Release notes for the latest release

This release relates to IBM® App Connect Operator 12.21.0.

The support requirements for the IBM App Connect Operator 12.21.0 are as follows:

Support for a new IBM App Connect Operator channel, and custom resource (or operand) channels or versions

IBM App Connect Operator 12.21.0 is delivered on a new v12.21 Operator channel, which you must select to install 12.21.0 versions of the Operator, or to initialize an upgrade from a 12.20.1 or earlier Operator.

Accompanying versions and licenses are provided for the App Connect Dashboard, App Connect Designer Authoring, Switch Server, Integration Server, and Integration Runtime custom resources (or operands). To create an instance or upgrade to a 12.21.0-specific version of a custom resource (CR), you must choose both of these options:

• Subscribe to the 13.0 or 13.0.6 channel for custom resources, or specify a fully qualified version of 13.0.6.2-r1.
• Select a 12.21.0-specific license for approval.

More information:

• Release models, packaging, and versions for the IBM App Connect Operator
• Installing IBM App Connect on Red Hat OpenShift or Kubernetes environments
• Upgrading Operator releases
• Licensing reference for IBM App Connect Operator
• spec.version values

Addition of support for Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.21

IBM App Connect Operator 12.21.0 introduces support for Red Hat OpenShift 4.21 in addition to the existing support for Red Hat OpenShift 4.12, 4.14, 4.15, 4.16, 4.17, 4.18, 4.19, and 4.20. On a Red Hat OpenShift 4.21 cluster, you can create App Connect Dashboard, App Connect Designer, switch server, integration server, and integration runtime instances at version 13.0.6.2-r1 or later only.

If you upgrade your cluster to Red Hat OpenShift 4.21, you must upgrade all your existing instances to version 13.0.6.2-r1 or later.

More information:

• spec.version values
• Upgrading Operator releases

Automatic ingress creation for MCP servers that are hosted in integration runtimes on IBM Cloud Kubernetes Service

You can now create and manage MCP servers from an IBM Cloud Kubernetes Service environment, which allows the automatic creation of ingresses for App Connect instances.

After you deploy an MCP server to an integration runtime at version 13.0.6.2-r1 or later, you can automatically create an ingress resource to route external traffic to the MCP server. To do so, enable ingress for the integration runtime by setting spec.ingress.enabled to true in its CR and also ensure that an AppConnectEnterprise* style license is specified. The integration runtime then creates and manages the appropriate ingress resources including one for the MCP server. The ingress that is generated for the MCP server is used to construct its endpoint location, which AI agents can connect to to extend their capability.

More information:

• Creating and managing Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers
• Integration Runtime reference: Custom resource values

Ability to configure secure communication for Prometheus-compatible metrics that are generated for integration runtimes on Red Hat OpenShift

You can use a new spec.metrics.tls.provider parameter to specify a provider to use for configuring secure communication for the Prometheus-compatible metrics that are generated for an integration runtime. This parameter is applicable when the generation of metrics (in the form of message flow statistics, accounting data, and resource statistics) is enabled for an integration runtime by setting spec.metrics.disabled to false.

More information:

• Integration Runtime reference: Custom resource values
• Integration Runtime reference: Creating an instance

Deprecated operand versions and channels

A number of operand versions and channels are deprecated for the IBM App Connect Operator 12.21.0 and might no longer be reconciled by future versions of the Operator. A deprecation notice is displayed if you try to save a new or existing Dashboard, Designer, switch server, integration server, or integration runtime custom resource if its spec.version value resolves to a deprecated version.

More information: spec.version values

Removed operand channels and versions

The following operand version, which was deprecated in IBM App Connect Operator 12.20.0, is removed from IBM App Connect Operator 12.21.0:

• 12.0.12-r20

After you upgrade to version 12.21.0 of the Operator, existing App Connect Designer, App Connect Dashboard, switch server, integration server, or integration runtime instances that resolve to a removed version are no longer supported and cannot be reconciled by the Operator.

• You can upgrade the instance to a supported version by updating the spec.version value and accepting the appropriate license.
• You can delete the instance if it's no longer required.
• You cannot save modifications to the custom resource settings if the instance is at an unsupported version. If you require an instance at a version that is unsupported in Operator 12.21.0, you must install an Operator version from the v12.20 or earlier channel, and then create an instance at the version that you require.

More information:

• spec.version values
• Licensing reference for IBM App Connect Operator

Deprecated connectors

The following connectors are deprecated for use in App Connect Designer flows and in Designer integrations that are deployed to integration servers or integration runtimes:

• Domino
• Siemens Teamcenter SLM

These connectors will be removed in a future release.

IBM App Connect Operator 12.21.0 includes the following fixes:

• Applied a fix to remove all stale status messages from an integration runtime when it's marked as Stopped.

• Fixed the virtual processor core (VPC) sizings on the integration tiles that are presented when deploying integration runtimes in App Connect Dashboard instances that are created with an AppConnectEnterprise style license. For such Dashboard instances, the correct VPC to CPU ratio of 1:1 is now shown for the integrations.