endpoint)
+	assert.True(t, firstWasCancelled, "should have canceled context after the explicit removal")
 	assert.False(t, secondWasCancelled, "should not cancel context of a new plugin")
 }
 
@@ -65,7 +75,7 @@ func TestDelete(t *testing.T) {
 	// ensure the plugin we are using is registered
 	draPlugins.add(p)
 
-	draPlugins.delete(p.name)
+	draPlugins.remove(p.name, "")
 
 	assert.True(t, wasCancelled, "should cancel context after the second call")
 }
diff --git a/pkg/kubelet/cm/dra/plugin/registration.go b/pkg/kubelet/cm/dra/plugin/registration.go
index 23ddbb73a70..1d95e582e0a 100644
--- a/pkg/kubelet/cm/dra/plugin/registration.go
+++ b/pkg/kubelet/cm/dra/plugin/registration.go
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ import (
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"slices"
+	"sync"
 	"time"
 
 	v1 "k8s.io/api/core/v1"
@@ -53,6 +54,18 @@ type RegistrationHandler struct {
 	backgroundCtx context.Context
 	kubeClient    kubernetes.Interface
 	getNode       func() (*v1.Node, error)
+	wipingDelay   time.Duration
+
+	mutex sync.Mutex
+
+	// pendingWipes maps a plugin name to a cancel function for
+	// wiping of that plugin's ResourceSlices. Entries get added
+	// in DeRegisterPlugin and check in RegisterPlugin. If
+	// wiping is pending during RegisterPlugin, it gets canceled.
+	//
+	// Must use pointers to functions because the entries have to
+	// be comparable.
+	pendingWipes map[string]*context.CancelCauseFunc
 }
 
 var _ cache.PluginHandler = &RegistrationHandler{}
@@ -62,12 +75,14 @@ var _ cache.PluginHandler = &RegistrationHandler{}
 // Must only be called once per process because it manages global state.
 // If a kubeClient is provided, then it synchronizes ResourceSlices
 // with the resource information provided by plugins.
-func NewRegistrationHandler(kubeClient kubernetes.Interface, getNode func() (*v1.Node, error)) *RegistrationHandler {
+func NewRegistrationHandler(kubeClient kubernetes.Interface, getNode func() (*v1.Node, error), wipingDelay time.Duration) *RegistrationHandler {
 	handler := &RegistrationHandler{
 		// The context and thus logger should come from the caller.
 		backgroundCtx: klog.NewContext(context.TODO(), klog.LoggerWithName(klog.TODO(), "DRA registration handler")),
 		kubeClient:    kubeClient,
 		getNode:       getNode,
+		wipingDelay:   wipingDelay,
+		pendingWipes:  make(map[string]*context.CancelCauseFunc),
 	}
 
 	// When kubelet starts up, no DRA driver has registered yet. None of
@@ -77,19 +92,34 @@ func NewRegistrationHandler(kubeClient kubernetes.Interface, getNode func() (*v1
 	// to start up.
 	//
 	// This has to run in the background.
-	go handler.wipeResourceSlices("")
+	logger := klog.LoggerWithName(klog.FromContext(handler.backgroundCtx), "startup")
+	ctx := klog.NewContext(handler.backgroundCtx, logger)
+	go handler.wipeResourceSlices(ctx, 0 /* no delay */, "" /* all drivers */)
 
 	return handler
 }
 
 // wipeResourceSlices deletes ResourceSlices of the node, optionally just for a specific driver.
-func (h *RegistrationHandler) wipeResourceSlices(driver string) {
+// Wiping will delay for a while and can be canceled by canceling the context.
+func (h *RegistrationHandler) wipeResourceSlices(ctx context.Context, delay time.Duration, driver string) {
 	if h.kubeClient == nil {
 		return
 	}
-	ctx := h.backgroundCtx
 	logger := klog.FromContext(ctx)
 
+	if delay != 0 {
+		// Before we start deleting, give the driver time to bounce back.
+		// Perhaps it got removed as part of a DaemonSet update and the
+		// replacement pod is about to start.
+		logger.V(4).Info("Starting to wait before wiping ResourceSlices", "delay", delay)
+		select {
+		case <-ctx.Done():
+			logger.V(4).Info("Aborting wiping of ResourceSlices", "reason", context.Cause(ctx))
+		case <-time.After(delay):
+			logger.V(4).Info("Starting to wipe ResourceSlices after waiting", "delay", delay)
+		}
+	}
+
 	backoff := wait.Backoff{
 		Duration: time.Second,
 		Factor:   2,
@@ -148,10 +178,10 @@ func (h *RegistrationHandler) RegisterPlugin(pluginName string, endpoint string,
 	// into all log output related to the plugin.
 	ctx := h.backgroundCtx
 	logger := klog.FromContext(ctx)
-	logger = klog.LoggerWithValues(logger, "pluginName", pluginName)
+	logger = klog.LoggerWithValues(logger, "pluginName", pluginName, "endpoint", endpoint)
 	ctx = klog.NewContext(ctx, logger)
 
-	logger.V(3).Info("Register new DRA plugin", "endpoint", endpoint)
+	logger.V(3).Info("Register new DRA plugin")
 
 	chosenService, err := h.validateSupportedServices(pluginName, supportedServices)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -179,9 +209,19 @@ func (h *RegistrationHandler) RegisterPlugin(pluginName string, endpoint string,
 
 	// Storing endpoint of newly registered DRA Plugin into the map, where plugin name will be the key
 	// all other DRA components will be able to get the actual socket of DRA plugins by its name.
+	if err := draPlugins.add(pluginInstance); err != nil {
+		cancel(err)
+		// No wrapping, the error already contains details.
+		return err
+	}
 
-	if oldPlugin, replaced := draPlugins.add(pluginInstance); replaced {
-		logger.V(1).Info("DRA plugin already registered, the old plugin was replaced and will be forgotten by the kubelet till the next kubelet restart", "oldEndpoint", oldPlugin.endpoint)
+	// Now cancel any pending ResourceSlice wiping for this plugin.
+	// Only needs to be done once.
+	h.mutex.Lock()
+	defer h.mutex.Unlock()
+	if cancel := h.pendingWipes[pluginName]; cancel != nil {
+		(*cancel)(errors.New("new plugin instance registered"))
+		delete(h.pendingWipes, pluginName)
 	}
 
 	return nil
@@ -220,16 +260,51 @@ func (h *RegistrationHandler) validateSupportedServices(pluginName string, suppo
 
 // DeRegisterPlugin is called when a plugin has removed its socket,
 // signaling it is no longer available.
-func (h *RegistrationHandler) DeRegisterPlugin(pluginName string) {
-	if p := draPlugins.delete(pluginName); p != nil {
+func (h *RegistrationHandler) DeRegisterPlugin(pluginName, endpoint string) {
+	if p, last := draPlugins.remove(pluginName, endpoint); p != nil {
+		// This logger includes endpoint and pluginName.
 		logger := klog.FromContext(p.backgroundCtx)
-		logger.V(3).Info("Deregister DRA plugin", "endpoint", p.endpoint)
+		logger.V(3).Info("Deregister DRA plugin", "lastInstance", last)
+		if !last {
+			return
+		}
+
+		// Prepare for canceling the background wiping. This needs to run
+		// in the context of the registration handler, the one from
+		// the plugin is canceled.
+		logger = klog.FromContext(h.backgroundCtx)
+		logger = klog.LoggerWithName(logger, "driver-cleanup")
+		logger = klog.LoggerWithValues(logger, "pluginName", pluginName)
+		ctx, cancel := context.WithCancelCause(h.backgroundCtx)
+		ctx = klog.NewContext(ctx, logger)
 
