Add upgrade note for Sidekiq concurrency limiter job backlogs on Helm chart deployments
What does this MR do?
Adds an upgrade note to doc/update/versions/gitlab_18_changes.md documenting the known issue where GITLAB_SIDEKIQ_MAX_REPLICAS, set by default in the Helm chart starting in GitLab 18.9, activates the Sidekiq concurrency limiter on Self-Managed and Dedicated environments without KEDA-based autoscaling. This causes job backlogs, Redis memory growth, and delayed execution for workers including webhooks, audit events, and Geo replication.
The note covers:
- Affected versions (18.9.0 - 18.9.5, 18.10.0 - 18.10.3) and fixed patch levels
- Symptoms (job backlogs, Redis memory growth, delayed execution)
- Two mitigation options (per-worker feature flag,
GITLAB_SIDEKIQ_MAX_REPLICAS=0) - Geo secondary caveat (
ConcurrencyLimit::ResumeWorkernot running on secondaries) - Links to the fix MR and backports
Related issues
- https://gitlab.com/gitlab-com/support/support-team-meta/-/issues/7591+
- Fix MR: Add feature flag to gate default Sidekiq concur... (!230713 - merged)
- Backport to 18.10.4: Backport of add feature flag to gate default S... (!231085 - merged)
- Backport to 18.9.6: Backport of add feature flag to gate default S... (!231297 - merged)
- Chart MR that introduced the change: Add GITLAB_SIDEKIQ_MAX_REPLICAS environment var... (gitlab-org/charts/gitlab!4348 - merged)
- Dedicated incident analysis: https://gitlab.com/gitlab-com/gl-infra/gitlab-dedicated/incident-management/-/issues/3175+
Author's checklist
- Optional. Consider taking the GitLab Technical Writing Fundamentals course.
- Follow the:
- If you're adding a new page, add the product availability details under the H1 topic title.
- If you are a GitLab team member, request a review based on:
- The documentation page's metadata.
- The associated Technical Writer.
Reviewer's checklist
Documentation-related MRs should be reviewed by a Technical Writer for a non-blocking review, based on Documentation Guidelines and the Style Guide.
If you aren't sure which tech writer to ask, use roulette or ask in the #docs Slack channel.
- If the content requires it, ensure the information is reviewed by a subject matter expert.
- Technical writer review items:
- Ensure docs metadata is present and up-to-date.
- Ensure the appropriate labels are added to this MR.
- Ensure a release milestone is set.
- If relevant to this MR, ensure content topic type principles are in use, including:
- The headings should be something you'd do a Google search for. Instead of
Default behavior, say something likeDefault behavior when you close an issue. - The headings (other than the page title) should be active. Instead of
Configuring GDK, say something likeConfigure GDK. - Any task steps should be written as a numbered list.
- If the content still needs to be edited for topic types, you can create a follow-up issue with the docs-technical-debt label.
- The headings should be something you'd do a Google search for. Instead of
- Review by assigned maintainer, who can always request/require the reviews above. Maintainer's review can occur before or after a technical writer review.
Edited by Alvin Gounder