Merge pull request #22097 from newrelic/EOL-synthetics

chor: eol for synthetics

Author: PallaviWrite

src/content/eol/2025/11/eol-chrome-140-node-22-synthetics.md

@@ -0,0 +1,168 @@
+---
+title: "End of Life Announcement: For Chrome 134 and Node.js 16 runtime for synthetics"
+subject: "On February 9, 2026, New Relic will upgrade synthetics runtime to Chrome 140 and Node.js 22, ending support for Chrome 134 and Node.js 16 runtimes."
+publishDate: '2025-11-05'
+eolEffectiveDate: '2026-02-09'
+---
+
+On **February 9, 2026**, New Relic will upgrade synthetics runtime environments, ending support for:
+
+* Chrome 134 browser runtime
+* Node.js 16 runtime for both API and browser monitors
+
+The following upgrades will be implemented:
+
+* **Synthetics Node API runtime**: Upgraded to Node.js 22
+* **Synthetics Node browser runtime**: Upgraded to Node.js 22  
+* **Chrome browser**: Upgraded to Chrome 140
+* Release candidate version available via Docker image tags (rc1.1)
+
+## What's changing?
+
+The following monitor types will be affected by these changes:
+
+* Scripted Browser
+* Step Monitor
+* Simple Browser Monitors
+* Scripted API
+* Cert Check
+* Broken Link
+
+**Note:** Moving to Chrome 140 automatically upgrades to Node.js 22.
+
+## Transition timeline
+
+### Public locations
+
+* **Node API runtime**: Default remains Node.js 16 until February 8, 2026. On **February 9, 2026**, all monitors will be force upgraded to Node.js 22.
+
+* **Node Browser runtime**: Default remains Chrome 134 for three months starting November 1, 2025. Force upgrade to Chrome 140 occurs on **February 9, 2026**.
+
+### Private locations
+
+* **Node API runtime**: The "latest" tag on `DESIRED_RUNTIMES` will point to Node.js 22 runtime starting **December 1, 2025**. Until then, "latest" points to Node.js 16 runtime.
+
+* **Node Browser runtime**: The "latest" tag on `DESIRED_RUNTIMES` will point to Chrome 140 with Node.js 22 runtime starting **December 8, 2025**. Until then, "latest" points to Chrome 134 with Node.js 16 runtime.
+
+
+
+## Changes during transition period
+
+### For public browser monitors
+
+In the creation/edit monitor screen, you'll see the ability to select Chrome browser versions:
+
+* Chrome 134
+* Chrome 140
+
+  ![Chrome version](/images/runtime-synthetic.webp "Chrome version changes")
+
+### For other monitor types
+
+Select the runtime in the Configure monitor screen.
+
+  ![node runtime](/images/node-synthetic-runtime.webp "node runtime changes")
+
+
+
+## What you need to do during the transition period
+
+1. Review and test your monitors using the new runtime options available in the monitor configuration screens.
+
+2. Address Node.js 22 time out behavior: Node.js 22 has documented issues with time out behavior for resource handles. Review the [Node.js 22 release documentation](https://nodejs.org/en/blog/announcements/v22-release-announce) for details.
+
+3. Ensure monitors don't time out with Node.js 22 before the transition date.
+
+### Handle resource cleanup properly
+
+Our analysis indicates that Node.js executes browser monitor scripts successfully but waits for open handles, eventually causing monitor time-outs. Ensure proper cleanup of resource handles.
+
+**Example 1 - Stream cleanup:**
+
+```javascript
+let downloadStream = got.stream(fileDownloadUrl);
+// Add cleanup in finally block
+finally { 
+  if (downloadStream) { 
+    downloadStream.destroy(); 
+  } 
+}
+```
+
+**Example 2 - HTTPS request cleanup:**
+
+```javascript
+const req = https.request(options, (res) => {
+  try {
+    const cert = res.socket.getPeerCertificate();
+
+    if (cert && Object.keys(cert).length > 0) {
+      const validTo = cert.valid_to || cert.validTo;
+      console.log("Raw certificate valid_to:", validTo);
+      resolve({ validTo: validTo });
+    } else {
+      reject(new Error("Could not get certificate information"));
+    }
+  } catch (err) {
+    res.destroy();
+    if (res.socket) res.socket.destroy();
+    reject(err);
+  }
+});
+```
+
+In the above example, `res.socket` is opening the socket and in the if condition we are not closing the socket. For above code, you can add cleanup functionality as follows:
+
+```javascript
+const req = https.request(options, (res) => {
+  try {
+    const cert = res.socket.getPeerCertificate();
+
+    // Always destroy the response and socket
+    const cleanup = () => {
+      try {
+        res.destroy();
+        if (res.socket && !res.socket.destroyed) {
+          res.socket.destroy();
+        }
+      } catch (e) {
+        console.log("Cleanup warning:", e.message);
+      }
+    };
+
+    if (cert && Object.keys(cert).length > 0) {
+      const validTo = cert.valid_to || cert.validTo;
+      console.log("Raw certificate valid_to:", validTo);
+      cleanup();
+      resolve({ validTo: validTo });
+    } else {
+      cleanup();
+      reject(new Error("Could not get certificate information"));
+    }
+  } catch (err) {
+    res.destroy();
+    if (res.socket) res.socket.destroy();
+    reject(err);
+  }
+});
+```
+
+
+
+## Troubleshooting
+
+### Monitor time-outs or failures after upgrade
+
+* Check for usage of deprecated Node.js APIs that were removed or changed in Node.js 22
+* Re-run monitors locally using Node.js 22 to reproduce and fix issues
+* If failures persist only on browser monitors, verify Chrome 140-specific behavior and contact support
+
+### Rollback options
+
+* **Public locations**: Temporarily switch monitor runtime back to Chrome 134 during the transition window
+
+## Additional resources
+
+* [Synthetics runtime documentation](https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/synthetics/synthetic-monitoring/using-monitors/new-runtime/)
+
+* If you have questions or need assistance during this transition, please contact our [support team](https://support.newrelic.com/s/)