Upgrades
You can specify the version, tier, and size when you create a cluster.
Introduction
You can upgrade as new versions of Consul become available or upsize as your networking needs evolve. Note that HashiCorp automatically upgrades your Consul clusters to fix common vulnerabilities and exposures (CVE). You cannot modify the cluster name, tier, or HashiCorp virtual network (HVN) after creating a cluster.
Cluster tiers and sizes
HCP Consul offers the following tiers and sizes:
| Tier | Description | Size |
|---|---|---|
| Development | Lowest tier for proof-of-concept and testing purposes | Extra small (Recommended for up to 50 service instances) |
| Standard | Medium tier for single-region workloads | Small (10-500 service instances) Medium (501-2500 service instances) Large (2501-10000 service instances) |
| Plus | Higher tier for multi-region workloads | Small (10-500 service instances) Medium (501-2500 service instances) Large (2501-10000 service instances) |
| Premium | Highest tier for multi-cloud workloads | Small (10-500 service instances) Medium (501-2500 service instances) Large (2501-10000 service instances) |
Downsizing cluster tiers is not supported.
Refer to the cluster tiers for more information about tier features and supported billing models. For cost information, refer to Consul pricing.
Cluster Versions
To safely and securely manage your Consul clusters, HCP Consul follows HashiCorp’s Support Period Policy.
- HCP Consul offers n-2 version support for bug fixes and CVEs via new minor releases, where n is the latest major release of Consul. You can identify a major release by a change in the first digit (
X) or the second digit (Y) of the Consul version nomenclature (X.Y.Z). For example, if the latest release is1.12.*, fixes will be available for versions1.12.*,1.11.*, and1.10.*. - HashiCorp will update HCP Consul clusters with CVE patches for clusters that fall within the n-2 version.
- HashiCorp recommends users to keep Consul clusters within two (2) major releases from the latest major release, this will ensure bug fixes and security patches are successfully applied to HCP managed Consul clusters.
- HashiCorp will continue to support Generally Available (GA) Consul releases up to two years from their release date. In some cases, HashiCorp may request users to upgrade to newer releases in order to resolve support requests.
Upgrade Consul Version and Size
You can make changes to your HCP Consul cluster using the Terraform HCP provider or the HCP portal (UI), your cluster will not experience any downtime during the upgrade. This topic describes how to use the HCP portal. Refer to the Terraform HCP provider documentation for instructions on upgrading with Terraform.
- If you have not already done so, log into the HashiCorp Cloud Platform and click Consul under the Services sidebar menu.
- Choose Edit cluster from the ellipses menu for the cluster you want to upgrade.
- Choose the new attributes and click Apply changes.