W e’ve had Elasticsearch 1.7 out and running in production for a few months now, and, as expected, it’s operating like a champ. This is a minor update that doesn’t change user functionality, so we don’t expect any impact. Next week we’ll begin the process of upgrading all remaining 1.5 clusters onto ES 1.7, from Tuesday through Thursday. We will be posting updates on twitter.
Gain Improved Versions of Features Available Through Elasticsearch 1.6
Most user-facing changes to Elasticsearch in 1.6 and 1.7 have been minor or subtle additions to existing functionality, so we’re not expecting any notable changes for clusters being upgraded.
One such example from our friends over at WeWork: the field_value_factor function now lets you specify a default value for a field that is missing on a document. A handy improvement if you’re using function_score_query with inconsistent document values!
Other changes to ES 1.6 and 1.7 have been focused on security and operational improvements. While these kinds of improvements are always nice to have, they weren’t critical for us. The security fixes, in particular, do not affect our systems due to our architectural design choices and other preventative measures.
So if ES 1.5 is working out fine, why risk an upgrade? Good question. These newer versions definitely are better, even if subtly. We think it’s a core part of our value as a service provider to provide continuous managed upgrades to our customers, so that you can enjoy the full benefits of open source community built software.
Imagine, if the cost:benefit ratio had us putting this upgrade on the backburner, how much longer might a busy team focused on their app wait to manage their own upgrade!
A Smoother Transition for Future Releases: 2.0
More importantly here, Elasticsearch 2.0 is around the corner, and that upgrade will not be so trivial. We’re laying the groundwork now to help prepare for that upgrade some time in the new year, and ES 1.6 and 1.7 also help to provide interim tooling toward that end. You will receive at least a month of notification for this update so you can test your app against this particular upgrade.
How to opt-out of 1.7
If, out of an abundance of caution, you’d like to opt-out of the upgrade, that’s fine too! We can provide long-term version support for any Elasticsearch version on one of our dedicated cluster plans. Just contact support and let us know.
Recap:
- We’re upgrading everyone from 1.5 to 1.7
- This will happen next week, Dec 22nd — Dec 24th
- 1.7 improves security and operations, so we don’t expect any user-facing impact
- Upgrades to 2.0 are coming in the new year
