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.
Features are categorized as Deprecated or Removed based on the following definitions:
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Deprecated
A feature that is still supported but no longer developed. The feature is no longer recommended for use and might become obsolete.
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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.
Deprecated features
The following table lists features that are deprecated but still supported. Consider the details and recommended actions that are provided.
| Feature | Release | Details and recommended action |
|---|---|---|
| Instana IBM ACE user exit | 319 | Instana support for the IBM ACE tracing user exit is deprecated and remains supported until 31 May 2027, aligning with the IBM ACE 11 product lifecycle. This deprecation also applies to the AutoTrace webhook support for IBM ACE. After this date, the IBM ACE tracing user exit remains available, but is no longer supported or maintained. IBM ACE 12.0.7 or later provides an in-product OpenTelemetry‑based tracing solution, which is the suggested approach for continued and supported tracing in IBM ACE 12 deployments with Instana. |
| AutoTrace webhook support for IBM MQ | 318 | The Instana AutoTrace webhook support for IBM MQ is deprecated and remains supported until 31 May 2027, after which it is removed from Instana. This feature is replaced by IBM MQ operator, which provides a more reliable MQ tracing support for queue managers on an IBM Cloud Pak for Integration cluster or a Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform cluster. To ensure continued tracing support, migrate your MQ deployments to use the MQ operator. For more details, see IBM MQ guide. |
| NGINX tracing | 318 | NGINX Tracer has announced deprecation for NGNIX versions earlier than 1.24.0 and NGINX Plus versions earlier than R30. These deprecated versions will be supported until 1 April 2027. Going forward, Instana will deprecate EOL NGINX versions after two years of their official end-of-life date. After 1 April 2027, older versions of NGINX Tracer will remain available but will not receive maintenance updates. To ensure optimal performance and security, upgrade to a supported NGINX version. |
| AWS SDK for Java 1.x (AWS SDK v1) | Planned for 323 | AWS SDK v1 deprecation is planned in Instana SaaS release 323. Following deprecation, it remains in maintenance mode until it is fully removed in early 2027. AWS SDK for Java 2.x (AWS SDK v2), available starting with SaaS release 317, replaces AWS SDK v1. For migration details, see the migration documentation. |
| IBM Monitoring Instana Integration Service (Integration Proxy) | 316 | The IBM Monitoring Instana Integration Service (Integration Proxy) for IBM Tivoli Monitoring V6 integration is deprecated effective March 2026 and will be removed in June 2026. The Integration Proxy is replaced by the ITM sensor for the Instana host agent, which provides a simpler architecture by running directly in the host agent instead of requiring a separate Kubernetes/OpenShift deployment. All users must migrate to the ITM sensor before June 2026. The new ITM sensor eliminates the need for separate infrastructure (8 CPU, 16 GB RAM), simplifies configuration, and reduces operational complexity. For more information about migration guidance, see Integrating with IBM ITM V6. |
| Limited non-root agent deployment | 314 | The non-root agent deployment without specific permisisons is deprecated and it will be removed in a future release. We recommend to install the public preview for a non-root agent deployment. This new setup provides all sensor and tracer features and allows to run the agent with an arbitrary user. |
| OTel Data Collector for generative AI (ODCG) | 311 | The OTel Data Collector for generative AI (ODCG) is deprecated. Instana has simplified generative AI observability by eliminating the need for this separate component. |
| The Apache Spark monitoring library for Azure Databricks cluster monitoring | 310 | The Azure Databricks cluster monitoring library for streaming Apache Spark events and Structured Streaming metrics is deprecated. The Azure Databricks sensor no longer collects these metrics. For more information about the complete list of deprecated metrics, see Performance metrics. |
| Search keywords for Dynamic Focus Query (DFQ) | 310 | Some search keywords for the Dynamic Focus search in infrastructure and platform monitoring are deprecated and will be removed in a future release. For the complete list of deprecated keywords, see the Infrastructure and platform monitoring table in the Dynamic Focus documentation. |
PHP Tracer INI setting instana.disabled_instrumentation |