 		// Clean up the ResourceSlices for the deleted Plugin since it
 		// may have died without doing so itself and might never come
 		// back.
-		go h.wipeResourceSlices(pluginName)
+		//
+		// May get canceled if the plugin comes back quickly enough
+		// (see RegisterPlugin).
+		h.mutex.Lock()
+		defer h.mutex.Unlock()
+		if cancel := h.pendingWipes[pluginName]; cancel != nil {
+			(*cancel)(errors.New("plugin deregistered a second time"))
+		}
+		h.pendingWipes[pluginName] = &cancel
 
+		go func() {
+			defer func() {
+				h.mutex.Lock()
+				defer h.mutex.Unlock()
+
+				// Cancel our own context, but remove it from the map only if it
+				// is the current entry. Perhaps it already got replaced.
+				cancel(errors.New("wiping done"))
+				if h.pendingWipes[pluginName] == &cancel {
+					delete(h.pendingWipes, pluginName)
+				}
+			}()
+			h.wipeResourceSlices(ctx, h.wipingDelay, pluginName)
+		}()
 		return
 	}
 
diff --git a/pkg/kubelet/cm/dra/plugin/registration_test.go b/pkg/kubelet/cm/dra/plugin/registration_test.go
index 949682f6aab..59f3099ab65 100644
--- a/pkg/kubelet/cm/dra/plugin/registration_test.go
+++ b/pkg/kubelet/cm/dra/plugin/registration_test.go
@@ -157,7 +157,7 @@ func TestRegistrationHandler(t *testing.T) {
 			}
 
 			// The handler wipes all slices at startup.
-			handler := NewRegistrationHandler(client, getFakeNode)
+			handler := NewRegistrationHandler(client, getFakeNode, time.Second /* very short wiping delay for testing */)
 			requireNoSlices := func() {
 				t.Helper()
 				if client == nil {
@@ -176,6 +176,10 @@ func TestRegistrationHandler(t *testing.T) {
 			// Simulate one existing plugin A.
 			err := handler.RegisterPlugin(pluginA, endpointA, []string{drapb.DRAPluginService}, nil)
 			require.NoError(t, err)
+			t.Cleanup(func() {
+				tCtx.Logf("Removing plugin %s", pluginA)
+				handler.DeRegisterPlugin(pluginA, endpointA)
+			})
 
 			err = handler.ValidatePlugin(test.pluginName, test.endpoint, test.supportedServices)
 			if test.shouldError {
@@ -206,9 +210,10 @@ func TestRegistrationHandler(t *testing.T) {
 					assert.NoError(t, err, "recreate slice")
 				}
 
-				handler.DeRegisterPlugin(test.pluginName)
+				tCtx.Logf("Removing plugin %s", test.pluginName)
+				handler.DeRegisterPlugin(test.pluginName, test.endpoint)
 				// Nop.
-				handler.DeRegisterPlugin(test.pluginName)
+				handler.DeRegisterPlugin(test.pluginName, test.endpoint)
 
 				requireNoSlices()
 			})
diff --git a/pkg/kubelet/pluginmanager/cache/actual_state_of_world.go b/pkg/kubelet/pluginmanager/cache/actual_state_of_world.go
index 50b5658af04..cdaa42c0a3a 100644
--- a/pkg/kubelet/pluginmanager/cache/actual_state_of_world.go
+++ b/pkg/kubelet/pluginmanager/cache/actual_state_of_world.go
@@ -89,6 +89,7 @@ type PluginInfo struct {
 	UUID       types.UID
 	Handler    PluginHandler
 	Name       string
+	Endpoint   string
 }
 
 func (asw *actualStateOfWorld) AddPlugin(pluginInfo PluginInfo) error {
diff --git a/pkg/kubelet/pluginmanager/cache/types.go b/pkg/kubelet/pluginmanager/cache/types.go
index 0656bc90646..bcffd117ef2 100644
--- a/pkg/kubelet/pluginmanager/cache/types.go
+++ b/pkg/kubelet/pluginmanager/cache/types.go
@@ -56,5 +56,5 @@ type PluginHandler interface {
 	RegisterPlugin(pluginName, endpoint string, versions []string, pluginClientTimeout *time.Duration) error
 	// DeRegisterPlugin is called once the pluginwatcher observes that the socket has
 	// been deleted.
-	DeRegisterPlugin(pluginName string)
+	DeRegisterPlugin(pluginName, endpoint string)
 }
diff --git a/pkg/kubelet/pluginmanager/operationexecutor/operation_generator.go b/pkg/kubelet/pluginmanager/operationexecutor/operation_generator.go
index 310961c2e64..7b6fbba5b50 100644
--- a/pkg/kubelet/pluginmanager/operationexecutor/operation_generator.go
+++ b/pkg/kubelet/pluginmanager/operationexecutor/operation_generator.go
@@ -118,6 +118,7 @@ func (og *operationGenerator) GenerateRegisterPluginFunc(
 			UUID:       pluginUUID,
 			Handler:    handler,
 			Name:       infoResp.Name,
+			Endpoint:   infoResp.Endpoint,
 		})
 		if err != nil {
 			klog.ErrorS(err, "RegisterPlugin error -- failed to add plugin", "path", socketPath)
@@ -147,7 +148,7 @@ func (og *operationGenerator) GenerateUnregisterPluginFunc(
 		// so that if we receive a register event during Register Plugin, we can process it as a Register call.
 		actualStateOfWorldUpdater.RemovePlugin(pluginInfo.SocketPath)
 
-		pluginInfo.Handler.DeRegisterPlugin(pluginInfo.Name)
+		pluginInfo.Handler.DeRegisterPlugin(pluginInfo.Name, pluginInfo.Endpoint)
 
 		klog.V(4).InfoS("DeRegisterPlugin called", "pluginName", pluginInfo.Name, "pluginHandler", pluginInfo.Handler)
 		return nil
diff --git a/pkg/kubelet/pluginmanager/plugin_manager_test.go b/pkg/kubelet/pluginmanager/plugin_manager_test.go
index 407f821977e..99aa22ad7ae 100644
--- a/pkg/kubelet/pluginmanager/plugin_manager_test.go
+++ b/pkg/kubelet/pluginmanager/plugin_manager_test.go
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ func newFakePluginHandler() *fakePluginHandler {
 func (f *fakePluginHandler) ValidatePlugin(pluginName string, endpoint string, versions []string) error {
 	f.Lock()
 	defer f.Unlock()
-	f.events = append(f.events, "validate "+pluginName)
+	f.events = append(f.events, "validate "+pluginName+" "+endpoint)
 	return nil
 }
 
@@ -62,15 +62,15 @@ func (f *fakePluginHandler) ValidatePlugin(pluginName string, endpoint string, v
 func (f *fakePluginHandler) RegisterPlugin(pluginName, endpoint string, versions []string, pluginClientTimeout *time.Duration) error {
 	f.Lock()
 	defer f.Unlock()
-	f.events = append(f.events, "register "+pluginName)
+	f.events = append(f.events, "register "+pluginName+" "+endpoint)
 	return nil
 }
 
 // DeRegisterPlugin is a fake method
-func (f *fakePluginHandler) DeRegisterPlugin(pluginName string) {
+func (f *fakePluginHandler) DeRegisterPlugin(pluginName, endpoint string) {
 	f.Lock()
 	defer f.Unlock()
-	f.events = append(f.events, "deregister "+pluginName)
+	f.events = append(f.events, "deregister "+pluginName+" "+endpoint)
 }
 
 func (f *fakePluginHandler) Reset() {
@@ -93,8 +93,24 @@ func cleanup(t *testing.T) {
 	os.MkdirAll(socketDir, 0755)
 }
 
