diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yaml b/.github/workflows/release.yaml
index a841d5f0..ec94605c 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yaml
@@ -2,9 +2,16 @@
 name: Release
 
 on:
-  push:
-    tags:
-      - 'v*'
+  workflow_dispatch:
+    inputs:
+      version:
+        description: 'Version that should be released, format: v0.0.0'
+        required: true
+        type: string
+      tagMessage:
+        description: 'Message that will be added to the version tag'
+        required: true
+        type: string
 
 permissions:
   contents: write
@@ -25,50 +32,52 @@ jobs:
           git config --global user.email "github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com"
           git config --global user.name "github-actions[bot]"
 
-      - name: Get tag information
-        id: tag_data
+      - name: Update kustomization.yaml
         run: |
-          # Get tag name and message
-          TAG_NAME=${GITHUB_REF#refs/tags/}
-          TAG_MESSAGE=$(git tag -n1 "$TAG_NAME" | sed "s|^$TAG_NAME[[:space:]]*||")
-
-          # If tag message is empty, use a default
-          if [ -z "$TAG_MESSAGE" ]; then
-            TAG_MESSAGE="Release $TAG_NAME"
+          # Fail if tag already exists
+          if [ -n "$(git tag --list "${{ inputs.version }}")" ]; then
+            echo "Tag "${{ inputs.version }}" already exists. Exit."
+            exit 1
+          else
+            echo "Tag "${{ inputs.version }}" does not exist. Continue."
           fi
 
-          echo "TAG_NAME=$TAG_NAME" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
-          echo "TAG_MESSAGE<<EOF" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
-          echo "$TAG_MESSAGE" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
-          echo "EOF" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
-          echo "VERSION=${TAG_NAME#v}" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+          # Update image tag
+          cd config/manager
+          kustomize edit set image controller="netbox-operator:${{inputs.version}}"
+          cd ../..
 
-      - name: Create GitHub Release
+      - name: Generate release notes for changelog
         env:
-          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
         run: |
-          # Determine if this is a prerelease
-          PRERELEASE=""
-          if [[ "${{ steps.tag_data.outputs.TAG_NAME }}" =~ (alpha|beta|rc) ]]; then
-            PRERELEASE="--prerelease"
+          # Get the previous tag to determine commit range
+          PREVIOUS_TAG=$(git describe --tags --abbrev=0 HEAD^ 2>/dev/null || echo "")
+
+          # Generate release notes using GitHub API without creating a release
+          if [ -n "$PREVIOUS_TAG" ]; then
+            RELEASE_NOTES=$(gh api repos/:owner/:repo/releases/generate-notes \
+              -f tag_name="${{ inputs.version }}" \
+              -f target_commitish="$(git rev-parse HEAD)" \
+              -f previous_tag_name="$PREVIOUS_TAG" \
+              --jq '.body')
+          else
+            # If no previous tag, generate notes from all commits
+            RELEASE_NOTES=$(gh api repos/:owner/:repo/releases/generate-notes \
+              -f tag_name="${{ inputs.version }}" \
+              -f target_commitish="$(git rev-parse HEAD)" \
+              --jq '.body')
           fi
 
-          # Create release with auto-generated notes
-          gh release create "${{ steps.tag_data.outputs.TAG_NAME }}" \
-            --title "${{ steps.tag_data.outputs.TAG_NAME }}" \
-            --notes "${{ steps.tag_data.outputs.TAG_MESSAGE }}" \
-            --generate-notes \
-            $PRERELEASE
-
-      - name: Update kustomization.yaml
-        run: |
-          ./scripts/bump-version.sh "${{ steps.tag_data.outputs.TAG_NAME }}"
+          # Save release notes to a file for use in changelog
+          echo "$RELEASE_NOTES" > /tmp/release_notes.md
 
