Deprecated and removed features

Frequent updates to the product and changes in technology require that some features are deprecated or removed from support. When a feature is deprecated, IBM continues to support the feature, but no longer plans to enhance it and might remove it in a subsequent release of the product.

In the following table, features are labeled Deprecated or Removed based on the following definitions:

  • Deprecated

    A feature that is still supported but no longer developed. The feature is no longer recommended for use and might become obsolete.

  • Removed

    A feature that was deprecated in previous releases and is no longer available in the product. You must use alternative features as a replacement for the removed function.

The Release column indicates the Instana release at which the feature was first deprecated or removed.

Consider the details and recommended actions that are provided in the table.

Feature Status Release Details and recommended action
Agent Helm chart version 1.x Deprecated 294 Agent Helm chart version 1.x is deprecated effective 15 April 2025. The last Helm chart version 1.x is 1.2.74 and will not receive further updates. The Agent Helm chart 1.x is replaced with the current version 2.x of the Agent Helm chart. The new Agent Helm chart installs a custom resource definition and a Kubernetes controller manager, also known as "Operator" to handle the Instana monitoring components in a cluster. The install commands remain unchanged, but the upgrade and uninstall commands are changed. You can review the current Helm chart documentation for Kubernetes and Red Hat OpenShift for more details.
Agent service mesh bypass for Istio Deprecated 291 Agent service mesh bypass is deprecated effective from March 2025. The service mesh bypass is planned to be removed in future versions of Instana Agent. Service mesh support for JVM monitoring in Kubernetes and OpenShift clusters is handled by the agent's native service mesh integration and supports Istio and OpenShift ServiceMesh.
Agent static YAML deployment in Kubernetes and Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform Deprecated 290 Agent static YAML deployment method is deprecated effective from March 2025. Static YAML is planned to be removed in the future releases of Instana.
.Net Core 2.0 and later support Deprecated 280 .Net Core 2.0 and later support is deprecated by Instana .Net Core Tracer effective from August 2024.
Zalando Postgres operator Deprecated 277 The Zalando Postgres operator is no longer supported for installing Instana Custom Edition effective from September 2024. The CloudNativePG operator is used instead of the Zalando Postgres operator.
Java 6 support by Java Tracer Deprecated 294 Java 6 support is deprecated by Instana Java Tracer effective May 2025. As a result, support for serverless agents will no longer be available for Java 6. To continue using serverless agents, upgrade to Java 7 or later.
Python 3.7 Tracing Deprecated 275 Instana Python Tracer 2.5.0 no longer supports the Python 3.7 runtime. The minimum supported runtime is Python 3.8.
PHP versions officially past end-of-life Deprecated 294 PHP Tracer declared EOL for PHP 7 and PHP 8.0 and aligned with PHP EOL versions. Going forward, Instana will deprecate minor versions at their official end-of-life date. The deprecated minor versions will be supported for a year. Afterwards, old versions of PHP Tracer will still be available, but their maintenance will be suspended. Move from unsupported PHP versions is recommended for improved performance and security. For more information, see Supported Versions and Unsupported Branches.
PHP Tracer PHP SDK Deprecated 297 The PHP SDK is deprecated and will be supported until 30 May 2026. After this date, it will be removed from Instana. To ensure continued tracing support, migrate your applications to the OpenTelemetry SDK Instana exporter.
Ruby 2.7 Tracing Deprecated 270 In Instana Ruby tracer 1.214.0, the Ruby 2.7 runtime is no longer supported. The minimum supported runtime is Ruby 3.0.
Endpoint Configuration API Deprecated 268 The "endpoint configuration" endpoints in /api/application-monitoring/settings/http-endpoint are deprecated and might be removed. The replacement for these APIs is in/api/application-monitoring/settings/endpoint. For more information, see OpenAPI. The new API supports endpoint case sensitivity configuration for all endpoint types, along with the functions of the deprecated HTTP Endpoint Configuration API.
