This document provides information about supported versions and upgrade recommendations for various IBM middleware products, including API Connect, DataPower Gateway, MQ, BPM/BAW, 3Scale, and Red Hat Fuse. It recommends upgrading products to the latest supported versions for continued support, security fixes, new features and improved performance. Specific upgrade paths and benefits of upgrading are described for each product.

1. IBM Middleware Upgrade
Keep Your IBM Middleware Up-to-Date
June 2020

2. API CONNECT
• What are currently supported versions of API Connect?
• Currently, there are three Long Term Support versions of API Connect that gets fixes
• APIC v5.0.8.x – released September 08, 2017
• APIC v2018.4.1.x – released November 15, 2018
• APIC v10 – released May 28, 2020 (New!)
• What to do if your APIC is at version v5.0.8.6 or below?
• In-place upgrade to the 5.0.8.7 iFix 4 or later. Version 5.0.8.x is only version from v5 branch that receives fixes.
• What about DataPower version?
• Suggested version to upgrade to is 2018.4.1.10 or later. This version of DataPower firmware can be configured to work in
v5 or v2018 mode. All older firmware versions are now out of support. Action: If you are still using firmware 7.6, 7.5 or
older you should upgrade DataPower to the latest firmware version.
• Should I migrate to APIC v2018.4.1.x?
• Currently, there is no end of support announced for APIC V5. But it is strongly suggested that migration starts in 2020.

3. TrustedPartnerYouCanWorkWith
Migrating to faster and better API Management solution
Your services are going cloud-native, don’t
leave your API management solution behind
APIC v5 was great at the time. With class leading secure gateway
solution – DataPower and powerful management capabilities. But world
is moving forward. Cloud-native native is a new norm.
With new architecture of IBM APIC v2018 and V10 you get:
• Unprecedented scaling flexibility, scale up or down as your needs
rose without need to install anything
• Increased system reliability, new Gateways form a peering group
and they stay active even in event of management component is
going offline
• Deploy Gateways close to your services, analytics too. Multicloud
deployment is almost as simple as single cloud.
IBM API Connect V2018 and IBM API
Connect V10 brings you modern microservice
architecture and cloud-native deployment
Choose best deployment model that works for you, we have
tested them all
• Choose on-premise Red Hat OpenShift – because you are business that
values increased security and platform management it brings
• Choose SaaS Kubernetes offering (AWS, Azure, IBM Cloud) – because
you are not willing to manage Kubernetes environment
• Choose IBM CloudPak for Integration – because you are in need of
integration and streaming services as well
• Choose OVA virtual machines deployment model – because V5
deployment model fits best in your EA landscape
Trusted Partner
What ever model works best for you, we are here to support you on your
migration path.
We will work together with you so you can choose deployment model that
would best support current and future system architectures.
With DevOps practices
We at CROZ like to script most of things. So you can expect that we will
script your installation and migration as much as possible. With new APIC
DevOps capabilities we can help you to streamline API deployment
process.
Why CROZ?
We have more then a decade experience with DataPower devices and even
more in IBM middleware software we are in unique position to get your
existing middleware into Cloud era. For last 4 years CROZ has been RedHat
partner implementing OpenShift technology. With certified experts we are
helping our clients to successfully implement their API initiatives.
With up to 5x increased performance
New natively built API Gateway you get noticeable performance
improvements.
Your gateways will have even lower latencies and increased traffic
capacity. With out-of-the-box scaling capabilities, only sky is the limit.
Available on the DataPower appliances as well!

4. DATAPOWER GATEWAY
• What are currently supported versions of appliance hardware?
• Currently, there are two supported version of hardware for IBM DataPower Gateways (Hardware Generation Machine Type
(M/T) / Models):
• 8436 IDG / 52X 53X - End of Service (FW) & Lifecycle End – 30th of June 2023
• 8441 X2 / 52X 53X - End of Service (FW) & Lifecycle End – not announced yet
• What are currently supported versions of appliance firmware's?
• DataPower Gateway v2018.4.1.x, released November 13, 2018, End of Service Date not announced yet
• DataPower Gateway V10
• What to do if yours hardware is not supported any more?
• Replace it with the latest supported hardware appliance (8441 X2) or if applicable replace it with a new virtual appliance.
• What are the benefits of replacing hardware appliance
• New hardware will be supported by IBM and its performance will be better than the old one.
• What if I replace old hardware appliance with a virtual appliance
• It depends on virtualization infrastructure and its hardware. For most loads virtual appliances have more than enough
power to serve all your needs. There are some cases where hardware appliance performance is required and best would be
to check your current appliance CPU and memory – do performance test to decide.
• What are the benefits of migrating firmware to version 2018.4
• Besides moving from unsupported version of DataPower Gateway firmware there are a lot of improvements,
optimizations, new features and bug fixes added to a new firmware.

