Learn about the Apache Hadoop ecosystem components and versions in Microsoft Azure HDInsight, as well as the Standard and Premium service levels. Also, learn how to check Hadoop component versions in HDInsight.
Each HDInsight version is a cloud distribution of a version of Hortonworks Data Platform (HDP).
Hadoop components available with different HDInsight versions
Azure HDInsight supports multiple Hadoop cluster versions that can be deployed at any time. Each version choice creates a specific version of the HDP distribution and a set of components that are contained within that distribution. As of February 17, 2017, the default cluster version used by Azure HDInsight is 3.5 and is based on HDP 2.5.
The component versions associated with HDInsight cluster versions are listed in the following table.
Note
The default version for the HDInsight service might change without notice. If you have a version dependency, specify the HDInsight version when you create your clusters with the .NET SDK with Azure PowerShell and Azure CLI.
| Component | HDInsight 3.6 (default) | HDInsight 3.5 | HDInsight 3.4 | HDInsight 3.3 | HDInsight 3.2 | HDInsight 3.1 | HDInsight 3.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hortonworks Data Platform | 2.6 | 2.5 | 2.4 | 2.3 | 2.2 | 2.1.7 | 2.0 |
| Apache Hadoop and YARN | 2.7.3 | 2.7.3 | 2.7.1 | 2.7.1 | 2.6.0 | 2.4.0 | 2.2.0 |
| Apache Tez | 0.7.0 | 0.7.0 | 0.7.0 | 0.7.0 | 0.5.2 | 0.4.0 | - |
| Apache Pig | 0.16.0 | 0.16.0 | 0.15.0 | 0.15.0 | 0.14.0 | 0.12.1 | 0.12.0 |
| Apache Hive and HCatalog | 1.2.1 | 1.2.1 | 1.2.1 | 1.2.1 | 0.14.0 | 0.13.1 | 0.12.0 |
| Apache Hive2 | 2.1.0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Apache Tez Hive2 | 0.8.4 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Apache Ranger | 0.7.0 | 0.6.0 | - | - | - | - | - |
| Apache HBase | 1.1.2 | 1.1.2 | 1.1.2 | 1.1.1 | 0.98.4 | 0.98.0 | - |
| Apache Sqoop | 1.4.6 | 1.4.6 | 1.4.6 | 1.4.6 | 1.4.5 | 1.4.4 | 1.4.4 |
| Apache Oozie | 4.2.0 | 4.2.0 | 4.2.0 | 4.2.0 | 4.1.0 | 4.0.0 | 4.0.0 |
| Apache Zookeeper | 3.4.6 | 3.4.6 | 3.4.6 | 3.4.6 | 3.4.6 | 3.4.5 | 3.4.5 |
| Apache Storm | 1.1.0 | 1.0.1 | 0.10.0 | 0.10.0 | 0.9.3 | 0.9.1 | - |
| Apache Mahout | 0.9.0+ | 0.9.0+ | 0.9.0+ | 0.9.0+ | 0.9.0 | 0.9.0 | - |
| Apache Phoenix | 4.7.0 | 4.7.0 | 4.4.0 | 4.4.0 | 4.2.0 | 4.0.0.2.1.7.0-2162 | - |
| Apache Spark | 2.1.0 (Linux only) | 1.6.2 + 2.0 (Linux only) | 1.6.0 (Linux only) | 1.5.2 (Linux experimental build only) | 1.3.1 (Windows only) | - | - |
| Apache Kafka | 0.10.0 | 0.10.0 | 0.9.0 | - | - | - | - |
| Apache Ambari | 2.5.0 | 2.4.0 | 2.2.1 | 2.1.0 | - | - | - |
| Apache Zeppelin | 0.7.0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Mono | 4.2.1 | 4.2.1 | 3.2.8 | - | - | - |
Check for current Hadoop component version information
The Hadoop ecosystem component versions associated with HDInsight cluster versions can change with updates to HDInsight. To check the Hadoop components and to verify which versions are being used for a cluster, use the Ambari REST API. The GetComponentInformation command retrieves information about service components. For details, see the Ambari documentation.
