Java 11 / OpenJDK support update for Server and Data Center products

[#1]

It’s been a while since the last update on our plans for Java 11 and OpenJDK support. As you can imagine, changing our support strategy for a core platform like Java across all Server and Data Center products requires a lot of thought. In this post, we want to share with you as many details as possible. Let’s jump right in.

Java support strategy for Server and Data Center

This states our current strategy. We may make changes to it in the future to ensure we are providing our customers with the best support. We will continue to inform you of any changes we make.  

With the new Oracle Java licensing and release strategy, a new major Java version will be released every 6 months and a Long-Term-Support (LTS) version every 3 years. We’ve decided that we want to avoid a frequently recurring effort associated with supporting a new Java version every 6 months. Instead, we’d like to keep our focus on delivering more value to our customers.   That’s why we plan to support Java LTS versions only. We will support Java 8 and Java 11 - both of which are the first LTS versions. On top of providing support for LTS versions of Java we will keep supporting both Oracle JDK and OpenJDK distributions. The Java JRE/JDK ecosystem is still evolving to account for recent change in Oracle support policy. Beyond Java 11 support we will continue to review and modify our set of supported platforms to ensure the best experience for our customers.

Java support plan by product

The table below outlines which Java versions are supported (or are planned to be supported) by eachproduct version.

Product Version: specific product versions that are not End of Life. E.g. 7.5.0+ means 7.5.0, 7.5.1 and so on.  

Supported Java Version(s): it includes specific Java versions but also distributions a product version supports (or will support), e.g. Oracle JDK 8, AdoptOpenJDK 11.  

Bundled JDK(s): some of our products are released with bundled Java within product installers. This column specifies which Java builds we use for each product version.

Note: any approximate dates included here are based on our best knowledge for the time of this publication and are subject to change. Please watch this page for ongoing updates!

Note: Dates are based on the calendar year. We have provided specific timeframes for some in the near-term future (i.e. Q1). Otherwise, we’ve only identified the year when we will introduce support, but we will continue to revisit and update more specific timeframes as they become available.

*This information is important to developers building apps and integrations for our products. In cases where we provide support for both Java 8 and Java 11, the language level is set to Java 8. It means that no JDK 11 language features / API can be used in the products or plugins.  

** Jira 7.6.11 or 7.13.0, Jira Service Desk 3.16.1 and Confluence 6.13.0 (our most recent Enterprise Releases) include OpenJDK support

If a customer is upgrading and chooses to use AdoptOpenJDK, we recommend that they perform thorough testing of user-installed and marketplace apps to ensure compatibility. App vendors should also review their apps against this bug fix version and make any necessary fixes. We wouldn't usually add support for a new platform in a bugfix release, however, we want to ensure that our customers can stay on an up-to-date JDK with the latest security fixes. Customers can also choose to continue using Oracle JDK under the new licensing terms.  

***Jira 7.13.x and Jira Service Desk 3.16.x already support AdoptOpenJDK 8. One of the bug fix versions of the 7.13 release line will be announced as an Enterprise Release. Watch for updates!

Known issues and workarounds

We've identified several issues caused by some of the differences between Oracle JDK 8 and OpenJDK 8. We are working with AdoptOpenJDK and making in-product changes to fix these issues, see the table below for details and available workarounds:

Issue: Missing fonts in OpenJDK 8 builds

• Reference: https://github.com/AdoptOpenJDK/openjdk-build/issues/693
• Affected products/versions: Jira, Confluence
• Workaround: Check out our KB article: AdoptOpenJDK fails with FontConfiguration error when installing on Linux operating systems

Issue: Missing CAcert from jdk8u172 window build

• Reference: https://github.com/AdoptOpenJDK/openjdk-build/issues/478
• Affected products/versions: All
• Workaround: Update to recent AdoptOpenJDK build

Issue: LinkError on GUI apps on MacOS

• Reference: https://github.com/AdoptOpenJDK/openjdk-build/issues/489
• Affected products/versions: All
• Workaround: Manually set the symlink as described in the comments to the github ticket

FAQs

What does it mean you support OpenJDK? Which distribution?

Apart from supporting Oracle JDK, we test and bundle most of our products with HotSpot distribution ofAdoptOpenJDK (for details see the table above). It also means that our Support team uses AdoptOpenJDK to replicate issues that a customer using OpenJDK Java has raised. If a customer uses a different distribution of OpenJDK (e.g. Zulu) we’ll still provide support for our products. However, if the reported bug is caused by a problem in Java distribution we’ll ask you to reach out to the Java distributor for help.

Why has Atlassian chosen to bundle and test products with AdoptOpenJDK?

