Cisco AppDynamics Community

Nina.Wolinsky · ‎12-17-2020

A complete checklist and compatibility matrices for Controller, Agents, and platform components

NOTE: The information in this article is not release-specific. You can reference it for any release.

Before you upgrade your Controller, you’ll want to be familiar with how the new Controller version you’re targeting interacts with the Agents in your environment.

How does the version compatibility for Controllers and component agents map to your environment?
Are there interim versions you need to consider?
Do you know where to find reference information and instructions so you can upgrade those components successfully?

To ensure you know the steps to follow for a successful release upgrade, we recommend starting with this article and then following the instructions in our upgrade checklists (links available below).

In this article...

Things to do before you begin:
Other Compatibility Considerations:
- On-premises Compatibility
- Agent Backward Compatibility
How do you determine your Controller version?
Next Steps: Checklists for upgrading each component

Upgrade Checklist Any Release v2.png

Before you begin, be sure to conduct a compatibility review

Before upgrading any component, we recommend you review available information about version compatibility between the target Controller and all the Agents relevant to your environment:

✓ Product Announcements and Alerts
✓ Version Compatibility Matrices
✓ Compendium of Upgrade Checklist Articles

Review Product Announcements and Alerts

Review the Product Announcements and Alerts page to discover and understand the details of upgrading any intermediate versions between your current Controller version and the one you’re targeting.

Review Agent-to-Controller version compatibility grids

Review the Agent-to-Controller and Database Agent-to-Controller compatibility grids below for various components of the AppDynamics environment.

NOTE: For complete details about component compatibility, see our Community and technical documentation.

AGENTS	SUPPORTED CONTROLLER VERSIONS
AGENTS	v4.3.x	v4.4.x	v4.5.x	v20.3 - future releases
Analytics	The Analytics Agent’s version should be: less than or equal to the Controller’s version and also less than or equal to the Event Service version
Apache Web Server	The Apache Web Server Agent’s version should be less than or equal to the Controller’s version
Java	4.x - 4.3	4.4.1 - 20.x ⁽¹⁾	4.5 - 20.x ⁽¹⁾	4.4 - 20.x ⁽¹⁾⁽²⁾
JavaScript (ADRUM)	The JavaScript Agent’s (ADRUM) version should be less than or equal to the EUM Server version
Machine	4.x - 4.3	4.4.1 - 20.x ⁽¹⁾	4.5 - 20.x ⁽¹⁾	4.4 - 20.x ⁽¹⁾⁽²⁾
.NET	4.x - 4.3	4.4.1 - 20.x ⁽¹⁾	4.5 - 20.x ⁽¹⁾	4.4 - 20.x ⁽¹⁾⁽²⁾

⁽¹⁾ Controller version supports through the most recent released Agent version
⁽²⁾ Controller version does not support Agent version 4.1

Database Agent-to-Controller Version Compatibility

NOTE: The AppDynamics DB Agent isn’t backward compatible. Its version should be less than or equal to the Controller version.

DB Agent-to- Controller Compatibility	SUPPORTED CONTROLLER VERSIONS
DB Agent-to- Controller Compatibility	v4.3	v4.4	v4.5	v20.3 -future releases
DB Agent	4.1-4.3 ⁽¹⁾	4.1-4.4 ⁽¹⁾	4.1-4.5 ⁽¹⁾	4.1 - 20.x ⁽¹⁾⁽²⁾

⁽¹⁾ Controller version supports through the most recently released Database Agent version
⁽²⁾ DB Agent is only compatible up to its corresponding Controller version

Other compatibility considerations

On-premises compatibility

Things to keep in mind when you have an on-premises deployment:

The Controller version should be less than or equal to the EUM Server version, and should also be less than or equal to Events Service version
The EUM Server version should be less than or equal to the Events Service version
The Java Script Agent version should be less than or equal to the EUM Server's version

Agent backward compatibility

Starting with release v.4.5x, backward compatibility is supported on the following agents:

Java
.NET
Node.js
PHP
Python
Go SDK
C/C++
Machine

How do you determine your Controller version?

On your Controller’s Home page, click the Settings gear on the upper right.
Then click About AppDynamics above the logout option.
Home > Overview > Settings > then click About AppDynamics
A dialog box with the Controller’s current version and build will appear.
"About AppDynamics” dialog box, headed by the Controller version and build

Next Steps: Checklists for upgrading each component

After following the recommendations in this article, refer to the relevant upgrade checklists for each type of AppDynamics component:

NOTE: These guides are not release-specific and can be referenced for any release.

Last Updated: 7/20/20

Venkat.Subramani · ‎08-25-2020

Table looks better! Second and third rows should be Java, .Net , Machine as they are part of the table cells.

AppD SUpport often recommends latest and greatest version, and then we find blockers!

4.5.16-4.5.18 Analytica agent had a serious license bug that caused a Production outage for application.

THere has to be a recommended STABLE version also.. God knows we have upgraded to several AppD agent versions only for AppD Support coming back and saying that has a bug and upgrade to yet another version.

Claudia.Landivar · ‎08-26-2020

Hey, @Venkat.Subramani: Thanks for sharing your experience! I suspect other customers will find it valuable.

Claudia Landivar

Community Manager & Editor