       - name: Update CHANGELOG.md
         env:
           GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
         run: |
-          ./scripts/update-changelog-from-release.sh "${{ steps.tag_data.outputs.TAG_NAME }}"
+          # Update changelog with the generated notes
+          ./scripts/update-changelog-from-release.sh "${{ inputs.version }}"
 
       - name: Commit and push changes
         env:
@@ -81,17 +90,17 @@ jobs:
           fi
 
           # Create a new branch for the changes
-          BRANCH_NAME="release-updates-${{ steps.tag_data.outputs.TAG_NAME }}"
+          BRANCH_NAME="release-updates-${{ inputs.version }}"
           git checkout -b "$BRANCH_NAME"
 
           git add config/manager/kustomization.yaml CHANGELOG.md
-          git commit -m "[skip ci] chore: bump version to ${{ steps.tag_data.outputs.TAG_NAME }} and update changelog"
-
+          git commit -m "[skip ci] chore: bump version to ${{ inputs.version }} and update changelog"
           # Push the branch and create PR
+
           git push origin "$BRANCH_NAME"
           PR_URL=$(gh pr create \
-            --title "chore: bump version to ${{ steps.tag_data.outputs.TAG_NAME }} and update changelog" \
-            --body "Automated version bump and changelog update for release ${{ steps.tag_data.outputs.TAG_NAME }}" \
+            --title "chore: bump version to ${{ inputs.version }} and update changelog" \
+            --body "Automated version bump and changelog update for release ${{ inputs.version }}" \
             --head "$BRANCH_NAME" \
             --base main)
 
@@ -99,5 +108,15 @@ jobs:
           PR_NUMBER=$(echo "$PR_URL" | sed 's/.*\/pull\///')
           echo "Created PR #$PR_NUMBER: $PR_URL"
 
-          # Enable auto-merge and merge the PR
-          gh pr merge "$PR_NUMBER" --auto --squash --delete-branch
+          # Merge the PR
+          gh pr merge "$PR_NUMBER" --squash --delete-branch
+
+      - name: Create GitHub Release
+        env:
+          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+        run: |
+          # Create release with auto-generated notes
+          gh release create "${{ inputs.version }}" \
+            --title "${{ inputs.version }}" \
+            --notes "${{ inputs.tagMessage }}" \
+            --generate-notes
diff --git a/kind/deploy-netbox.sh b/kind/deploy-netbox.sh
index 5757f1e7..7bdd2c17 100755
--- a/kind/deploy-netbox.sh
+++ b/kind/deploy-netbox.sh
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ if [[ "${VERSION}" == "3.7.8" ]] ;then
   # need to align with netbox-chart otherwise the creation of the cluster will hang
   declare -a Remote_Images=( \
   "busybox:1.36.1" \
-  "docker.io/bitnami/redis:7.2.4-debian-12-r9" \
+  "docker.io/bitnamilegacy/redis:7.2.4-debian-12-r9" \
   "docker.io/netboxcommunity/netbox:v3.7.8" \
   "ghcr.io/zalando/postgres-operator:v1.12.2" \
   "ghcr.io/zalando/spilo-16:3.2-p3" \
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ elif [[ "${VERSION}" == "4.0.11" ]] ;then
   # need to align with netbox-chart otherwise the creation of the cluster will hang
   declare -a Remote_Images=( \
   "busybox:1.36.1" \
-  "docker.io/bitnami/redis:7.4.0-debian-12-r2" \
+  "docker.io/bitnamilegacy/redis:7.4.0-debian-12-r2" \
   "ghcr.io/netbox-community/netbox:v4.0.11" \
   "ghcr.io/zalando/postgres-operator:v1.12.2" \
   "ghcr.io/zalando/spilo-16:3.2-p3" \
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ elif [[ "${VERSION}" == "4.1.11" ]] ;then
   # need to align with netbox-chart otherwise the creation of the cluster will hang
   declare -a Remote_Images=( \
   "busybox:1.37.0" \
-  "docker.io/bitnami/redis:7.4.1-debian-12-r2" \
+  "docker.io/bitnamilegacy/redis:7.4.1-debian-12-r2" \
   "ghcr.io/netbox-community/netbox:v4.1.11" \
   "ghcr.io/zalando/postgres-operator:v1.12.2" \
   "ghcr.io/zalando/spilo-16:3.2-p3" \
@@ -202,7 +202,9 @@ ${HELM} upgrade --install netbox ${NETBOX_HELM_CHART} \
   --set resources.requests.memory="512Mi" \
   --set resources.limits.cpu="2000m" \
   --set resources.limits.memory="2Gi" \
-  $REGISTRY_ARG
+  --set redis.image.repository="bitnamilegacy/redis" \
+  --set global.security.allowInsecureImages=true
+    $REGISTRY_ARG
 