Docker-operated data stores backend Deprecated 266 The Docker-operated data stores backend for use with the Instana Enterprise operator is deprecated. For new installations, install in-cluster data stores by Using third-party Operators. However, if you're already using Docker-based data stores, you can continue to use it.
Instana Python AutoTrace Deprecated 266 Breaking change! The deprecated Python AutoTracing feature is scheduled for complete removal in April 2024.
Ruby OpenTracing Deprecated 266 After January 2024, Ruby OpenTracing is not supported on Instana. Instana Ruby Tracer for OpenTracing is scheduled to be removed in June 2025.
Python OpenTracing Deprecated 266 After January 2024, Python OpenTracing is not supported on Instana. Instana Python Tracer for OpenTracing is scheduled to be removed in January 2025.
Instaamqp Deprecated 265 After 20 January 2024, the instaamqp package is not supported. For the instrumentation of AMQP, you can use the instaamqp091 package, which is provided as part of the go-sensor SDK.
AWS Lambda Native Tracing for Ruby Deprecated 264 After 7 January 2024, customers are no longer able to create functions that use the Ruby 2.7 runtime. The minimum supported runtime is Ruby 3.2.
Instana Python AutoTrace Deprecated 258 Breaking change! After the release of Instana - Python - Discovery version 1.9.12, which is planned for 19 September 2023, the deprecated Python AutoTracing feature is not enabled by default. If you still use this deprecated feature, prepare for its removal. For more information about the options, see Deprecated: Legacy Python AutoTrace.
AWS Lambda Native Tracing for Python Deprecated 256 After 27 November 2023, customers are no longer able to create functions that use the Python 3.7 runtime. The minimum supported runtime is python3.8.
Application trace API Deprecated 253 The endpoint GET /api/application-monitoring/analyze/traces/{id} is deprecated and might be removed in the future. The replacement for this API is GET /api/application-monitoring/v2/analyze/traces/{id} (see OpenAPI). The new API supports pagination and does not provide call data and stacktrace information.
Synthetic monitoring Deprecated 252 The $http API in Synthetic API script is deprecated. You are recommended to migrate your API script from $http to $got. For more information, see API Script Guide.
BeeInstana configuration options Deprecated 251 The spec.ingestor.brokerList key is deprecated and is replaced with spec.kafkaSettings.brokers.
High availability approach for self-hosted Docker-based installer Deprecated 249 The high availability approach for Instana's Self-hosted Docker-based installer is deprecated, and will be removed when the high availability setup for self-hosted Instana backend on Kubernetes/OpenShift (on-premises) is available. If you depend on high availability, you should move to a Self-hosted Instana backend on Kubernetes/OpenShift (on-premises).
HAProxy built-in events Deprecated 249 HAProxy built-in events
Host agent and installer for 32-bit Windows Deprecated 248 The host agent and Windows installer for the 32-bit Windows architecture are no longer updated. You can install the 32-bit dynamic agent and static agent on Windows, and the dynamic host agent is still able to receive updates.
Support for Kubernetes v1.16 Removed 245 For self-hosted Instana backend on Kubernete (on-premises) the minimum supported Kubernetes version is 1.22.
Red Hat OpenShift 4.8 Removed 245 For self-hosted Instana backend on Red Hat OpenShift (on-premises) the minimum supported OpenShift version is 4.9.
AWS Lambda Native Tracing for Python Deprecated 229 Since August 17, 2022, customers cannot update existing functions that use the Python 3.6 runtime. The minimum supported runtime is python3.7.
Monitoring AWS X-Ray Deprecated 214 This feature is deprecated and will be removed from Instana when there is native AWS Lambda tracing for all Lambda runtimes.
The extensions/v1beta1 and apps/v1beta2 API versions Removed 211 Use the apps/v1 API version. These API versions were removed in Kubernetes v1.16.