-func waitForRegistration(t *testing.T, fakePluginHandler *fakePluginHandler, pluginName string) {
-	expected := []string{"validate " + pluginName, "register " + pluginName}
+func waitForRegistration(t *testing.T, fakePluginHandler *fakePluginHandler, pluginName, endpoint string) {
+	t.Helper()
+	waitFor(t, fakePluginHandler,
+		[]string{"validate " + pluginName + " " + endpoint, "register " + pluginName + " " + endpoint},
+		"Timed out waiting for plugin to be added to actual state of world cache.",
+	)
+}
+
+func waitForDeRegistration(t *testing.T, fakePluginHandler *fakePluginHandler, pluginName, endpoint string) {
+	t.Helper()
+	waitFor(t, fakePluginHandler,
+		[]string{"deregister " + pluginName + " " + endpoint},
+		"Timed out waiting for plugin to be removed from actual state of the world cache.",
+	)
+}
+
+func waitFor(t *testing.T, fakePluginHandler *fakePluginHandler, expected []string, what string) {
+	t.Helper()
 	err := retryWithExponentialBackOff(
 		100*time.Millisecond,
 		func() (bool, error) {
@@ -108,7 +124,7 @@ func waitForRegistration(t *testing.T, fakePluginHandler *fakePluginHandler, plu
 		},
 	)
 	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("Timed out waiting for plugin to be added to actual state of world cache.")
+		t.Fatal(what)
 	}
 }
 
@@ -122,7 +138,7 @@ func retryWithExponentialBackOff(initialDuration time.Duration, fn wait.Conditio
 	return wait.ExponentialBackoff(backoff, fn)
 }
 
-func TestPluginRegistration(t *testing.T) {
+func TestPluginManager(t *testing.T) {
 	defer cleanup(t)
 
 	pluginManager := newTestPluginManager(socketDir)
@@ -157,7 +173,12 @@ func TestPluginRegistration(t *testing.T) {
 		require.NoError(t, p.Serve("v1beta1", "v1beta2"))
 
 		// Verify that the plugin is registered
-		waitForRegistration(t, fakeHandler, pluginName)
+		waitForRegistration(t, fakeHandler, pluginName, socketPath)
+
+		// And unregister.
+		fakeHandler.Reset()
+		require.NoError(t, p.Stop())
+		waitForDeRegistration(t, fakeHandler, pluginName, socketPath)
 	}
 }
 
diff --git a/pkg/kubelet/pluginmanager/pluginwatcher/README.md b/pkg/kubelet/pluginmanager/pluginwatcher/README.md
index aebbfd10254..9403829a2fb 100644
--- a/pkg/kubelet/pluginmanager/pluginwatcher/README.md
+++ b/pkg/kubelet/pluginmanager/pluginwatcher/README.md
@@ -16,6 +16,92 @@ there.
 
 This socket filename should not start with a '.' as it will be ignored.
 
+To avoid conflicts between different plugins, the recommendation is to use
+`<plugin name>[-<some optional string>].sock` as filename. `<plugin name>`
+should end with a DNS domain that is unique for the plugin. Each time a plugin
+starts, it has to delete old sockets if they exist and listen anew under the
+same filename.
+
+## Seamless Upgrade
+
+To avoid downtime of a plugin on a node, it would be nice to support running an
+old plugin in parallel to the new plugin. When deploying with a DaemonSet,
+setting `maxSurge` to a value larger than zero enables such a seamless upgrade.
+
+**Warning**: Such a seamless upgrade is only supported for DRA at the moment.
+
+### In a plugin
+
+*Note*: For DRA, the
+[k8s.io/dynamic-resource-allocation](https://pkg.go.dev/k8s.io/dynamic-resource-allocation/kubeletplugin)
+helper package offers the `RollingUpdate` option which implements the socket
+handling as described in this section.
+
+To support seamless upgrades, each plugin instance must use a unique
+socket filename. Otherwise the following could happen:
+- The old instance is registered with `plugin.example.com-reg.sock`.
+- The new instance starts, unlinks that file, and starts listening on it again.
+- In parallel, the kubelet notices the removal and unregisters the plugin
+  before probing the new instance, thus breaking the seamless upgrade.
+
+Even if the timing is more favorable and unregistration is avoided, using the
+same socket is problematic: if the new instance fails, the kubelet cannot fall
+back to the old instance because that old instance is not listening to the
+socket that is available under `plugin.example.com-reg.sock`.
+
+This can be achieved in a DaemonSet by passing the UID of the pod into the pod
+through the downward API. New instances may try to clean up stale sockets of
+older instances, but have to be absolutely sure that those sockets really
+aren't in use anymore. Each instance should catch termination signals and clean
+up after itself. Then sockets only leak during abnormal events (power loss,
+killing with SIGKILL).
+
+Last but not least, both plugin instances must be usable in parallel. It is not
+predictable which instance the kubelet will use for which request.
+
+### In the kubelet
+
+For such a seamless upgrade with different sockets per plugin to work reliably,
+the handler for the plugin type must track all registered instances. Then if
+one of them fails and gets unregistered, it can fall back to some
+other. Picking the most recently registered instance is a good heuristic. This
+isn't perfect because after a kubelet restart, plugin instances get registered
+in a random order. Restarting the kubelet in the middle of an upgrade should be
+rare.
+
+At the moment, the following handlers do not support such seamless upgrades:
+
+- The device plugin handler suffers from temporarily removing the extended
+  resources during an upgrade. A proposed fix is pending in
+  https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/127821.
+
+- The CSI handler [tries to determine which instance is newer](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/7140b4910c6c1179c9778a7f3bb8037356febd58/pkg/volume/csi/csi_plugin.go#L115-L125) based on the supported version(s) and
+  only remembers that one. If that newest instance fails, there is no fallback.
+
+  In practice, most CSI drivers probably all pass [the hard-coded "1.0.0"](https://github.com/kubernetes-csi/node-driver-registrar/blob/27700e2962cd35b9f2336a156146181e5c75399e/cmd/csi-node-driver-registrar/main.go#L72)
+  from the csi-node-registrar as supported version, so this version
+  selection mechanism isn't used at all.
+
+This supports it:
+
+- DRA
+
+### Deployment
+
+Deploying a plugin with support for seamless upgrades and per-instance socket
+filenames is *not* compatible with a kubelet version that does not have support
+for seamless upgrades yet. It breaks like this:
+
+- New instance starts, gets registered and replaces the old one.
+- Old instance stops, removing its socket.
+- The kubelet notices that, unregisters the plugin.
+- The plugin handler removes *the new* instance because it ignores the socket path -> no instance left.
+
+Plugin authors either have to assume that the cluster has a recent enough
+kubelet or rely on labeling nodes with support. Then the plugin can use one
+simple DaemonSet for nodes without support and another, more complex one where
+`maxSurge` is increased to enable seamless upgrades on nodes which support it.
+No such label is specified at the moment.
 
