Upgrading Operator releases

Use these instructions to upgrade to the latest version of the IBM® App Connect Operator. After the Operator is upgraded, it controls the upgrade of existing instances of the App Connect Dashboard, App Connect Designer Authoring, App Connect Switch Server, and App Connect Integration Server custom resources.

Note:
  • These instructions apply only to an IBM App Connect Operator 1.1.x upgrade. For information about upgrading to earlier 1.0.x versions of the Operator, see Documentation for previous releases.
  • IBM App Connect Operator 1.1.10 or later is supported on Red Hat® OpenShift® Container Platform 4.6, which is offered as an Extended Update Support (EUS) release, and on Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.10 for migration from EUS to a Continuous Delivery (CD) or Long Term Support (LTS) release. EUS releases can be adopted for production workloads because they offer at least 18 months total support coverage for a minor version instead of the shorter support phases that are offered for other 4.x minor releases. As a result, the 1.1.x Operator is delivered on a different channel from earlier 1.0.x Operator versions. Accompanying EUS-specific versions and licenses are also provided for the App Connect Dashboard, App Connect Designer Authoring, App Connect Switch Server, and App Connect Integration Server custom resources.

Upgrade considerations for channels, versions, and licenses

To obtain curated versions of the IBM App Connect Operator, clusters that are connected to the internet will access the IBM Operator Catalog, whereas clusters in a restricted network use a configured product-specific catalog within the network. The Operator Lifecycle Manager (OLM), which runs by default in the cluster, queries the catalog for new versions of the IBM App Connect Operator.

Note: In a restricted network, new versions of the IBM App Connect Operator are offered only after updating the internal catalog and mirroring a new version of the images to the internal registry.

New versions of the IBM App Connect Operator are delivered through the following subscription channels:

Operator channel Operator versions delivered on channel Supported fully qualified versions of custom resources (instances)
v1.1-eus 1.1.10