5. IBM MQ 1/3
• IBM MQ 8.0.x has reached End of Support on April, 30th 2020
• Older versions are already out of support. We strongly recommend upgrading to latest version of MQ code which is 9.1.5.
Depending on your needs for high availability, security and optionally optimizing file transfer process under one platform
by using MQ manage file transfer feature, MQ Advanced edition could be your right choice. It provides options to:
• Increase security by introducing end-to-end message encryption
• New MQ replicated data Queue Manager High Availability option
• Establish file transfer network under one platform
• Support for dataset encryption on z/OS (pageset and log datasets, shared message datasets)
• Encryption for passwords in MQIPT
• Publishing messages using REST API
• V 2 of the REST API introduced
• No matter the edition, new MQ version offers the following benefits
• Easier MQ cluster administration
• Ability to issue MQSC trough JSON REST API calls and integrate it with custom made monitoring software (like Graphana
with Prometeus)
• More automated and reliable application balancing by usind CCDT with queue manager groups
• Stronger TLS CipherSpec
• QM Internet Pass Trough as part of basic installation for implementing MQ proxy
• Docker container support for implementation on OpenShift

6. IBM MQ 2/3
• IBM MQ release models
• Continuous Delivery (CD) contain functional enhancements as well as the latest set of defect fixes and security updates
• Long Term Support (LTS) updated by fix packs or PTFs, which provide defect fixes and security updates in a predictable
fashion
• IBM MQ release models considerations
• On z/OS must be separated in different SMPE zones
• Different set of FMIDS
• Single Queue Manager can be migrated between release models
• It is possible to have both models on same system
• Upgrade paths
• Installation of new code on the top of existing code
• Removal of old level of code, followed by installation of the new level
• Side by side installation

7. IBM MQ 3/3
• Migration paths for distributed platform
• Migration paths for z/OS platform

8. IBM BUSINESS PROCESS MANAGER
• What is the difference between BPM and BAW?
• After release of version 8.6, BPM has been bundled together with IBM Case Manager and rebranded to IBM BAW. Version 18.0.0.0
was first release of BAW. BAW is new BPM.
• What are currently supported versions of BPM/BAW?
• BPM 8.6.x will reach EOS on 2020-09-30
• BAW 18/19 versions have support for 2 years after release
• What about licensing?
• BPM customer will automatically have their licenses upgraded to BAW at their next S&S renewal. Licenses can also be converted
sooner if needed.
• For BPM 8.6 customers, it is a no cost trade up and 1:1 for PVUs.
• Even without switching to BAW licenses, BPM customers can apply the BAW CFs and still run Case, although they are bound by the
CPE limitations specified in the BPM 8.6 license
• Benefits of migrating to newest BAW version
• New fully functional Process Designer (from version 18.0.0.0)
• Eclipse/desktop based Process Designer is discontinued, new modern Web Designer is used for development purposes
• IBM Deployment Accelerator for Business Automation Workflow
• Lightweight solution for BPM process development, testing and ops team to apply DevOps to a BPM project
• Numerous fixes and improvements such as:
• Artifact moving fixed
• Debugger optimized
• ENV Variables fixed
• Reworked Developer Warnings so it is easier to notice errors
• Many others

9. RED HAT 3SCALE AMP 1/2
• What are currently supported versions of 3scale?
• Currently, there is one major supported version of Red Hat 3scale API Management Platform
• 3scale 2.x
• Released – April 2, 2017
• End of Full Support – April 2, 2021
• End of Maintenance Phase – May 30, 2023
• End of Life – May 30, 2023
• 3scale 2.7
• Released – February 21, 2020
• Should I migrate to 3scale 2.7 from older 2.x versions?
• It is advisable to migrate your 3scale on premise installation to the latest current version.
• How to migrate to latest 3scale 2.x version?
• You should migrate version by version (for example: 2.5 to 2.6) which means that if you have older version you could need
more than one migration. Migration between each of version pairs is described on Red Hat site. Here are general
guidelines:
• Make backup before upgrade
• Migration causes disruption for your APIs, provide maintenance window
• Check if some features were deprecated

10. RED HAT 3SCALE AMP 2/2
• What are benefits of the latest 3scale 2.x version?
• Each new version brings new fixes, new features and improvements. For example with 3scale 2.7 the most interesting of
those are:
• Fixed disabling a method by modifying a plan
• Fixed 3scale toolbox command not recognized
• A new way to manage APIs (separation of products & backends)
• API Cast policy to configure Camel policy extension
• 3scale operators for upgrade in OpenShift 4

11. RED HAT FUSE 1/2
• What are currently supported versions of Red Hat Fuse?
• Currently, there are two major supported versions of Red Hat Fuse:
• Fuse 6.x
• GA: April, 2013
• End of Full Support: July 2018
• End of Maintenance Support: January 2020
• End of ELS1: January 2024
• End of ELS2: January 2025
• Fuse 7.x
• GA: April, 2018
• End of Full Support: May 2021
• End of Maintenance Support: May 2023
• End of ELS1: May 2025
• End of ELS2: not announced
• Should I migrate to Fuse 7.x?
• Your existing Fuse 6 applications will continue to work as before but you should think about creating new applications
using the latest Fuse version. At some point in the future, migration of existing Fuse 6 applications will be necessary if you
want to keep Red Hat support for them.
• How to migrate to latest Fuse version?
• Migration is described in details on Red Hat pages but basically you should read Migration to Fuse 7.0 and then Migration
to Fuse 7.5.1 (latest version at the time of writing this document).
• There is no automated migration – you will have to rebuild and redeploy you applications to use the latest Fuse version.

12. RED HAT FUSE 1/2
• What are benefits of the latest Fuse version?
• The latest Fuse version family ensures you Red Hat support availability.
• The latest Fuse version updates a lot of frameworks and libraries used by Fuse and provides many new features. Tooling
support in IDEs you use to develop Fuse application is improved between versions. In many cases new version could make
your development process faster and give you more tools to use.