 ## gRPC Service Lifecycle
 
diff --git a/pkg/kubelet/pluginmanager/reconciler/reconciler_test.go b/pkg/kubelet/pluginmanager/reconciler/reconciler_test.go
index 41d8b46f4cd..68e72ddcaae 100644
--- a/pkg/kubelet/pluginmanager/reconciler/reconciler_test.go
+++ b/pkg/kubelet/pluginmanager/reconciler/reconciler_test.go
@@ -132,7 +132,7 @@ func (d *DummyImpl) RegisterPlugin(pluginName string, endpoint string, versions
 }
 
 // DeRegisterPlugin is a dummy implementation
-func (d *DummyImpl) DeRegisterPlugin(pluginName string) {
+func (d *DummyImpl) DeRegisterPlugin(pluginName, endpoint string) {
 }
 
 // Calls Run()
diff --git a/pkg/volume/csi/csi_plugin.go b/pkg/volume/csi/csi_plugin.go
index 54c28494754..902f31e9911 100644
--- a/pkg/volume/csi/csi_plugin.go
+++ b/pkg/volume/csi/csi_plugin.go
@@ -265,8 +265,8 @@ func (h *RegistrationHandler) validateVersions(callerName, pluginName string, en
 
 // DeRegisterPlugin is called when a plugin removed its socket, signaling
 // it is no longer available
-func (h *RegistrationHandler) DeRegisterPlugin(pluginName string) {
-	klog.Info(log("registrationHandler.DeRegisterPlugin request for plugin %s", pluginName))
+func (h *RegistrationHandler) DeRegisterPlugin(pluginName, endpoint string) {
+	klog.Info(log("registrationHandler.DeRegisterPlugin request for plugin %s, endpoint %s", pluginName, endpoint))
 	if err := unregisterDriver(pluginName); err != nil {
 		klog.Error(log("registrationHandler.DeRegisterPlugin failed: %v", err))
 	}
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/dynamic-resource-allocation/go.mod b/staging/src/k8s.io/dynamic-resource-allocation/go.mod
index b152fb0bbfb..451a9332d4a 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/dynamic-resource-allocation/go.mod
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/dynamic-resource-allocation/go.mod
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ require (
 	github.com/google/go-cmp v0.7.0
 	github.com/onsi/gomega v1.35.1
 	github.com/stretchr/testify v1.10.0
+	go.etcd.io/etcd/client/pkg/v3 v3.5.16
 	google.golang.org/grpc v1.68.1
 	k8s.io/api v0.0.0
 	k8s.io/apimachinery v0.0.0
@@ -57,6 +58,8 @@ require (
 	github.com/x448/float16 v0.8.4 // indirect
 	go.opentelemetry.io/otel v1.33.0 // indirect
 	go.opentelemetry.io/otel/trace v1.33.0 // indirect
+	go.uber.org/multierr v1.11.0 // indirect
+	go.uber.org/zap v1.27.0 // indirect
 	golang.org/x/exp v0.0.0-20240719175910-8a7402abbf56 // indirect
 	golang.org/x/net v0.33.0 // indirect
 	golang.org/x/oauth2 v0.27.0 // indirect
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/dynamic-resource-allocation/go.sum b/staging/src/k8s.io/dynamic-resource-allocation/go.sum
index 991e9276662..aae134cac79 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/dynamic-resource-allocation/go.sum
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/dynamic-resource-allocation/go.sum
@@ -158,6 +158,7 @@ github.com/yuin/goldmark v1.1.27/go.mod h1:3hX8gzYuyVAZsxl0MRgGTJEmQBFcNTphYh9de
 github.com/yuin/goldmark v1.2.1/go.mod h1:3hX8gzYuyVAZsxl0MRgGTJEmQBFcNTphYh9decYSb74=
 go.etcd.io/bbolt v1.3.11/go.mod h1:dksAq7YMXoljX0xu6VF5DMZGbhYYoLUalEiSySYAS4I=
 go.etcd.io/etcd/api/v3 v3.5.16/go.mod h1:1P4SlIP/VwkDmGo3OlOD7faPeP8KDIFhqvciH5EfN28=
+go.etcd.io/etcd/client/pkg/v3 v3.5.16 h1:ZgY48uH6UvB+/7R9Yf4x574uCO3jIx0TRDyetSfId3Q=
 go.etcd.io/etcd/client/pkg/v3 v3.5.16/go.mod h1:V8acl8pcEK0Y2g19YlOV9m9ssUe6MgiDSobSoaBAM0E=
 go.etcd.io/etcd/client/v2 v2.305.16/go.mod h1:h9YxWCzcdvZENbfzBTFCnoNumr2ax3F19sKMqHFmXHE=
 go.etcd.io/etcd/client/v3 v3.5.16/go.mod h1:X+rExSGkyqxvu276cr2OwPLBaeqFu1cIl4vmRjAD/50=
@@ -176,9 +177,12 @@ go.opentelemetry.io/otel/sdk v1.33.0/go.mod h1:A1Q5oi7/9XaMlIWzPSxLRWOI8nG3FnzHJ
 go.opentelemetry.io/otel/trace v1.33.0 h1:cCJuF7LRjUFso9LPnEAHJDB2pqzp+hbO8eu1qqW2d/s=
 go.opentelemetry.io/otel/trace v1.33.0/go.mod h1:uIcdVUZMpTAmz0tI1z04GoVSezK37CbGV4fr1f2nBck=
 go.opentelemetry.io/proto/otlp v1.4.0/go.mod h1:PPBWZIP98o2ElSqI35IHfu7hIhSwvc5N38Jw8pXuGFY=
+go.uber.org/atomic v1.7.0/go.mod h1:fEN4uk6kAWBTFdckzkM89CLk9XfWZrxpCo0nPH17wJc=
 go.uber.org/goleak v1.3.0 h1:2K3zAYmnTNqV73imy9J1T3WC+gmCePx2hEGkimedGto=
 go.uber.org/goleak v1.3.0/go.mod h1:CoHD4mav9JJNrW/WLlf7HGZPjdw8EucARQHekz1X6bE=
+go.uber.org/multierr v1.11.0 h1:blXXJkSxSSfBVBlC76pxqeO+LN3aDfLQo+309xJstO0=
 go.uber.org/multierr v1.11.0/go.mod h1:20+QtiLqy0Nd6FdQB9TLXag12DsQkrbs3htMFfDN80Y=
+go.uber.org/zap v1.27.0 h1:aJMhYGrd5QSmlpLMr2MftRKl7t8J8PTZPA732ud/XR8=
 go.uber.org/zap v1.27.0/go.mod h1:GB2qFLM7cTU87MWRP2mPIjqfIDnGu+VIO4V/SdhGo2E=
 golang.org/x/crypto v0.0.0-20190308221718-c2843e01d9a2/go.mod h1:djNgcEr1/C05ACkg1iLfiJU5Ep61QUkGW8qpdssI0+w=
 golang.org/x/crypto v0.0.0-20191011191535-87dc89f01550/go.mod h1:yigFU9vqHzYiE8UmvKecakEJjdnWj3jj499lnFckfCI=
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/dynamic-resource-allocation/kubeletplugin/draplugin.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/dynamic-resource-allocation/kubeletplugin/draplugin.go
index 57602cdaee0..92f1af253e1 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/dynamic-resource-allocation/kubeletplugin/draplugin.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/dynamic-resource-allocation/kubeletplugin/draplugin.go
@@ -21,12 +21,14 @@ import (
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"net"
+	"os"
 	"path"
 	"sync"
 
 	"google.golang.org/grpc"
 	"k8s.io/klog/v2"
 
+	"go.etcd.io/etcd/client/pkg/v3/fileutil"
 	resourceapi "k8s.io/api/resource/v1beta1"
 	metav1 "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/types"
@@ -195,8 +197,10 @@ func RegistrarDirectoryPath(path string) Option {
 // support updates from an installation which used an older release of
 // of the helper code.
 //
-// The default is <driver name>-reg.sock. When rolling updates are enabled (not supported yet),
+// The default is <driver name>-reg.sock. When rolling updates are enabled,
 // it is <driver name>-<uid>-reg.sock.
+//
+// This option and [RollingUpdate] are mutually exclusive.
 func RegistrarSocketFilename(name string) Option {
 	return func(o *options) error {
 		o.pluginRegistrationEndpoint.file = name
@@ -248,6 +252,44 @@ func PluginListener(listen func(ctx context.Context, path string) (net.Listener,
 	}
 }
 