For Windows clusters, another way to check the component version is to log in to a cluster by using Remote Desktop and examine the contents of the C:\apps\dist\ directory.
Important
Linux is the only operating system used on HDInsight version 3.4 or later. For more information, see Windows retirement on HDInsight.
Release notes
See HDInsight release notes for additional release notes on the latest versions of HDInsight.
Supported HDInsight versions
The following table lists the versions of HDInsight that are currently available on the Azure portal. The HDP versions that correspond to each HDInsight version are listed along with the product release dates. The support expiration and retirement dates are also provided, when they're known.
Note
After support for a version has expired, it might not be available through the Microsoft Azure classic portal. However, cluster versions continue to be available using the Version parameter in the Windows PowerShell New-AzureRmHDInsightCluster command and the .NET SDK until the version retirement date.
Highly available clusters with two head nodes are deployed by default for HDInsight version 2.1 and later. They are not available for HDInsight version 1.6 clusters.
| HDInsight version | HDP version | VM OS | High availability | Release date | Availability on the Azure portal | Support expiration date | Retirement date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HDInsight 3.6 | HDP 2.6 | Ubuntu 16 | Yes | April 4, 2017 | Yes | ||
| HDInsight 3.5 | HDP 2.5 | Ubuntu 16 | Yes | September 30, 2016 | Yes | September 5, 2017 | May 31, 2018 |
| HDInsight 3.4 | HDP 2.4 | Ubuntu 14.0.4 LTS | Yes | March 29, 2016 | Yes | December 29, 2016 | January 9, 2018 |
| HDInsight 3.3 | HDP 2.3 | Windows Server 2012 R2 | Yes | December 2, 2015 | Yes | June 27, 2016 | July 31, 2018 |
| HDInsight 3.3 | HDP 2.3 | Ubuntu 14.0.4 LTS | Yes | December 2, 2015 | Yes | June 27, 2016 | July 31, 2017 |
| HDInsight 3.2 | HDP 2.2 | Ubuntu 12.04 LTS or Windows Server 2012 R2 | Yes | February 18, 2015 | No | March 1, 2016 | April 1, 2017 |
| HDInsight 3.1 | HDP 2.1 | Windows Server 2012 R2 | Yes | June 24, 2014 | No | May 18, 2015 | June 30, 2016 |
| HDInsight 3.0 | HDP 2.0 | Windows Server 2012 R2 | Yes | February 11, 2014 | No | September 17, 2014 | June 30, 2015 |
| HDInsight 2.1 | HDP 1.3 | Windows Server 2012 R2 | Yes | October 28, 2013 | No | May 12, 2014 | May 31, 2015 |
| HDInsight 1.6 | HDP 1.1 | No | October 28, 2013 | No | April 26, 2014 | May 31, 2015 |
HDInsight Windows retirement
Microsoft Azure HDInsight version 3.3 was the last version of HDInsight on Windows. The retirement date for HDInsight on Windows is July 31, 2018. If you have any HDInsight clusters on Windows 3.3 or earlier, you must migrate to HDInsight on Linux (HDInsight version 3.5 or later) before July 31, 2018. Migrating to the Linux OS enables you to retain the ability to create or resize your HDInsight clusters. Support for HDInsight version 3.3 on Windows expired on June 27, 2016.
Starting with HDInsight version 3.4, Microsoft has released HDInsight only on the Linux OS. As a result, some of the components within HDInsight are available for Linux only. These include Apache Ranger, Kafka, Interactive Query, Spark, HDInsight applications, and Azure Data Lake Store as the primary file system. Future releases of HDInsight are available only on the Linux OS. There will be no future releases of HDInsight on Windows.
FAQs
What is the timeline for retiring HDInsight on Windows?
July 31, 2018, is the retirement date for HDInsight on Windows. If the planned retirement date is different for your region, you will be notified separately.
What is the impact of retiring HDInsight on Windows for existing customers?
