Unlocking Powerful New Capabilities in IBM App Connect Operator
We’re excited to share a comprehensive roundup of the latest enhancements delivered across recent IBM App Connect Operator releases. These updates bring significant performance improvements, expanded configuration options, and broader platform support—empowering users to optimize their integration workloads with greater precision and flexibility.
Here’s a breakdown of the standout features and fixes, along with their respective release versions:
Accelerated Startup with Dynamic Resource Allocation
Available in Operator v12.17.0
This feature introduces the ability to allocate additional CPU resources during pod startup, dramatically improving initialization times for IntegrationRuntimes with large numbers of flows. Crucially, this enhancement leverages a new Kubernetes capability introduced in version 1.33 (Beta), and is enabled by default on most platforms, including OpenShift 4.20.
For further information please refer to the Dynamic CPU Allocation for Faster Startup in IntegrationRuntimes blog
Node Selectors for Switch, DesignerAuthoring and the Operator
Available in Operator v12.17.0
You can now apply node selectors to Switch, DesignerAuthoring, and the Operator itself—completing the scheduling control previously available for the Dashboard and IntegrationRuntime. This enables precise placement of workloads across your cluster for performance, compliance, or cost optimization.
For further information please refer to the Completing support for tolerations and nodeSelector to all App Connect resources blog
Removal of stdout Buffering Limitations
Available in Operator v12.17.0
We’ve eliminated the need to manually configure buffer sizes for IntegrationRuntime standard output. Output is now streamed directly to the container’s stdout, resolving issues for users processing large volumes of log data.
Support for Kubernetes 1.33 and OpenShift 4.20
Available in Operator v12.17.0
Stay current with the latest platform versions—App Connect Operator now fully supports Kubernetes 1.33 and OpenShift 4.20.
Real-Time Dashboard Updates
Available in Operator v12.16.0
The App Connect Dashboard now supports real-time updates for your Integration Runtimes. Instead of manually refreshing the page to see the latest state, the App Connect Dashboard stays in-sync automatically through a live connection and Integration Runtime updates are instantly reflected on your screen.
For further information please refer to the Introducing Real-Time Updates in the App Connect Dashboard blog
Ability to select a custom JVM Version
Available in Operator v12.16.0
Specify your preferred JVM version directly in the IntegrationRuntime CR. This is especially useful for workloads that depend on older Java versions not yet compatible with Java 17 (the current default).
For further information please refer to How to set the Java Version for an IntegrationRuntime in IBM App Connect Operator blog
Support for App Connect Enterprise 13.0.5.0
Available in Operator v12.16.0
The latest IntegrationRuntime operand (13.0.5.0-r1) brings all the new capabilities of App Connect Enterprise 13.0.5.0 to your containerized environments.
For further information please refer to Explore the new features in App Connect Enterprise 13.0.5.0 blog
Topology Spread Constraints on the Dashboard and IntegrationRuntime
Available in Operator v12.14.0
You can now configure topology spread constraints for your App Connect Dashboard and integration runtime pods. As a result, you gain better control over the spread and distribution of those pods, when you have multiple instances of applications running across different topology domains (such as regions, zones and nodes).
For further information please refer to Configuring topology spread constraints for App Connect Dashboard and integration runtime pods blog
Support for App Connect Enterprise 13.0.4.0
Available in Operator v12.13.0
The IntegrationRuntime operand (13.0.4.0-r1) now supports App Connect Enterprise 13.0.4.0, unlocking its latest features and improvements.
For further information please refer to Explore the new features in App Connect Enterprise 13.0.4.0 blog
Custom Hostnames for Dashboard and API
Available in Operator v12.13.0
You can now configure custom hostnames for the App Connect Dashboard and its API via the .spec.routes section in the CR. Keycloak integration is also updated to support these custom URLs seamlessly.
ACE AI Agent Updates
The IBM App Connect Enterprise (ACE) Agent Preview introduces an Agentic Artificial Intelligence (AI) component designed to deliver automated capabilities that help reduce costs, accelerate delivery, and enhance operational control.
App Connect Agents are built to:
- Reduce operational overhead through intelligent recommendations and automation.
- Accelerate change with agent-assisted deployment and flow management.
- Optimize resource usage and licensing using real-time topology insights.
- Improve governance with greater visibility into runtime behavior.
- Enable confident change management by surfacing dependencies and identifying deprecated components.
To learn more, check out:
Performance Highlights
We’ve also published performance benchmarks for our certified container offering. These reports provide valuable insights into throughput, resource usage, and scalability. If you would like to learn more about this please refer to IBM App Connect Enterprise (certified container) V13 Performance Report blog