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Status Submitted
Workspace Instana
Categories Kubernetes
Created by Guest
Created on Mar 25, 2026

Automatically onboard new OpenShift namespaces

When new application namespaces are created in OpenShift, an agent restart is required for them to be recognized before instrumentation activity will commence. In an OpenShift cluster with 47 nodes, agent restarts can be a disruptive operation. I would like a more seamless approach to be able to bring new namespaces under Instana's purview.

Idea priority Medium
  • Guest
    Mar 25, 2026

    I am working with this customer, allow me to provide more context to the idea: 
    Problem Statement:

    In OpenShift environments, when a new application namespace is created, Instana does not begin monitoring or instrumentation for that namespace until the Instana agent is restarted on the cluster nodes.

    In large OpenShift clusters (for example, 47+ worker nodes), restarting agents is a disruptive, operationally expensive activity that creates:

    • Temporary monitoring blind spots
    • Increased operational risk
    • Avoidable toil for platform teams

    As a result, newly deployed applications may run unmonitored for extended periods, which undermines continuous observability and slows incident detection during critical early lifecycle phases. Current Behavior

    • Instana agents discover namespaces at startup.
    • Newly created namespaces are not automatically detected.
    • Platform teams must:
      • Restart agents manually or
      • Perform rolling restarts across nodes
    • This process is:
      • Time-consuming
      • Risky in production clusters
      • Counter to cloud-native, dynamic platform principles

    Desired Capability

    Instana should automatically detect and onboard newly created OpenShift namespaces without requiring any agent restart.

    Specifically:

    • Newly created namespaces should:
      • Be discovered dynamically
      • Inherit existing instrumentation rules and policies
      • Begin telemetry collection automatically

    Value:

    • Eliminates agent restart operations in large clusters
    • Reduces monitoring blind spots for new applications
    • Improves developer and platform team experience
    • Better alignment with GitOps, CI/CD, and dynamic namespace creation
    • Stronger parity with modern cloud-native observability expectations