After HDInsight on Windows is retired, you can't create a new HDInsight Windows cluster, or resize an existing HDInsight Windows cluster. Support for HDInsight version 3.3 expired on June 27, 2016. Therefore, there is no support or bug fixes for HDInsight 3.3 or earlier versions. Future releases of HDInsight are available only on the Linux OS. There will be no future releases of HDInsight on Windows.
Which versions of HDInsight on Windows are affected?
Azure HDInsight version 3.3 is the last version of HDInsight for Windows. Before HDInsight on Windows is retired, all HDInsight Windows clusters version 3.3 or earlier must be migrated to HDInsight on Linux version 3.5 or later. Migrating your clusters to HDInsight on Linux enables you to retain the ability to create new clusters or resize existing clusters.
What do I need to do?
Migrate your HDInsight Windows clusters to a supported HDInsight Linux cluster before July 31, 2018. Learn more in the HDInsight migration document. For details about Azure HDInsight versions, see the list of supported versions.
Where do I find the cluster OS type?
In the Azure portal, go to the HDInsight Cluster overview page and locate Cluster type under Essentials. The cluster OS types are listed on that page.
I can’t migrate to an HDInsight Linux cluster by July 31, 2018. What is the impact to my HDInsight Windows cluster?
The HDInsight Windows cluster runs as-is, but you cannot create a new HDInsight Windows cluster, or resize an existing HDInsight Windows cluster.
My cluster has a .NET dependency. How do I resolve this dependency on Linux?
You can resolve your Linux cluster dependency by using the Mono project. This open source implementation of .NET is available for HDInsight Linux clusters. Learn more in the HDInsight migration document.
I'm a new customer for HDInsight on Windows. How can I create an HDInsight Windows cluster?
As of July 3, 2017, only existing HDInsight Windows customers can create new HDInsight Windows clusters. New customers cannot create an HDInsight Windows cluster in the Azure portal by using PowerShell or the SDK. We recommend that new customers create a Linux HDInsight cluster. Existing customers can create new HDInsight Windows clusters until the HDInsight on Windows retirement date.
Is there a pricing impact associated with moving from HDInsight on Windows to HDInsight on Linux?
No, the pricing is the same for HDInsight on either OS.
What are the customer advantages associated with the move to only using HDInsight on Linux?
- Faster time-to-market for open source big data technologies through the HDInsight service
- A large community and ecosystem for support
- Ability to exercise active development by the open source community for Hadoop and other big data technologies
Does HDInsight on Linux provide additional functionality beyond what is available in HDInsight on Windows?
Starting with HDInsight version 3.4, Microsoft has released HDInsight only on the Linux OS. As a result, some of the components within HDInsight are available for Linux only. These include Apache Ranger, Kafka, Interactive Query, Spark, HDInsight applications, and Azure Data Lake Store as the primary file system.
Service level agreement for HDInsight cluster versions
The service level agreement (SLA) is defined in terms of a support window. The support window is the period of time that an HDInsight cluster version is supported by Microsoft Customer Service and Support. If the version has a support expiration date that has passed, the HDInsight cluster is outside the support window. For more information about supported versions, see the list of supported HDInsight cluster versions. The support expiration date for a specified HDInsight version X (after a newer X+1 version is available) is calculated as the later of:
- Formula 1: Add 180 days to the date when the HDInsight cluster version X was released.
- Formula 2: Add 90 days to the date when the HDInsight cluster version X+1 is made available in Azure portal.
The retirement date is the date after which the cluster version cannot be created on HDInsight. Starting July 31, 2017, you cannot resize an HDInsight cluster after its retirement date.
Note
HDInsight Windows clusters (including versions 2.1, 3.0, 3.1, 3.2 and 3.3) run on Azure Guest OS Family version 4, which uses the 64-bit version of Windows Server 2012 R2. Azure Guest OS Family version 4 supports the .NET Framework versions 4.0, 4.5, 4.5.1, and 4.5.2.
Hortonworks release notes associated with HDInsight versions
The section provides links to release notes for the Hortonworks Data Platform distributions and Apache components that are used with HDInsight.