+// RollingUpdate can be used to enable support for running two plugin instances
+// in parallel while a newer instance replaces the older. When enabled, both
+// instances must share the same plugin data directory and driver name.
+// They create different sockets to allow the kubelet to connect to both at
+// the same time.
+//
+// There is no guarantee which of the two instances are used by kubelet.
+// For example, it can happen that a claim gets prepared by one instance
+// and then needs to be unprepared by the other. Kubelet then may fall back
+// to the first one again for some other operation. In practice this means
+// that each instance must be entirely stateless across method calls.
+// Serialization (on by default, see [Serialize]) ensures that methods
+// are serialized across all instances through file locking. The plugin
+// implementation can load shared state from a file at the start
+// of a call, execute and then store the updated shared state again.
+//
+// Passing a non-empty uid enables rolling updates, an empty uid disables it.
+// The uid must be the pod UID. A DaemonSet can pass that into the driver container
+// via the downward API (https://kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/workloads/pods/downward-api/#downwardapi-fieldRef).
+//
+// Because new instances cannot remove stale sockets of older instances,
+// it is important that each pod shuts down cleanly: it must catch SIGINT/TERM
+// and stop the helper instead of quitting immediately.
+//
+// This depends on support in the kubelet which was added in Kubernetes 1.33.
+// Don't use this if it is not certain that the kubelet has that support!
+//
+// This option and [RegistrarSocketFilename] are mutually exclusive.
+func RollingUpdate(uid types.UID) Option {
+	return func(o *options) error {
+		o.rollingUpdateUID = uid
+
+		// TODO: ask the kubelet whether that pod is still running and
+		// clean up leftover sockets?
+		return nil
+	}
+}
+
 // GRPCInterceptor is called for each incoming gRPC method call. This option
 // may be used more than once and each interceptor will get called.
 func GRPCInterceptor(interceptor grpc.UnaryServerInterceptor) Option {
@@ -322,6 +364,17 @@ func Serialize(enabled bool) Option {
 	}
 }
 
+// FlockDir changes where lock files are created and locked. A lock file
+// is needed when serializing gRPC calls and rolling updates are enabled.
+// The directory must exist and be reserved for exclusive use by the
+// driver. The default is the plugin data directory.
+func FlockDirectoryPath(path string) Option {
+	return func(o *options) error {
+		o.flockDirectoryPath = path
+		return nil
+	}
+}
+
 type options struct {
 	logger                     klog.Logger
 	grpcVerbosity              int
@@ -330,11 +383,13 @@ type options struct {
 	nodeUID                    types.UID
 	pluginRegistrationEndpoint endpoint
 	pluginDataDirectoryPath    string
+	rollingUpdateUID           types.UID
 	draEndpointListen          func(ctx context.Context, path string) (net.Listener, error)
 	unaryInterceptors          []grpc.UnaryServerInterceptor
 	streamInterceptors         []grpc.StreamServerInterceptor
 	kubeClient                 kubernetes.Interface
 	serialize                  bool
+	flockDirectoryPath         string
 	nodeV1beta1                bool
 }
 
@@ -344,17 +399,18 @@ type Helper struct {
 	// backgroundCtx is for activities that are started later.
 	backgroundCtx context.Context
 	// cancel cancels the backgroundCtx.
-	cancel       func(cause error)
-	wg           sync.WaitGroup
-	registrar    *nodeRegistrar
-	pluginServer *grpcServer
-	plugin       DRAPlugin
-	driverName   string
-	nodeName     string
-	nodeUID      types.UID
-	kubeClient   kubernetes.Interface
-	serialize    bool
-	grpcMutex    sync.Mutex
+	cancel           func(cause error)
+	wg               sync.WaitGroup
+	registrar        *nodeRegistrar
+	pluginServer     *grpcServer
+	plugin           DRAPlugin
+	driverName       string
+	nodeName         string
+	nodeUID          types.UID
+	kubeClient       kubernetes.Interface
+	serialize        bool
+	grpcMutex        sync.Mutex
+	grpcLockFilePath string
 
 	// Information about resource publishing changes concurrently and thus
 	// must be protected by the mutex. The controller gets started only
@@ -392,12 +448,20 @@ func Start(ctx context.Context, plugin DRAPlugin, opts ...Option) (result *Helpe
 	if o.driverName == "" {
 		return nil, errors.New("driver name must be set")
 	}
+	if o.rollingUpdateUID != "" && o.pluginRegistrationEndpoint.file != "" {
+		return nil, errors.New("rolling updates and explicit registration socket filename are mutually exclusive")
+	}
+	uidPart := ""
+	if o.rollingUpdateUID != "" {
+		uidPart = "-" + string(o.rollingUpdateUID)
+	}
 	if o.pluginRegistrationEndpoint.file == "" {
-		o.pluginRegistrationEndpoint.file = o.driverName + "-reg.sock"
+		o.pluginRegistrationEndpoint.file = o.driverName + uidPart + "-reg.sock"
 	}
 	if o.pluginDataDirectoryPath == "" {
 		o.pluginDataDirectoryPath = path.Join(KubeletPluginsDir, o.driverName)
 	}
+
 	d := &Helper{
 		driverName: o.driverName,
 		nodeName:   o.nodeName,
@@ -406,6 +470,14 @@ func Start(ctx context.Context, plugin DRAPlugin, opts ...Option) (result *Helpe
 		serialize:  o.serialize,
 		plugin:     plugin,
 	}
+	if o.rollingUpdateUID != "" {
+		dir := o.pluginDataDirectoryPath
+		if o.flockDirectoryPath != "" {
+			dir = o.flockDirectoryPath
+		}
+		// Enable file locking, required for concurrently running pods.
+		d.grpcLockFilePath = path.Join(dir, "serialize.lock")
+	}
 
 	// Stop calls cancel and therefore both cancellation
 	// and Stop cause goroutines to stop.
@@ -434,7 +506,7 @@ func Start(ctx context.Context, plugin DRAPlugin, opts ...Option) (result *Helpe
 	var supportedServices []string
 	draEndpoint := endpoint{
 		dir:        o.pluginDataDirectoryPath,
-		file:       "dra.sock", // "dra" is hard-coded.
+		file:       "dra" + uidPart + ".sock", // "dra" is hard-coded. The directory is unique, so we get a unique full path also without the UID.
 		listenFunc: o.draEndpointListen,
 	}
 	pluginServer, err := startGRPCServer(klog.LoggerWithName(logger, "dra"), o.grpcVerbosity, o.unaryInterceptors, o.streamInterceptors, draEndpoint, func(grpcServer *grpc.Server) {
@@ -575,12 +647,25 @@ func (d *Helper) RegistrationStatus() *registerapi.RegistrationStatus {
 // serializeGRPCIfEnabled locks a mutex if serialization is enabled.
 // Either way it returns a method that the caller must invoke
 // via defer.
-func (d *Helper) serializeGRPCIfEnabled() func() {
+func (d *Helper) serializeGRPCIfEnabled() (func(), error) {
 	if !d.serialize {
-		return func() {}
+		return func() {}, nil
 	}
+
+	// If rolling updates are enabled, we cannot do only in-memory locking.
+	// We must use file locking.
+	if d.grpcLockFilePath != "" {
+		file, err := fileutil.LockFile(d.grpcLockFilePath, os.O_RDWR|os.O_CREATE, 0666)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("lock file: %w", err)
+		}
+		return func() {
+			_ = file.Close()
+		}, nil
+	}
+
 	d.grpcMutex.Lock()
-	return d.grpcMutex.Unlock
+	return d.grpcMutex.Unlock, nil
 }
 
 // nodePluginImplementation is a thin wrapper around the helper instance.
@@ -597,7 +682,11 @@ func (d *nodePluginImplementation) NodePrepareResources(ctx context.Context, req
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("get resource claims: %w", err)
 	}
 
