FAQ about Prometheus 2.43 String Labels Optimization

Prometheus 2.43 has just been released, and it brings some exciting features and enhancements. One of the significant improvements is the stringlabels release, which uses a new data structure for labels. This blog post will answer some frequently asked questions about the 2.43 release and the stringlabels optimizations.

What is the stringlabels release?

The stringlabels release is a Prometheus 2.43 version that uses a new data structure for labels. It stores all the label/values in a single string, resulting in a smaller heap size and some speedups in most cases. These optimizations are not shipped in the default binaries and require compiling Prometheus using the Go tag stringlabels.

Why didn't you go for a feature flag that we can toggle?

We considered using a feature flag but it would have a memory overhead that was not worth it. Therefore, we decided to provide a separate release with these optimizations for those who are interested in testing and measuring the gains on their production environment.

When will these optimizations be generally available?

These optimizations will be available in the upcoming Prometheus 2.44 release by default.

How do I get the 2.43 release?

The Prometheus 2.43 release is available on the official Prometheus GitHub releases page, and users can download the binary files directly from there. Additionally, Docker images are also available for those who prefer to use containers.

The stringlabels optimization is not included in these default binaries. To use this optimization, users will need to download the 2.43.0+stringlabels release binary or the Docker images tagged v2.43.0-stringlabels specifically.

Why is the release v2.43.0+stringlabels and the Docker tag v2.43.0-stringlabels?

In semantic versioning, the plus sign (+) is used to denote build metadata. Therefore, the Prometheus 2.43 release with the stringlabels optimization is named 2.43.0+stringlabels to signify that it includes the experimental stringlabels feature. However, Docker tags do not allow the use of the plus sign in their names. Hence, the plus sign has been replaced with a dash (-) to make the Docker tag v2.43.0-stringlabels. This allows the Docker tag to pass the semantic versioning checks of downstream projects such as the Prometheus Operator.

What are the other noticeable features in the Prometheus 2.43 release?

Apart from the stringlabels optimizations, the Prometheus 2.43 release brings several new features and enhancements. Some of the significant additions include:

• We added support for scrape_config_files to include scrape configs from different files. This makes it easier to manage and organize the configuration.
• The HTTP clients now includes two new config options: no_proxy to exclude URLs from proxied requests and proxy_from_environment to read proxies from env variables. These features make it easier to manage the HTTP client's behavior in different environments.

You can learn more about features and bugfixes in the full changelog.