TSB Support Policy
TSB Releases explained
TSB follows a semantic versioning model based on https://semver.org. This means
we use a MAJOR
.MINOR
.PATCH
version numbering style (e.g. v1.4.0
).
This model describes that:
MAJOR
version is incremented when incompatible API changes are made.MINOR
version is incremented when new features are added.PATCH
version is incremented when bug and security fixes are handled.
TSB Release Cadence and Support
Tetrate releases PATCH
updates (1.x.y) to supported TSB versions on a regular
basis, and at least quarterly.
Each release of a new MINOR
falls under the Long Term Support (LTS) policy, in which Tetrate provides support starting from the official General Availability (GA) release date of the MINOR
release, to the End of General Support (EoGS) set to 12 months after GA or N-2 (two versions prior to the latest TSB version), whichever is longer. Any release after EOGS will not be supported unless extended support has been arranged with Tetrate prior to the EoGS date.
During the release's support window, bug and security fixes will be provided for
each eligible MINOR
version, through the use of PATCH
releases
(e.g. v1.x.1
). A new PATCH
release does not reset the support lifetime
duration, as it is tied to the initial MINOR
release. Patch releases include
fixes for TSB specific components, as well as patch fixes for its open source
components like Envoy, Istio, SkyWalking, and Zipkin.
TSB Release Candidate versions
Next to the LTS versions, Tetrate can make interim "release candidate" versions available. These interim versions provide early access to new features to try out and test.
Release candidate versions are not meant for production usage and even in non production we strongly encourage you to understand that there might be bugs that are either described in the preliminary release notes, or are not yet known. Also note that, new features might not be fully completed and documented yet.
If interested in testing a release candidate, do not hesitate to contact your Tetrate representative for the context around the specific release candidate. Customers testing release candidate versions are strongly encouraged to upgrade to the next LTS version as soon as available.
Supported Upgrade Policy
TSB employs a structured upgrade policy to ensure compatibility and stability across its platform versions. This policy is defined as N-1, which indicates that any given version of TSB Management Plane (MP) is guaranteed to work seamlessly with the Control Plane (CP) version immediately preceding it.
Understanding the N-1 Upgrade Policy
- For any TSB Management Plane version, denoted as
1.x
, compatibility is assured with the1.(x-1)
version of the TSB Control Plane. - For instance, if you are using TSB Management Plane (MP) version
1.8.x
, it is guaranteed to be compatible with TSB Control Plane (CP) version1.7.x
. - However, this policy does not guarantee compatibility with Control Plane versions that are two or more releases behind the current Management Plane version. Continuing the previous example, TSB MP
1.8.x
would not be guaranteed to work with CP1.6.x
.
Implications for Upgrading
- When planning upgrades, it is important to consider this policy to ensure compatibility between the Management Plane and Control Plane versions.
- This policy aids in maintaining a stable and predictable environment, reducing the risks associated with version incompatibility.
Recommendations
- Users are advised to regularly update their Control Plane versions to stay within the N-1 compatibility range of their Management Plane version.
- Staying up-to-date with the latest releases not only ensures compatibility but also provides access to the latest features and security updates.
Supported Versions
In LTS support lifetime, Tetrate will supply patches, security fixes for its components, and the underlying OSS dependencies as described in our component matrix.
Features are not back ported, please see the release notes and the feature status documents for released features.
TSB EoGS dates based on planned upcoming releases
TSB Version | General Availability | End of General Support |
---|---|---|
TSB v1.9.x | 12 April, 2024 | 11 April, 2025 |
TSB v1.8.x | 21 December, 2023 | 20 December, 2024 |
TSB v1.7.x | 15 September, 2023 | 31 May, 2024 |
TSB v1.6.x | 1 January, 2023 | 1 March, 2024 |
TSB v1.5.x | 15 July, 2022 | 22 December, 2023 |
TSB v1.4.x | 1 November, 2021 | 31 October, 2022 |
TSB v1.3.x | 1 June, 2021 | 31 May, 2022 |
TSB v1.2.x | 1 May, 2021 | 30 April, 2022 |
TSB v1.1.x | 1 April, 2021 | 31 March, 2022 |
TSB v1.0.x | 1 March, 2021 | 28 February, 2022 |
TSB Platform compatibility
Tetrate maintains the commitment to test TSB compatibility with Generally Supported k8s versions (approximately most recent three minor releases). For details on Kubernetes release policy refer to this document.
Tetrate maintains the commitment to test TSB Compatibility with OpenShift releases that are either in Full Support or Maintenance Support phase of their lifecycle. Generally, this means most recent 4 minor OpenShift releases. For details on OpenShift Life Cycle Policy refer to official RedHat documentation.
Where possible, Tetrate makes its best effort to verify TSB compatibility with earlier platform releases that may have reached their EoL. For further details, please refer to Tetrate support.
Additionally, Tetrate makes its best effort to verify TSB compatibility with MKE 3.7+
TSB Release | Verified Kubernetes Versions | Verified OpenShift Versions |
---|---|---|
TSB v1.9.4 | 1.28-1.30 | 4.14 |
TSB v1.9.3 | 1.27-1.30 | 4.13-4.16 |
TSB v1.9.2 | 1.27-1.30 | 4.12-4.15 |
TSB v1.9.1 | 1.27-1.29 | 4.12-4.15 |
TSB v1.9.0 | 1.26-1.29 | 4.12-4.14 |
TSB Supported Additional Platforms
Tetrate Service Bridge supports additional platforms for workload onboarding onto the mesh:
Platforms | Notes |
---|---|
AWS EC2 - virtual machine instances | Onboarding authenticated using AWS Account credentials |
AWS ECS tasks | See notes |
On-prem or other cloud-hosted VMs | Onboarding authenticated using JWT tokens |
Onboarding is handled by a Tetrate Onboarding Agent and Istio Sidecar. Tetrate provide packages for the following environments:
Supported OS | Notes |
---|---|
RHEL family | RHEL 8+, Amazon Linux 2023; installation via RPM packages |
Debian family | Debian 9+, Ubuntu 20.04+; installation via DEB packages |
TSB Component Version Matrix
Tetrate Service Bridge comes with the following open source components
TSB | Istio | Envoy | SkyWalking | Cert Manager | OpenTelemetry Collector |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1.9.4 | 1.20.8 | 1.28.5 | 10.0.0-20240813-0240 | v1.14.6 | 0.105.0 |
1.9.3 | 1.20.8 | 1.28.5 | 10.0.0-20240711-0622 | v1.14.6 | 0.105.0 |
1.9.2 | 1.20.8 | 1.28.5 | 10.0.0-20240711-0622 | v1.14.6 | 0.104.0 |
1.9.1 | 1.20.3 | 1.28.1 | 10.0.0-20231208-1409 | v1.14.4 | 0.97.0 |
1.9.0 | 1.20.3 | 1.28.1 | 10.0.0-20231208-1409 | v1.14.4 | 0.91.0 |