-	defer d.serializeGRPCIfEnabled()()
+	unlock, err := d.serializeGRPCIfEnabled()
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("serialize gRPC: %w", err)
+	}
+	defer unlock()
 
 	result, err := d.plugin.PrepareResourceClaims(ctx, claims)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -659,7 +748,11 @@ func (d *nodePluginImplementation) getResourceClaims(ctx context.Context, claims
 
 // NodeUnprepareResources implements [draapi.NodeUnprepareResources].
 func (d *nodePluginImplementation) NodeUnprepareResources(ctx context.Context, req *drapb.NodeUnprepareResourcesRequest) (*drapb.NodeUnprepareResourcesResponse, error) {
-	defer d.serializeGRPCIfEnabled()
+	unlock, err := d.serializeGRPCIfEnabled()
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("serialize gRPC: %w", err)
+	}
+	defer unlock()
 
 	claims := make([]NamespacedObject, 0, len(req.Claims))
 	for _, claim := range req.Claims {
diff --git a/test/e2e/dra/deploy.go b/test/e2e/dra/deploy.go
index 37fc5226e0e..ba6ef51fa3b 100644
--- a/test/e2e/dra/deploy.go
+++ b/test/e2e/dra/deploy.go
@@ -66,6 +66,7 @@ import (
 	e2eskipper "k8s.io/kubernetes/test/e2e/framework/skipper"
 	"k8s.io/kubernetes/test/e2e/storage/drivers/proxy"
 	"k8s.io/kubernetes/test/e2e/storage/utils"
+	"k8s.io/utils/ptr"
 	"sigs.k8s.io/yaml"
 )
 
@@ -76,6 +77,7 @@ const (
 
 type Nodes struct {
 	NodeNames []string
+	tempDir   string
 }
 
 type Resources struct {
@@ -111,6 +113,8 @@ func NewNodesNow(ctx context.Context, f *framework.Framework, minNodes, maxNodes
 }
 
 func (nodes *Nodes) init(ctx context.Context, f *framework.Framework, minNodes, maxNodes int) {
+	nodes.tempDir = ginkgo.GinkgoT().TempDir()
+
 	ginkgo.By("selecting nodes")
 	// The kubelet plugin is harder. We deploy the builtin manifest
 	// after patching in the driver name and all nodes on which we
@@ -214,11 +218,16 @@ func (d *Driver) Run(nodes *Nodes, configureResources func() Resources, devicesP
 		// not run on all nodes.
 		resources.Nodes = nodes.NodeNames
 	}
-	ginkgo.DeferCleanup(d.IsGone) // Register first so it gets called last.
 	d.SetUp(nodes, resources, devicesPerNode...)
 	ginkgo.DeferCleanup(d.TearDown)
 }
 
+// NewGetSlices generates a function for gomega.Eventually/Consistently which
+// returns the ResourceSliceList.
+func (d *Driver) NewGetSlices() framework.GetFunc[*resourceapi.ResourceSliceList] {
+	return framework.ListObjects(d.f.ClientSet.ResourceV1beta1().ResourceSlices().List, metav1.ListOptions{FieldSelector: resourceapi.ResourceSliceSelectorDriver + "=" + d.Name})
+}
+
 type MethodInstance struct {
 	Nodename   string
 	FullMethod string
@@ -227,12 +236,26 @@ type MethodInstance struct {
 type Driver struct {
 	f                  *framework.Framework
 	ctx                context.Context
-	cleanup            []func() // executed first-in-first-out
+	cleanup            []func(context.Context) // executed first-in-first-out
 	wg                 sync.WaitGroup
 	serviceAccountName string
 
+	// NameSuffix can be set while registering a test to deploy different
+	// drivers in the same test namespace.
 	NameSuffix string
-	Name       string
+
+	// InstanceSuffix can be set while registering a test to deploy two different
+	// instances of the same driver. Used to generate unique objects in the API server.
+	// The socket path is still the same.
+	InstanceSuffix string
+
+	// RollingUpdate can be set to true to enable using different socket names
+	// for different pods and thus seamless upgrades. Must be supported by the kubelet!
+	RollingUpdate bool
+
+	// Name gets derived automatically from the current test namespace and
+	// (if set) the NameSuffix while setting up the driver for a test.
+	Name string
 
 	// Nodes contains entries for each node selected for a test when the test runs.
 	// In addition, there is one entry for a fictional node.
@@ -263,9 +286,13 @@ func (d *Driver) SetUp(nodes *Nodes, resources Resources, devicesPerNode ...map[
 	ctx, cancel := context.WithCancel(context.Background())
 	logger := klog.FromContext(ctx)
 	logger = klog.LoggerWithValues(logger, "driverName", d.Name)
+	if d.InstanceSuffix != "" {
+		instance, _ := strings.CutPrefix(d.InstanceSuffix, "-")
+		logger = klog.LoggerWithValues(logger, "instance", instance)
+	}
 	ctx = klog.NewContext(ctx, logger)
 	d.ctx = ctx
-	d.cleanup = append(d.cleanup, cancel)
+	d.cleanup = append(d.cleanup, func(context.Context) { cancel() })
 
 	if !resources.NodeLocal {
 		// Publish one resource pool with "network-attached" devices.
@@ -323,28 +350,31 @@ func (d *Driver) SetUp(nodes *Nodes, resources Resources, devicesPerNode ...map[
 	}
 
 	// Create service account and corresponding RBAC rules.
-	d.serviceAccountName = "dra-kubelet-plugin-" + d.Name + "-service-account"
+	d.serviceAccountName = "dra-kubelet-plugin-" + d.Name + d.InstanceSuffix + "-service-account"
 	content := pluginPermissions
 	content = strings.ReplaceAll(content, "dra-kubelet-plugin-namespace", d.f.Namespace.Name)
-	content = strings.ReplaceAll(content, "dra-kubelet-plugin", "dra-kubelet-plugin-"+d.Name)
+	content = strings.ReplaceAll(content, "dra-kubelet-plugin", "dra-kubelet-plugin-"+d.Name+d.InstanceSuffix)
 	d.createFromYAML(ctx, []byte(content), d.f.Namespace.Name)
 