 if [[ "$FORCE_NETBOX_NGINX_IPV4" == "true" ]]; then
   echo "Creating nginx-unit ConfigMap and patching deployment"
diff --git a/scripts/bump-version.sh b/scripts/bump-version.sh
deleted file mode 100755
index 298eb861..00000000
--- a/scripts/bump-version.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,27 +0,0 @@
-#!/bin/bash
-set -e
-
-# Script to bump version in kustomization.yaml
-# Usage: ./bump-version.sh <new_version>
-
-NEW_VERSION=$1
-
-if [ -z "$NEW_VERSION" ]; then
-    echo "Usage: $0 <new_version>"
-    exit 1
-fi
-
-KUSTOMIZATION_FILE="config/manager/kustomization.yaml"
-
-if [ ! -f "$KUSTOMIZATION_FILE" ]; then
-    echo "Error: $KUSTOMIZATION_FILE not found!"
-    exit 1
-fi
-
-echo "Updating version to $NEW_VERSION in $KUSTOMIZATION_FILE..."
-
-# Update the newTag
-sed -i.bak "s/newTag: .*/newTag: $NEW_VERSION/" "$KUSTOMIZATION_FILE"
-rm -f "$KUSTOMIZATION_FILE.bak"
-
-echo "Version bumped to $NEW_VERSION successfully!"
diff --git a/scripts/update-changelog-from-release.sh b/scripts/update-changelog-from-release.sh
index 9b21f8d7..14889007 100755
--- a/scripts/update-changelog-from-release.sh
+++ b/scripts/update-changelog-from-release.sh
@@ -13,14 +13,14 @@ fi
 
 echo "Updating CHANGELOG.md for release $TAG_NAME..."
 
-# Get release data from GitHub
-RELEASE_DATA=$(gh release view "$TAG_NAME" --json tagName,publishedAt,body,url)
+# Get release data from file
+RELEASE_NOTES=$(cat /tmp/release_notes.md)
 
-# Extract fields
-TAG=$(echo "$RELEASE_DATA" | jq -r '.tagName')
-DATE=$(echo "$RELEASE_DATA" | jq -r '.publishedAt' | cut -d'T' -f1)
-BODY=$(echo "$RELEASE_DATA" | jq -r '.body')
-URL=$(echo "$RELEASE_DATA" | jq -r '.url')
+# Use current date and tag name from parameter
+TAG="$TAG_NAME"
+DATE=$(date +%Y-%m-%d)
+BODY="$RELEASE_NOTES"
+URL="https://github.com/netbox-community/netbox-operator/releases/tag/$TAG_NAME"
 
 # Validate extracted fields
 if [ -z "$TAG" ] || [ -z "$DATE" ] || [ -z "$URL" ]; then
@@ -67,4 +67,4 @@ awk '/^## \[/ {found=1} found {print}' CHANGELOG.md >> "$TEMP_FILE"
 # Replace the original file
 mv "$TEMP_FILE" CHANGELOG.md
 
-echo "CHANGELOG.md updated successfully!"
\ No newline at end of file
+echo "CHANGELOG.md updated successfully!"