Jira Core 8.10.x upgrade notes

Here are some important notes on upgrading to Jira Core 8.10.

For details on the new features and improvements in this release, see the Jira Core 8.10.x release notes. 

Upgrade notes

Known issue: Too many warning messages about RequestCache in the log file

In Jira 8.9.1, we introduced additional logging messages to track the use of RequestCache without the context. For some instances, this resulted in a huge number of warning messages in the log file, similar to the one below:

[c.a.j.cache.request.RequestCacheImpl] From Jira 9.0 version creation/usage of RequestCacheImpl will throw the IllegalStateException.

If you’re having this problem, you can work around it by changing the logging for RequestCache to ERROR. At the same time, we’re working on a fix for this issue. You can read more about it here.

Changing the logging level for RequestCache

Temporary (will no longer work after restarting Jira)

1. In Jira, go to Administration > System > Logging and profiling.
2. Scroll down to Default Loggers > Configure logging level for another package.
3. Add the com.atlassian.jira.cache.request.RequestCacheImpl package with the ERROR level.

Permanent

1. Edit the <JIRA_INSTALLATION>/atlassian-jira/WEB-INF/classes/log4j.properties file.

2. Add the following lines at the bottom of the file, and save it: 

   log4j.logger.com.atlassian.jira.cache.request.RequestCacheImpl = ERROR, filelog
   log4j.additivity.com.atlassian.jira.cache.request.RequestCacheImpl = false

3. Restart Jira.

Increase your pool-max-size before upgrade

If you're upgrading from Jira 7.x to Jira 8.x we recommend changing your pool-max-size parameter to 40 in dbconfig.xml before the upgrade. This prevents re-index ending up with the ResultSet closed error, especially when you use SQL Server or PostgreSQL as your database. For information on implementing the change, see Tuning database connections.

Licensing improvements

Now getting a new Jira licence comes with new user experience. To make it an easy flow, we've introduced the following changes:

• You can now transition seamlessly from a Server licensed system to a DC licensed Single Node Data Center
• You can add two licenses at the same time, and when it's a Data Center or a Jira Software licens, we remove Jira Core license for you. 
• When you upgrade your license, we help you remember to upgrade your apps to Data Center- approved app versions.  

Expected changes to incoming mail settings

In response to Google and Microsoft deprecating Basic Authentication, we will soon be adding OAuth 2.0 authentication methods for incoming email (so far using the IMAP and POP3 protocols). We’ll also backport it to the supported Enterprise releases. If you currently use email to create issues and issue comments, you will need to reconfigure your incoming mail settings. 

We treat this work with highest priority and aim to provide the solution ahead of the deadlines set by Google and Microsoft so that you have time to upgrade. 

OAuth 2.0 support will mean changes in to the incoming mail settings and the way you configure the incoming email server. It's a good idea to plan to take the time after your upgrade to review the changes so that your instance's email handlers keep working. 

Improved custom fields' indexing DATA CENTER

Large number of custom fields can negatively impact performance and indexing time in Jira. To minimise this impact, we’re introducing a new optimization that reduces the number of called field indexers. 
Now, we won’t be storing sorting markers for custom fields when values don’t exist for a particular issue. Additionally, indexers will be executed only when custom field's values exist for a particular issue and the custom field is visible and has scope scope assigned for that issue. 

For now, all these improvements affect only Jira built-in custom fields. We’re also opening an experimental API to help you leverage these improvements (more details will soon be published on the Developer Community).
This is a complex change in the core functionality of Jira. In case you observe unpredicted behaviour around custom fields, contact customer support and or disable this functionality by using system properties (jira.cfv.driven.indexing.disabled, jira.local.context.indexing.disabled, jira.skip.indexing.null.disabled).

To benefit from this change, a full reindex needs to be performed.

For details, see here.

 End of support announcements

There are no changes in this release.

• Advance notice: Deprecating Hipchat
  We're planning to stop supporting and unbundle the Hipchat plugin from Jira 8.11 and later. The reason for this is that Hipchat Cloud reached the end of life in Feb 2019, Hipchat Data Center in Sep 2019, and Hipchat Server is due in June 2020. If you haven't already, make sure you migrate to other chat solutions before Jira 8.11.

For more details, see End of support announcements.

App developers

See Preparing for Jira 8.10 for any important changes regarding apps.

Upgrade procedure

Upgrading from a Jira version 8.x.x? 

See Upgrading Jira applications for complete upgrade procedures, including all available upgrade methods and pre-upgrade steps. For a more tailored upgrade, go to Jira administration > Applications > Plan your upgrade. We’ll recommend a version to upgrade to, run pre-upgrade checks, and provide you with a custom upgrade guide with step-by-step instructions.