+	// Using a ReplicaSet instead of a DaemonSet has the advantage that we can control
+	// the lifecycle explicitly, in particular run two pods per node long enough to
+	// run checks.
 	instanceKey := "app.kubernetes.io/instance"
 	rsName := ""
 	numNodes := int32(len(nodes.NodeNames))
 	pluginDataDirectoryPath := path.Join(framework.TestContext.KubeletRootDir, "plugins", d.Name)
 	registrarDirectoryPath := path.Join(framework.TestContext.KubeletRootDir, "plugins_registry")
-	registrarSocketFilename := d.Name + "-reg.sock"
+	instanceName := d.Name + d.InstanceSuffix
 	err := utils.CreateFromManifests(ctx, d.f, d.f.Namespace, func(item interface{}) error {
 		switch item := item.(type) {
 		case *appsv1.ReplicaSet:
-			item.Name += d.NameSuffix
+			item.Name += d.NameSuffix + d.InstanceSuffix
 			rsName = item.Name
 			item.Spec.Replicas = &numNodes
-			item.Spec.Selector.MatchLabels[instanceKey] = d.Name
-			item.Spec.Template.Labels[instanceKey] = d.Name
+			item.Spec.Selector.MatchLabels[instanceKey] = instanceName
+			item.Spec.Template.Labels[instanceKey] = instanceName
 			item.Spec.Template.Spec.ServiceAccountName = d.serviceAccountName
-			item.Spec.Template.Spec.Affinity.PodAntiAffinity.RequiredDuringSchedulingIgnoredDuringExecution[0].LabelSelector.MatchLabels[instanceKey] = d.Name
+			item.Spec.Template.Spec.Affinity.PodAntiAffinity.RequiredDuringSchedulingIgnoredDuringExecution[0].LabelSelector.MatchLabels[instanceKey] = instanceName
 			item.Spec.Template.Spec.Affinity.NodeAffinity = &v1.NodeAffinity{
 				RequiredDuringSchedulingIgnoredDuringExecution: &v1.NodeSelector{
 					NodeSelectorTerms: []v1.NodeSelectorTerm{
@@ -376,7 +406,7 @@ func (d *Driver) SetUp(nodes *Nodes, resources Resources, devicesPerNode ...map[
 	if err := e2ereplicaset.WaitForReplicaSetTargetAvailableReplicas(ctx, d.f.ClientSet, rs, numNodes); err != nil {
 		framework.ExpectNoError(err, "all kubelet plugin proxies running")
 	}
-	requirement, err := labels.NewRequirement(instanceKey, selection.Equals, []string{d.Name})
+	requirement, err := labels.NewRequirement(instanceKey, selection.Equals, []string{instanceName})
 	framework.ExpectNoError(err, "create label selector requirement")
 	selector := labels.NewSelector().Add(*requirement)
 	pods, err := d.f.ClientSet.CoreV1().Pods(d.f.Namespace.Name).List(ctx, metav1.ListOptions{LabelSelector: selector.String()})
@@ -429,6 +459,14 @@ func (d *Driver) SetUp(nodes *Nodes, resources Resources, devicesPerNode ...map[
 		// All listeners running in this pod use a new unique local port number
 		// by atomically incrementing this variable.
 		listenerPort := int32(9000)
+		rollingUpdateUID := pod.UID
+		serialize := true
+		if !d.RollingUpdate {
+			rollingUpdateUID = ""
+			// A test might have to execute two gRPC calls in parallel, so only
+			// serialize when we explicitly want to test a rolling update.
+			serialize = false
+		}
 		plugin, err := app.StartPlugin(loggerCtx, "/cdi", d.Name, driverClient, nodename, fileOps,
 			kubeletplugin.GRPCVerbosity(0),
 			kubeletplugin.GRPCInterceptor(func(ctx context.Context, req interface{}, info *grpc.UnaryServerInfo, handler grpc.UnaryHandler) (resp interface{}, err error) {
@@ -438,17 +476,31 @@ func (d *Driver) SetUp(nodes *Nodes, resources Resources, devicesPerNode ...map[
 				return d.streamInterceptor(nodename, srv, ss, info, handler)
 			}),
 
+			kubeletplugin.RollingUpdate(rollingUpdateUID),
+			kubeletplugin.Serialize(serialize),
+			kubeletplugin.FlockDirectoryPath(nodes.tempDir),
+
 			kubeletplugin.PluginDataDirectoryPath(pluginDataDirectoryPath),
 			kubeletplugin.PluginListener(listen(d.f, &pod, &listenerPort)),
 
 			kubeletplugin.RegistrarDirectoryPath(registrarDirectoryPath),
-			kubeletplugin.RegistrarSocketFilename(registrarSocketFilename),
 			kubeletplugin.RegistrarListener(listen(d.f, &pod, &listenerPort)),
 		)
 		framework.ExpectNoError(err, "start kubelet plugin for node %s", pod.Spec.NodeName)
-		d.cleanup = append(d.cleanup, func() {
+		d.cleanup = append(d.cleanup, func(ctx context.Context) {
 			// Depends on cancel being called first.
 			plugin.Stop()
+
+			// Also explicitly stop all pods.
+			ginkgo.By("scaling down driver proxy pods for " + d.Name)
+			rs, err := d.f.ClientSet.AppsV1().ReplicaSets(d.f.Namespace.Name).Get(ctx, rsName, metav1.GetOptions{})
+			framework.ExpectNoError(err, "get ReplicaSet for driver "+d.Name)
+			rs.Spec.Replicas = ptr.To(int32(0))
+			rs, err = d.f.ClientSet.AppsV1().ReplicaSets(d.f.Namespace.Name).Update(ctx, rs, metav1.UpdateOptions{})
+			framework.ExpectNoError(err, "scale down ReplicaSet for driver "+d.Name)
+			if err := e2ereplicaset.WaitForReplicaSetTargetAvailableReplicas(ctx, d.f.ClientSet, rs, 0); err != nil {
+				framework.ExpectNoError(err, "all kubelet plugin proxies stopped")
+			}
 		})
 		d.Nodes[nodename] = KubeletPlugin{ExamplePlugin: plugin, ClientSet: driverClient}
 	}
@@ -717,14 +769,19 @@ func pipe(ctx context.Context, msg string, verbosity int) *io.PipeWriter {
 	return writer
 }
 
-func (d *Driver) TearDown() {
+func (d *Driver) TearDown(ctx context.Context) {
 	for _, c := range d.cleanup {
-		c()
+		c(ctx)
 	}
 	d.cleanup = nil
 	d.wg.Wait()
 }
 
+// IsGone checks that the kubelet is done with the driver.
+// This is done by waiting for the kubelet to remove the
+// driver's ResourceSlices, which takes at least 5 minutes
+// because of the delay in the kubelet. Only use this in slow
+// tests...
 func (d *Driver) IsGone(ctx context.Context) {
 	gomega.Eventually(ctx, func(ctx context.Context) ([]resourceapi.ResourceSlice, error) {
 		slices, err := d.f.ClientSet.ResourceV1beta1().ResourceSlices().List(ctx, metav1.ListOptions{FieldSelector: resourceapi.ResourceSliceSelectorDriver + "=" + d.Name})
@@ -732,7 +789,7 @@ func (d *Driver) IsGone(ctx context.Context) {
 			return nil, err
 		}
 		return slices.Items, err
-	}).Should(gomega.BeEmpty())
+	}).WithTimeout(7 * time.Minute).Should(gomega.BeEmpty())
 }
 