11.0.0.18-r1-eus

11.0.0.17-r2-eus

11.0.0.17-r1-eus

11.0.0.16-r1-eus

11.0.0.15-r2-eus

11.0.0.15-r1-eus

11.0.0.14-r1-eus

11.0.0.13-r2-eus

11.0.0.13-r1-eus

11.0.0.12-r1-eus

11.0.0.10-r3-eus

11.0.0.10-r2 or earlier

v1.1-eus 1.1.9

11.0.0.17-r2-eus

11.0.0.17-r1-eus

11.0.0.16-r1-eus

11.0.0.15-r2-eus

11.0.0.15-r1-eus

11.0.0.14-r1-eus

11.0.0.13-r2-eus

11.0.0.13-r1-eus

11.0.0.12-r1-eus

11.0.0.10-r3-eus

11.0.0.10-r2 or earlier

v1.1-eus 1.1.8

11.0.0.17-r1-eus

11.0.0.16-r1-eus

11.0.0.15-r2-eus

11.0.0.15-r1-eus

11.0.0.14-r1-eus

11.0.0.13-r2-eus

11.0.0.13-r1-eus

11.0.0.12-r1-eus

11.0.0.10-r3-eus

11.0.0.10-r2 or earlier

v1.1-eus 1.1.7

11.0.0.16-r1-eus

11.0.0.15-r2-eus

11.0.0.15-r1-eus

11.0.0.14-r1-eus

11.0.0.13-r2-eus

11.0.0.13-r1-eus

11.0.0.12-r1-eus

11.0.0.10-r3-eus

11.0.0.10-r2 or earlier

v1.1-eus 1.1.6

11.0.0.15-r2-eus

11.0.0.15-r1-eus

11.0.0.14-r1-eus

11.0.0.13-r2-eus

11.0.0.13-r1-eus

11.0.0.12-r1-eus

11.0.0.10-r3-eus

11.0.0.10-r2 or earlier

v1.1-eus 1.1.5

11.0.0.15-r1-eus

11.0.0.14-r1-eus

11.0.0.13-r2-eus

11.0.0.13-r1-eus

11.0.0.12-r1-eus

11.0.0.10-r3-eus

11.0.0.10-r2 or earlier

v1.1-eus 1.1.4

11.0.0.14-r1-eus

11.0.0.13-r2-eus

11.0.0.13-r1-eus

11.0.0.12-r1-eus

11.0.0.10-r3-eus

11.0.0.10-r2 or earlier

v1.1-eus 1.1.3

11.0.0.13-r2-eus

11.0.0.13-r1-eus

11.0.0.12-r1-eus

11.0.0.10-r3-eus

11.0.0.10-r2 or earlier

v1.1-eus 1.1.2

11.0.0.13-r1-eus

11.0.0.12-r1-eus

11.0.0.10-r3-eus

11.0.0.10-r2 or earlier

v1.1-eus 1.1.1

11.0.0.12-r1-eus

11.0.0.10-r3-eus

11.0.0.10-r2 or earlier

v1.1-eus 1.1.0

11.0.0.10-r3-eus

11.0.0.10-r2 or earlier

v1.0 1.0.x 11.0.0.10-r2 or earlier

These IBM App Connect Operator versions are installed and managed by OLM. OLM typically tracks the specified channel in the catalog for new versions of the Operator, and based on the approval strategy specified during installation identifies whether an automatic or manual upgrade should occur for a running Operator.

  • Upgrading from IBM App Connect Operator 1.0.x to 1.1.x: Because the IBM App Connect Operator 1.1.x is delivered on a different channel from 1.0.x versions, you must initialize an upgrade to the latest 1.1.x version by manually updating the existing v1.0 channel in your Operator subscription to the v1.1-eus channel. OLM will then track the v1.1-eus channel in the catalog for new versions of the Operator, and upgrade the Operator according to the approval strategy specified during installation.
  • Upgrading from an earlier IBM App Connect Operator 1.1.x (for example, 1.1.9) to a later 1.1.x (for example 1.1.10): If Automatic approval is set on the Operator's subscription, OLM automatically upgrades the Operator to the latest version, but requires manual intervention if Manual approval is set on the subscription.
Note: The Operator for Apache CouchDB and IBM Cloud Platform Common Services Operator, which are dependencies of the IBM App Connect Operator, must also be at the correct level for an EUS release. (Be aware that later versions of the IBM Cloud Platform Common Services Operator have been renamed to IBM Cloud Pak foundational services, which you will be instructed to upgrade to in a later task.)


After the Operator is upgraded, it determines how to upgrade existing instances of your custom resources:

  • If you upgraded from IBM App Connect Operator 1.0.x to 1.1.x, manual intervention will be required to complete each upgrade due to the change in the Operator channel:
    • To upgrade your instances to the latest version that the Operator provides (on the v1.1-eus Operator channel), you must update the spec.version value to subscribe to an EUS-specific custom resource channel, or to set a fully qualified EUS version.
    • New licenses are required to run EUS-specific instances, so you must also update the spec.license.licence value.
  • If you upgraded from an earlier to a later IBM App Connect Operator 1.1.x version in the v1.1-eus channel, existing instances of your custom resources will be upgraded as follows:
    • If the same licenses apply and spec.version is set to a channel, OLM will automatically upgrade an instance to the latest version.
    • If the same licenses apply and spec.version is set to a fully qualified version number, you will need to update the spec.version value for an instance to upgrade to the latest version. You can specify the latest fully qualified version number or a channel.
    • If a new set of licenses are required, and spec.version is set to a channel, you will need to update the spec.license.licence value for an instance in order to complete the upgrade. (Operator versions sometimes include a new IBM App Connect Enterprise image in addition to fixes, so new licenses might be required to run the instances.)
    • If a new set of licenses are required, and spec.version is set to a fully qualified version number, complete the upgrade as follows:
      • Update the spec.license.licence value.
      • Update the spec.version value to the latest fully qualified version number or to a channel.

For more information, see spec.version values and Licensing reference for IBM App Connect Operator.