307 | ThePHP INI setting instana.disabled_instrumentationis deprecated. This feature is replaced byspan disabling feature, which provides better instrumentation disabling configurability. This INI setting is supported until 30 May 2026. After this date, it will be removed from Instana. Migrate PHP Tracer's instrumentation disabling settings in your PHP runtimes to the newspan disabling feature. |
| Agent configuration environment variables | 307 | The usage of the environment variables INSTANA_AGENT_HOST and INSTANA_AGENT_PORT for agent configuration is deprecated. These environment variables are reserved for configuring Instana tracers to connect to the agent. If they are set globally, Instana tracers cannot connect to the agent. During agent installation and for global environment variables, set the INSTANA_AGENT_ENDPOINT and INSTANA_AGENT_ENDPOINT_PORT environment variables instead. Support for using INSTANA_AGENT_HOST and INSTANA_AGENT_PORT to configure the agent will be removed in future versions of Instana. However, these variables continue to be used for Instana tracer configuration. |
leader-elector based Kubernetes and OpenShift monitoring from agent static YAML |
305 | Along with the deprecation of agent static YAML, the Kubernetes and OpenShift monitoring might still use the legacy leader-elector and kubernetes-sensor implementation. These components are no longer supported as of release 305 and are planned for removal by the end of 2025. You are suggested to use other supported deployment methods, such as the Instana operator or Helm chart, which deploy our current k8sensor for Kubernetes and OpenShift monitoring. |
| Agent Helm chart version 1.x | 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. For more information, see the current Helm chart documentation for Kubernetes and Red Hat OpenShift . |
| Agent service mesh bypass for Istio | 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. |
| .Net Core 2.0 and later support | 280 | .Net Core 2.0 and later support is deprecated by Instana .Net Core Tracer effective from August 2024. |
| Zalando Postgres operator | 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 | 310 | Java 6 support is deprecated by Instana Java Tracer effective September 2025, and its support will end by September 2026. 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 266 | Breaking change! The deprecated Python AutoTracing feature is scheduled for complete removal in April 2024. |
| Ruby OpenTracing | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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. |
| AWS Lambda Native Tracing for Python | 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 | 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 | 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 | 251 | The spec.ingestor.brokerList key is deprecated and is replaced with spec.kafkaSettings.brokers. |
| High availability approach for self-hosted Docker-based installer | 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 | 249 | HAProxy built-in events |
| Host agent and installer for 32-bit Windows | 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. |
| AWS Lambda Native Tracing for Python | 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 | 214 | This feature is deprecated and will be removed from Instana when there is native AWS Lambda tracing for all Lambda runtimes. |
Removed features
The following table lists features that are removed from the product. You must use alternative features as replacements.
| Feature | Release | Details and recommended action |
|---|---|---|
| Agent static YAML deployment in Kubernetes and Red Hat OpenShift Container platform | 317 | Using a static YAML file to deploy host agents on Kubernetes or Red Hat OpenShift is no longer supported. Instead, use a Kubernetes operator or a Helm chart as described in Installing the agent on Kubernetes and Installing the agent on Red Hat OpenShift. |
| Agent Helm chart version 1.x | 317 | Agent Helm chart version 1.x is no longer supported. The last Helm chart version 1.x is 1.2.74 and does not receive further updates. Use the current version 2.x of the Agent Helm chart instead. The current 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. For more details, see the Helm chart documentation for Kubernetes and Red Hat OpenShift . |
| Support for Kubernetes v1.16 | 245 | For self-hosted Instana backend on Kubernete (on-premises) the minimum supported Kubernetes version is 1.22. |
| Red Hat OpenShift 4.8 | 245 | For self-hosted Instana backend on Red Hat OpenShift (on-premises) the minimum supported OpenShift version is 4.9. |
| The extensions/v1beta1 and apps/v1beta2 API versions | 211 | Use the apps/v1 API version. These API versions were removed in Kubernetes v1.16. |