 func (d *Driver) interceptor(nodename string, ctx context.Context, req interface{}, info *grpc.UnaryServerInfo, handler grpc.UnaryHandler) (resp interface{}, err error) {
diff --git a/test/e2e/dra/dra.go b/test/e2e/dra/dra.go
index b93c44a9b1e..091cfdd6fd7 100644
--- a/test/e2e/dra/dra.go
+++ b/test/e2e/dra/dra.go
@@ -1801,6 +1801,150 @@ var _ = framework.SIGDescribe("node")("DRA", feature.DynamicResourceAllocation,
 		framework.ExpectNoError(f.ClientSet.CoreV1().Pods(pod.Namespace).Delete(ctx, pod.Name, metav1.DeleteOptions{}))
 		framework.ExpectNoError(e2epod.WaitForPodNotFoundInNamespace(ctx, f.ClientSet, pod.Name, pod.Namespace, f.Timeouts.PodDelete))
 	})
+
+	ginkgo.It("rolling update", func(ctx context.Context) {
+		nodes := NewNodesNow(ctx, f, 1, 1)
+
+		oldDriver := NewDriverInstance(f)
+		oldDriver.InstanceSuffix = "-old"
+		oldDriver.RollingUpdate = true
+		oldDriver.Run(nodes, perNode(1, nodes))
+
+		// We expect one ResourceSlice per node from the driver.
+		getSlices := oldDriver.NewGetSlices()
+		gomega.Eventually(ctx, getSlices).Should(gomega.HaveField("Items", gomega.HaveLen(len(nodes.NodeNames))))
+		initialSlices, err := getSlices(ctx)
+		framework.ExpectNoError(err)
+
+		// Same driver name, different socket paths because of rolling update.
+		newDriver := NewDriverInstance(f)
+		newDriver.InstanceSuffix = "-new"
+		newDriver.RollingUpdate = true
+		newDriver.Run(nodes, perNode(1, nodes))
+
+		// Stop old driver instance.
+		oldDriver.TearDown(ctx)
+
+		// Build behaves the same for both driver instances.
+		b := newBuilderNow(ctx, f, oldDriver)
+		claim := b.externalClaim()
+		pod := b.podExternal()
+		b.create(ctx, claim, pod)
+		b.testPod(ctx, f, pod)
+
+		// The exact same slices should still exist.
+		finalSlices, err := getSlices(ctx)
+		framework.ExpectNoError(err)
+		gomega.Expect(finalSlices.Items).Should(gomega.Equal(initialSlices.Items))
+
+		// We need to clean up explicitly because the normal
+		// cleanup doesn't work (driver shuts down first).
+		// framework.ExpectNoError(f.ClientSet.ResourceV1beta1().ResourceClaims(claim.Namespace).Delete(ctx, claim.Name, metav1.DeleteOptions{}))
+		framework.ExpectNoError(f.ClientSet.CoreV1().Pods(pod.Namespace).Delete(ctx, pod.Name, metav1.DeleteOptions{}))
+		framework.ExpectNoError(e2epod.WaitForPodNotFoundInNamespace(ctx, f.ClientSet, pod.Name, pod.Namespace, f.Timeouts.PodDelete))
+	})
+
+	ginkgo.It("failed update", func(ctx context.Context) {
+		nodes := NewNodesNow(ctx, f, 1, 1)
+
+		oldDriver := NewDriverInstance(f)
+		oldDriver.InstanceSuffix = "-old"
+		oldDriver.RollingUpdate = true
+		oldDriver.Run(nodes, perNode(1, nodes))
+
+		// We expect one ResourceSlice per node from the driver.
+		getSlices := oldDriver.NewGetSlices()
+		gomega.Eventually(ctx, getSlices).Should(gomega.HaveField("Items", gomega.HaveLen(len(nodes.NodeNames))))
+		initialSlices, err := getSlices(ctx)
+		framework.ExpectNoError(err)
+
+		// Same driver name, different socket paths because of rolling update.
+		newDriver := NewDriverInstance(f)
+		newDriver.InstanceSuffix = "-new"
+		newDriver.RollingUpdate = true
+		newDriver.Run(nodes, perNode(1, nodes))
+
+		// Stop new driver instance, simulating the failure of the new instance.
+		// The kubelet should still have the old instance.
+		newDriver.TearDown(ctx)
+
+		// Build behaves the same for both driver instances.
+		b := newBuilderNow(ctx, f, oldDriver)
+		claim := b.externalClaim()
+		pod := b.podExternal()
+		b.create(ctx, claim, pod)
+		b.testPod(ctx, f, pod)
+
+		// The exact same slices should still exist.
+		finalSlices, err := getSlices(ctx)
+		framework.ExpectNoError(err)
+		gomega.Expect(finalSlices.Items).Should(gomega.Equal(initialSlices.Items))
+
+		// We need to clean up explicitly because the normal
+		// cleanup doesn't work (driver shuts down first).
+		// framework.ExpectNoError(f.ClientSet.ResourceV1beta1().ResourceClaims(claim.Namespace).Delete(ctx, claim.Name, metav1.DeleteOptions{}))
+		framework.ExpectNoError(f.ClientSet.CoreV1().Pods(pod.Namespace).Delete(ctx, pod.Name, metav1.DeleteOptions{}))
+		framework.ExpectNoError(e2epod.WaitForPodNotFoundInNamespace(ctx, f.ClientSet, pod.Name, pod.Namespace, f.Timeouts.PodDelete))
+	})
+
+	f.It("sequential update with pods replacing each other", framework.WithSlow(), func(ctx context.Context) {
+		nodes := NewNodesNow(ctx, f, 1, 1)
+
+		// Same driver name, same socket path.
+		oldDriver := NewDriverInstance(f)
+		oldDriver.InstanceSuffix = "-old"
+		oldDriver.Run(nodes, perNode(1, nodes))
+
+		// Collect set of resource slices for that driver.
+		listSlices := framework.ListObjects(f.ClientSet.ResourceV1beta1().ResourceSlices().List, metav1.ListOptions{
+			FieldSelector: "spec.driver=" + oldDriver.Name,
+		})
+		gomega.Eventually(ctx, listSlices).Should(gomega.HaveField("Items", gomega.Not(gomega.BeEmpty())), "driver should have published ResourceSlices, got none")
+		oldSlices, err := listSlices(ctx)
+		framework.ExpectNoError(err, "list slices published by old driver")
+		if len(oldSlices.Items) == 0 {
+			framework.Fail("driver should have published ResourceSlices, got none")
+		}
+
+		// "Update" the driver by taking it down and bringing up a new one.
+		// Pods never run in parallel, similar to how a DaemonSet would update
+		// its pods when maxSurge is zero.
+		ginkgo.By("reinstall driver")
+		start := time.Now()
+		oldDriver.TearDown(ctx)
+		newDriver := NewDriverInstance(f)
+		newDriver.InstanceSuffix = "-new"
+		newDriver.Run(nodes, perNode(1, nodes))
+		updateDuration := time.Since(start)
+
+		// Build behaves the same for both driver instances.
+		b := newBuilderNow(ctx, f, oldDriver)
+		claim := b.externalClaim()
+		pod := b.podExternal()
+		b.create(ctx, claim, pod)
+		b.testPod(ctx, f, pod)
+
+		// The slices should have survived the update, but only if it happened
+		// quickly enough. If it took too long, the kubelet considered the driver
+		// gone and removed them.
+		if updateDuration <= 3*time.Minute {
+			newSlices, err := listSlices(ctx)
+			framework.ExpectNoError(err, "list slices again")
+			gomega.Expect(newSlices.Items).To(gomega.ConsistOf(oldSlices.Items))
+		}
+
+		// We need to clean up explicitly because the normal
+		// cleanup doesn't work (driver shuts down first).
+		// framework.ExpectNoError(f.ClientSet.ResourceV1beta1().ResourceClaims(claim.Namespace).Delete(ctx, claim.Name, metav1.DeleteOptions{}))
+		framework.ExpectNoError(f.ClientSet.CoreV1().Pods(pod.Namespace).Delete(ctx, pod.Name, metav1.DeleteOptions{}))
+		framework.ExpectNoError(e2epod.WaitForPodNotFoundInNamespace(ctx, f.ClientSet, pod.Name, pod.Namespace, f.Timeouts.PodDelete))
+
+		// Now shut down for good and wait for the kubelet to react.
+		// This takes time...
+		ginkgo.By("uninstalling driver and waiting for ResourceSlice wiping")
+		newDriver.TearDown(ctx)
+		newDriver.IsGone(ctx)
+	})
 })
 
 // builder contains a running counter to make objects unique within thir
diff --git a/test/e2e/dra/test-driver/app/kubeletplugin.go b/test/e2e/dra/test-driver/app/kubeletplugin.go
index 498e02fc715..875fdf886d8 100644
--- a/test/e2e/dra/test-driver/app/kubeletplugin.go
+++ b/test/e2e/dra/test-driver/app/kubeletplugin.go
@@ -168,7 +168,6 @@ func StartPlugin(ctx context.Context, cdiDir, driverName string, kubeClient kube
 		kubeletplugin.KubeClient(kubeClient),
 		kubeletplugin.GRPCInterceptor(ex.recordGRPCCall),
 		kubeletplugin.GRPCStreamInterceptor(ex.recordGRPCStream),
-		kubeletplugin.Serialize(false), // The example plugin does its own locking.
 	)
 	d, err := kubeletplugin.Start(ctx, ex, opts...)
 	if err != nil {