Dynatrace support lifecycle for Kubernetes and Red Hat OpenShift Full-Stack Monitoring
Dynatrace offers support for Kubernetes shortly after a new Kubernetes or OpenShift release. Once the new Kubernetes/OpenShift release candidate versions are available, Dynatrace tests these versions, including the latest OneAgent, ActiveGate, and Dynatrace Operator versions.
The table below lists the verified and tested release versions:
| Kubernetes upstream version | OpenShift version | Minimum OneAgent version | Minimum ActiveGate version | Minimum Dynatrace Operator version | Recommended Dynatrace Operator version | End of support |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.26 | 4.13 | 1.259 | 1.257 | v0.11.2 | v0.11.2+ | |
| 1.25 | 4.12 | 1.249 | 1.251 | v0.8.x | v0.11.2+ | |
| 1.24 | 4.11 | 1.241 | 1.243 | v0.7.x | v0.11.2+ | |
| 1.23 | 4.10 | 1.233 | 1.233 | v0.4.x | v0.11.2+ | |
| 1.22 | 4.9 | 1.227 | 1.223 | v0.3.x | v0.11.2+ | |
| 1.21 | 4.8 | 1.217 | 1.215 | v0.3.x | v0.11.2+ | |
| 1.20 | 4.7 | 1.207 | 1.211 | v0.3.x | v0.6.0 | Aug 1, 2023 |
| 1.19 | 4.6 | 1.199 | 1.205 | v0.3.x | v0.6.0 | Aug 1, 2023 |
| 3.11 | v0.2.2 | v0.2.2 | Aug 1, 2023 |
Full support is provided until a Kubernetes or OpenShift version reaches its end-of-life. After that, Dynatrace provides maintenance support1 for approximately one year. End-of-support dates are announced on End of support announcements.
During the full support and maintenance support periods, each encountered bug undergoes a backport assessment. Depending on the severity and change risk, the fix is either backported and released with a patch version or fixed in the next version. For details, refer to the relevant Dynatrace release notes.
The main distinction between full support and maintenance support is that Dynatrace reduces the daily testing activities during the maintenance support period.
Dynatrace Operator support
The Dynatrace Operator is available on x86, ARM and ppc64le architectures. In cases where issues related to the Dynatrace Operator cannot be replicated by Dynatrace on x86 or ARM architectures and are identified as specific to ppc64le, you need to reach out to dt-operator@ibm.com for further support. Additional information can be found in the associated open-source pull request for the Dynatrace Operator on GitHub.
Dynatrace Operator is responsible for rollout and lifecycle management of various Dynatrace components in Kubernetes and OpenShift (including ActiveGate and OneAgent). Dynatrace Operator is an open-source project maintained on GitHub. It follows the major.minor.patch semantic versioning schema, with a release cadence of minor versions being released roughly every 2–3 months.
The three latest Dynatrace Operator versions are tested with the latest Kubernetes and OpenShift versions. Additionally, we perform a backport assessment for any bug or vulnerability to analyze the severity and change risk of the fix. We recommend that you use the latest patch version, as the newly implemented features increment the minor version. For details, see the Dynatrace Operator release notes.
All the other Dynatrace Operator versions that are not considered end-of-life are treated in maintenance mode, which includes our regular customer support processes. However, bugs and vulnerabilities are not backported to the Dynatrace Operator versions in maintenance support. End of support for a version is announced on End of support announcements.
Upstream Kubernetes
The Kubernetes project uses standard semantic versioning and maintains release branches for the three most recent minor releases. A new minor version of Kubernetes is released approximately every three months, whereas patches are typically released following a monthly cadence. Since Kubernetes 1.19, each minor release is supported for approximately 14 months. For details, see Kubernetes version support policy.
OpenShift Container Platform support
Red Hat maintains different support models for OpenShift Container Platform. Some OpenShift Container Platform releases are aligned with calendar dates. Others follow a phased lifecycle where at least three minor versions are supported at any point in time. Red Hat aims to forecast future releases with a three-month cadence. For details, see Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform lifecycle policy.
Microsoft Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)
The Microsoft AKS support policy covers four minor versions of Kubernetes. The list of currently supported versions can be obtained using az aks get-versions --location eastus.
Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE)
The Google GKE support policy covers at least two, if not three, minor versions that are available at any given time. The list of currently available GKE cluster versions can be obtained using gcloud container get-server-config --zone europe-west2-a. Note that Dynatrace covers the versions listed under validMasterVersions.
Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS)
The AWS EKS support policy covers at least three production-ready versions of Kubernetes at any given time, with a fourth version in deprecation.