Skip to content

Commit d3845d7

Browse files
authored
Clarify support for bundled JDK (#113993) (#114209)
Spells out that third-party EOL schedules don't affect our support. Also reorders the information to talk about the benefits of the bundled JDK before mentioning alternatives, and clarifies the division of responsibilities for "supported" JDKs other than the bundled one.
1 parent 550e808 commit d3845d7

File tree

1 file changed

+23
-21
lines changed

1 file changed

+23
-21
lines changed

docs/reference/setup/install.asciidoc

Lines changed: 23 additions & 21 deletions
Original file line numberDiff line numberDiff line change
@@ -76,27 +76,29 @@ Docker container images may be downloaded from the Elastic Docker Registry.
7676
[[jvm-version]]
7777
=== Java (JVM) Version
7878

79-
{es} is built using Java, and includes a bundled version of
80-
https://openjdk.java.net[OpenJDK] from the JDK maintainers (GPLv2+CE) within
81-
each distribution. The bundled JVM is the recommended JVM.
82-
83-
To use your own version of Java, set the `ES_JAVA_HOME` environment variable.
84-
If you must use a version of Java that is different from the bundled JVM, it is
85-
best to use the latest release of a link:/support/matrix[supported]
86-
https://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/eol-135779.html[LTS version of Java].
87-
{es} is closely coupled to certain OpenJDK-specific features, so it may not
88-
work correctly with other JVMs. {es} will refuse to start if a known-bad
89-
version of Java is used.
90-
91-
If you use a JVM other than the bundled one, you are responsible for reacting
92-
to announcements related to its security issues and bug fixes, and must
93-
yourself determine whether each update is necessary or not. In contrast, the
94-
bundled JVM is treated as an integral part of {es}, which means that Elastic
95-
takes responsibility for keeping it up to date. Security issues and bugs within
96-
the bundled JVM are treated as if they were within {es} itself.
97-
98-
The bundled JVM is located within the `jdk` subdirectory of the {es} home
99-
directory. You may remove this directory if using your own JVM.
79+
{es} is built using Java, and includes a bundled version of https://openjdk.java.net[OpenJDK] within each distribution. We strongly
80+
recommend using the bundled JVM in all installations of {es}.
81+
82+
The bundled JVM is treated the same as any other dependency of {es} in terms of support and maintenance. This means that Elastic takes
83+
responsibility for keeping it up to date, and reacts to security issues and bug reports as needed to address vulnerabilities and other bugs
84+
in {es}. Elastic's support of the bundled JVM is subject to Elastic's https://www.elastic.co/support_policy[support policy] and
85+
https://www.elastic.co/support/eol[end-of-life schedule] and is independent of the support policy and end-of-life schedule offered by the
86+
original supplier of the JVM. Elastic does not support using the bundled JVM for purposes other than running {es}.
87+
88+
TIP: {es} uses only a subset of the features offered by the JVM. Bugs and security issues in the bundled JVM often relate to features that
89+
{es} does not use. Such issues do not apply to {es}. Elastic analyzes reports of security vulnerabilities in all its dependencies, including
90+
in the bundled JVM, and will issue an https://www.elastic.co/community/security[Elastic Security Advisory] if such an advisory is needed.
91+
92+
If you decide to run {es} using a version of Java that is different from the bundled one, prefer to use the latest release of a
93+
https://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/eol-135779.html[LTS version of Java] which is link:/support/matrix[listed in the support matrix].
94+
Although such a configuration is supported, if you encounter a security issue or other bug in your chosen JVM then Elastic may not be able
95+
to help unless the issue is also present in the bundled JVM. Instead, you must seek assistance directly from the supplier of your chosen
96+
JVM. You must also take responsibility for reacting to security and bug announcements from the supplier of your chosen JVM. {es} may not
97+
perform optimally if using a JVM other than the bundled one. {es} is closely coupled to certain OpenJDK-specific features, so it may not
98+
work correctly with JVMs that are not OpenJDK. {es} will refuse to start if you attempt to use a known-bad JVM version.
99+
100+
To use your own version of Java, set the `ES_JAVA_HOME` environment variable to the path to your own JVM installation. The bundled JVM is
101+
located within the `jdk` subdirectory of the {es} home directory. You may remove this directory if using your own JVM.
100102

101103
[discrete]
102104
[[jdk-locale]]

0 commit comments

Comments
 (0)