Custom Edition release notes

Release notes for Instana® self-hosted Custom Edition.

Note:
For information about releases that are not included in the following release notes, see Documentation for older Instana versions.

The following table lists the release build numbers, release dates, upgrade compatibility, and key features.

Table 1. Kubernetes Custom Edition releases
Build version Release date Features, improvements, and fixes Platform support
1.11.1 21 July 2026

Enhancements

  • Enhanced security and gateway functions
  • Improved Kubernetes Operator reliability and lifecycle management
  • Simplified TLS configuration and certificate management
  • Enhanced diagnostic capabilities and observability
  • Updated platform dependencies, including the base image and supporting components

Fixes

  • Resolved issues related to resource reconciliation and cleanup
  • Resolved ClickHouse migration and gateway routing issues
  • Resolved multiple security vulnerabilities (CVE)
  • Linux x86_64
  • Power (ppc64le)
1.11.0 2 June 2026
Enhancements:
  • Preserved complete x-forwarded-for header chains in self-hosted EUM to make sure accurate IP visibility.
  • Enhanced diagnostics collection by adding ClickHouse health metrics (only in deep-debug mode) to improve troubleshooting.
  • Disabled API rate limiting by default.
  • Disabled default JVM heap dump creation unless you configure .spec.heapDumpsPVC.
  • Updated the Gateway Envoy image to version 1.36.5_v0.24.0.
  • Removed the deprecated domains field from the CoreSpec API. Use .spec.acceptors to configure domains and ports for agent acceptors and other endpoints.
  • Linux x86_64
  • Power (ppc64le)
1.10.0 5 May 2026

Features:

  • The kubectl plug-in now includes a diagnostics command, consistent with Standard Edition.

Enhancements:

  • gateway‑v2 is now the default and only gateway used in all Custom Edition installations.
  • The legacy Nginx‑based Instana gateway is now removed.
  • The .spec.gatewayConfig.enabled field is removed because gateway selection is no longer configurable. If you need to configure acceptor ports or domains, see Gateway configuration.
  • Linux x86_64
  • Power (ppc64le)
1.9.0 24 March 2026

Features:

  • You can now use the kubectl instana license info command to view complete license attributes and validity. Use the --usage flag to track consumption and respond before you reach the limits. For more information, see License information.
  • You can now migrate sensitive information. This includes email and SMTP settings, proxy settings, acceptor configurations, feature flags, and domain configuration. For more information, see Migrating from standard 1.1.1.

Enhancements:

  • The gateway defaults to gateway-v2 by default. Set spec.gatewayConfig.enabled to true in the CoreSpec; the old Nginx gateway is removed.
 Linux x86_64 only
1.8.3 24 February 2026
  • Fixed a parallel operation issue in the filler component while running in HPA mode.
  • Adjusted the timeout limit for the public API.
 Linux x86_64 only.
1.7.3 11 February 2026 Timeout thresholds are increased for certain infrastructure monitoring requests. All platforms
1.7.2 9 December 2025 -
1.7.1 29 October 2025
1.7.0 7 October 2025
1.6.1 17 September 2025
1.6.0 12 August 2025
1.5.1 17 September 2025
1.5.0 15 July 2025

Features:

The long-deprecated downloadKey from Core Secret is removed. Instana now reads it only from the Unit Secret.

Enhancements:

  • Enhanced for an even distribution of pods across nodes.
  • Multi-partition Kafka topics that are used by the Instana backend are scaled to new default partition sizes.
1.4.1 26 June 2025

Fixes:

  • The gateway-v2 load balancer external port was not exposed correctly when deviating from the standard 443 port for HTTPS traffic.
  • The new gateway-v2 no longer stops in maintenance mode; instead, it shows a maintenance page.
  • Resource overrides for gateway-v2 and gateway-controller were not applied.
1.4.0 20 May 2025

Enhancements:

  • The Instana Enterprise Operator now supports automatically creating Kubernetes LoadBalancer services for the gateway-v2 component.
  • The gateway-v2 component now supports accepting traffic without TLS termination. This feature is useful when you deploy a forward reverse-proxy that terminates TLS in front of your environment.

Important notes:

  • Custom Edition 1.8.x requires ClickHouse data store version 25.8.6.11
  • Custom Edition 1.8.x does not yet support Power (ppc64le) and IBM Z® and LinuxONE
  • For upgrade procedures, see upgrade notes.

Compatibility matrix for Custom Edition

Before you install, upgrade, or migrate Custom Edition, it is important to ensure that all components in your deployment are compatible. Each Custom Edition version supports only specific versions of the Instana® backend, and using unsupported combinations can result in failed deployments or unexpected behaviour. The compatibility matrix helps you identify which Instana backend versions support a Custom Edition version.

You must use this matrix when planning your deployment to select a valid combination of Custom Edition and backend versions. Use this table to:

  • Identify the Instana backend versions that are compatible with your selected Custom Edition version
  • Validate version combinations before installation or upgrade
  • Plan upgrades by determining supported target versions.

The following table lists the Custom Edition version and the Instana backend versions that are compatible:

Table 2. Compatible versions for Custom Edition
Custom Edition version Instana backend version
1.11.1 3.321, 3.319
1.11.x 3.319
1.10.x 3.317
1.9.x 3.315
1.8.x 3.313, 3.311, 3.309
1.7.x 3.307, 3.305
1.6.x 3.303, 3.301
1.5.x 3.299
1.4.x 3.297, 3.295
1.3.x 3.293
1.2.x 3.291, 3.289, 3.287
1.1.x 3.285, 3.283, 3.281