We wanted to choose a solidly backed open source initiative that’s compatible with Oracle OpenJDK and with a clear policy and free of charge. We also wanted it to support multiple operating systems that our products run on and ensure commitment to provide updates to OpenJDK 8 until our products stop supporting this version. Finally, we wanted to provide easily accessible builds for Java versions that our customers use. All of these requirements have been fulfilled by AdoptOpenJDK.

As a customer, what do I need to do after Jan 2019 if I'm running an Atlassian Server or Data Center product on Oracle Java 8?

• Upgrade to a product version that supports OpenJDK (Recommended): Each Server and Data Center product now has a feature version which supports OpenJDK and will continue doing so. If you don’t want to purchase an Oracle subscription you can upgrade to one of the product versions that run on OpenJDK (see table on top of this article). To make it even easier, we’ve introduced support for OpenJDK on our current Enterprise Release (ER) versions of Jira and Confluence. Note that some product versions supporting OpenJDK do not bundle it with installers. In such cases, make sure you install OpenJDK manually.  
• Stay on an old version of Oracle JDK: We will continue to support any customer using Oracle JDK 8, however, running on Oracle JDK 8 without a subscription will leave you vulnerable to any Java security issues that are identified after January 2019.  
• Get an Oracle Java SE: If you want to continue to get updates and security patches beyond January 2019, you'll need to purchase an Oracle Java SE subscription.

What if a customer doesn't upgrade Atlassian product to a version supporting OpenJDK and still switch to run it on OpenJDK? Would it work? Will it be supported?

In such case most of our products might still run on OpenJDK with glitches in some areas of a product. However we discourage customers from doing so since such set up is not supported.

Does Atlassian have any agreement with Oracle thereby Atlassian customers are eligible to get commercial support for Oracle Java platform that is shipped with Atlassian Server or Data Center products?

Atlassian doesn’t have an agreement covering customers. Customers can have their own agreement with Oracle.

[Isaac_nl]

Hi,

The screenshots are not readable on mobile.

Valentijn

[James Bullock]

Good work. Right direction, well-calibrated.

[Bridget]

@Isaac_nl I've just sent you an email with the screenshots attached as a .jpeg. Hope that helps! 

[Kevin Weis]

Hi,
is there any specific guide / documentation regarding how upgrade / switch a already installed Jira Server from using the bundled Oracle JDK to OpenJDK?

[Jakub Lazinski]

Hi @Kevin Weis, there's no specific guide on how to switch Jira from using Oracle JDK to OpenJDK. However, you can follow the steps described in this Knowledge Base article. Just use them with AdoptOpenJDK.

[Kevin Weis]

@Jakub Lazinski Thanks, that will do it ;-)

[Adam Clauss]

"Apart from supporting Oracle JDK, we test and bundle most of our products with HotSpot distribution ofAdoptOpenJDK(for details see the table above)."

If I'm reading correctly, Bamboo seems to be the exception for the "most" listed above?  Bamboo support entries simply say OpenJDK.  FE/Crucible prior to 4.8 also says OpenJDK, but moving forward lists AdoptOpenJDK.  Bamboo doesn't list anything different in future versions.  Can you clarify Bamboo?

[Krystian Brazulewicz]

Hi @Adam Clauss, I'm Bamboo Team Leader. Let me clarify this ambiguity with regards to Bamboo support for OpenJDK and specifically AdoptOpenJDK. 

Bamboo installation does not bundle any flavour of JDK, it relies purely on the JDK provided by customer. This is why the original article states "bundle most of our products".

When it comes to OpenJDK support - Bamboo supports deployments on OpenJDK for a while now. OpenJDK binaries built as part of AdoptOpenJDK project are naturally also supported. Until recently we never felt there's a need to endorse one single compilation of OpenJDK but since Oracle announced new Java licensing and release strategy we're planning to officially endorse AdoptOpenJDK since Bamboo release coming out in Spring 2019.

Our plans for Java 11 support are yet not finalized and this piece of work was not yet roadmapped. Please watch BAM-20031 to track our progress in this area.

Let me know if you have any more questions.

Cheers!

[Adam Clauss]

@Krystian Brazulewicz thank you for the clarifications.

[Jun]

Hi,

Atlassian chose to bundle AdoptOpenJDK.
AdoptOpenJDK has two kinds of implementations, HotSpot JVM provided by OpenJDK and OpenJ9 JVM supported by IBM.

As an advantage of OpenJ9
* Low memory footprint
* Fast startup time
* High application throughput
Is claimed.
https://www.eclipse.org/openj9/oj9_performance.html

When using AdoptOpenJDK with Atlassian products, should you use HotSpot JVM or OpenJ9 JVM?

Thanks

[Reneesh Kottakkalathil]

Per https://confluence.atlassian.com/bitbucketserver/supported-platforms-776640981.html, the instructions are to download openjdk from http://openjdk.java.net/install/. If adopt openjdk is supported for Bitbucket can you please update the supported platforms instructions.

[rgoossens]

Will Atlassian provide a new patch version of an Atlassian application to fix a security issue in the bundled JVM or do you need to maintain the JVM by yourself?

[João Palharini]

@Jakub Lazinski,

Can you confirm whether we are indeed bundling the Oracle JDK? As far as I know, we always bundled the JRE due to some licensing restrictions.

Cheers,
João

[andrea schneider]

Hi

I have added the JAVA_HOME variable to the setenv.sh referencing a AdoptOpenJDK8 installation but when I try to startup Jira it says:

Wrong JVM version! You are running with .. but JIRA requires at least 1.8 to run.

 What else do I have to configure to run it with AdoptOpenJDK8 ?

Thanks for your help...

[Leo]

@andrea schneider 

Please note that Jira supports OpenJDK 8 only in versions 7.6.11+, 7.13.0+, 8.0.0+ .

These versions have the Jira shell scripts properly adjusted to allow running Jira on OpenJDK 8.

So assuming you are running one of those versions you should not be getting the error message.

If you are running any other Jira version and want to try it on OpenJDK 8 you will get such a message. In this case you can manually edit the shell scripts and update / remove the JVM version check. But please note we do officially support OpenJDK 8 in Jira only starting from the versions listed above.

[steve]

@Reneesh Kottakkalathil we've updated the Bitbucket Documentation to capture the changes with OpenJDK. Thanks for calling this improvement out for us.

[Amit.Jaggi@macquarie.com]

Hi 

We raised an SR - PS-34129 to check if the Atlassian products are compatible with Azul JDK and while the above link states - "If a customer uses a different distribution of OpenJDK (e.g. Zulu) we’ll still provide support for our products", on the SR, we have been advised that - majority of the products will only support AdoptOpenJDK and not Azul OpenJDK and the only products that support any distributions of OpenJDK are Bitbucket and Bamboo.

Can you pls advise why there are mixed messages?

Thanks!

Amit

[Caterina Curti]

Hi Amit.Jaggi@macquarie.com

I can confirm that the information in the "What does it mean you support OpenJDK? Which distribution?" FAQ item is the correct one and that we will support our products running on the Azul OpenJDK (Zulu).

Cheers,

Caterina

[Amit.Jaggi@macquarie.com]

Thanks Caterina Curti !

Can you pls also check the above document and confirm which version of the application would work on Azul OpenJDK (Zulu)?

Thanks 

Amit

[Caterina Curti]

Hi Amit.Jaggi@macquarie.com

Here are the links to the requests for Jira and Confluence about the OpenJDK support:

- Jira: https://jira.atlassian.com/browse/JRASERVER-41589

- Confluence: https://jira.atlassian.com/browse/CONFSERVER-16431

The version introducing the support is available in the "Fix Version/s" field.

Caterina

[Marek Parfianowicz]

Hi @Adam Clauss

I'm a TL of Fisheye/Crucible development team, so please let me answer your question.

FE/Crucible prior to 4.8 also says OpenJDK, but moving forward lists AdoptOpenJDK.  

Fisheye and Crucible always supported both Oracle JDK and OpenJDK (no matter from which provider). This is not going to change since release 4.9. You can still use OpenJDK variant of your choice.

The only things which will change are the following:

• we're going to bundle AdoptOpenJDK in the Windows installer for Fisheye / Crucible (instead of the Oracle JDK)
• we're going to internally test Fisheye / Crucible against AdoptOpenJDK (instead of binaries from openjdk.java.net)

Regards

[Amit.Jaggi@macquarie.com]

Hi Caterina

We have come to know that Confluence has a latest release version 6.13.3 which is the latest Enterprise Release version of Confluence, which also supports Zulu OpenJDK and comes with the fixes for Confluence Security Advisory - 2019-03-20.

Can you please confirm if that is the case and if we can use the same?

Regards

Amit

[Caterina Curti]

Hi Amit.Jaggi@macquarie.com ,

That's correct. The 6.13.3 version of Confluence is an Enterprise Release and includes support for OpenJDK (Zulu included).

As of today, the first Confluence version supporting OpenJDK is 6.13.0 (the source of truth for this information is CONFSERVER-16431).

Caterina

[User]

Are there any updates regarding Java 11 support in Bamboo? I see that https://jira.atlassian.com/browse/BAM-20031 is still "Gathering Interest", which is a strange status at this point. It would be good if you at least made Bamboo agents compatible with Java 11. We already completely migrated to Java 11, but have to also install Java 8 on all servers just because of Bamboo agents.

[Henrik_Høegh]

The table shows that Jira 8.2 will be bundled with adopt openjdk, but it still has oracle. Can you clarify ?