- HDInsight cluster version 3.6 uses a Hadoop distribution that is based on Hortonworks Data Platform 2.6.
- HDInsight cluster version 3.5 uses a Hadoop distribution that is based on Hortonworks Data Platform 2.5. HDInsight cluster version 3.5 is the default Hadoop cluster that is created in the Azure portal.
- HDInsight cluster version 3.4 uses a Hadoop distribution that is based on Hortonworks Data Platform 2.4.
HDInsight cluster version 3.3 uses a Hadoop distribution that is based on Hortonworks Data Platform 2.3.
- Apache Storm release notes are available on the Apache website.
- Apache Hive release notes are available on the Apache website.
HDInsight cluster version 3.2 uses a Hadoop distribution that is based on Hortonworks Data Platform 2.2.
- Release notes for specific Apache components are available as follows: Hive 0.14, Pig 0.14, HBase 0.98.4, Phoenix 4.2.0, M/R 2.6, HDFS 2.6, YARN 2.6, Common, Tez 0.5.2, Ambari 2.0, Storm 0.9.3, and Oozie 4.1.0.
- HDInsight cluster version 3.1 uses a Hadoop distribution that is based on Hortonworks Data Platform 2.1.7. HDInsight 3.1 clusters created before November, 7, 2014, are based on Hortonworks Data Platform 2.1.1.
- HDInsight cluster version 3.0 uses a Hadoop distribution that is based on Hortonworks Data Platform 2.0.
- HDInsight cluster version 2.1 uses a Hadoop distribution that is based on Hortonworks Data Platform 1.3.
- HDInsight cluster version 1.6 uses a Hadoop distribution that is based on Hortonworks Data Platform 1.1.
HDInsight Standard and HDInsight Premium
Azure HDInsight provides the big data cloud offerings in two categories: Standard and Premium. The following table lists features that are available only in HDInsight Premium. Features that are not explicitly described in the table are available in both HDInsight Standard and Premium.
Note
The HDInsight Premium offering is currently in preview and available only for Linux clusters.
| HDInsight Premium feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Domain-joined HDInsight clusters | Join HDInsight clusters to Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) domains for enterprise-level security. In HDInsight Premium, you can configure a list of employees from your enterprise who can authenticate through Azure AD to log on to an HDInsight cluster. The enterprise admin can configure role-based access control for Hive security by using Apache Ranger and restrict data access to use only as much as needed. Finally, the admin can audit data accessed by employees and changes to access control policies, thereby achieving a high degree of governance of their corporate resources. For more information, see Configure domain-joined HDInsight clusters. |
Cluster types supported in HDInsight Premium
The following table lists the cluster types that are supported in HDInsight Premium.
| Cluster type | Standard | Premium (Preview) |
|---|---|---|
| Hadoop | Yes | Yes (HDInsight 3.6 only) |
| Spark | Yes | No |
| HBase | Yes | No |
| Storm | Yes | No |
| R Server | Yes | No |
| Interactive Query | Yes | No |
| Kafka (Preview) | Yes | No |
Support for Azure Data Lake Store in HDInsight Premium
HDInsight Premium clusters do not support using Azure Data Lake Store as primary storage. However, you can use Azure Data Lake Store as add-on storage with HDInsight Premium clusters.
Pricing and SLA
For information on pricing and SLA for HDInsight Premium, see HDInsight pricing.
Default node configuration and virtual machine sizes for clusters
The following tables list the default virtual machine (VM) sizes for HDInsight clusters.
Important
If you need more than 32 worker nodes in a cluster, you must select a head node size with at least 8 cores and 14 GB of RAM.
All supported regions except Brazil South and Japan West:
Cluster type Hadoop HBase Storm Spark R Server Head: default VM size D3 v2 D3 v2 A3 D12 v2 D12 v2 Head: recommended VM sizes D3 v2, D4 v2, D12 v2 D3 v2, D4 v2, D12 v2 A3, A4, A5 D12 v2, D13 v2, D14 v2 D12 v2, D13 v2, D14 v2 Worker: default VM size D3 v2 D3 v2 D3 v2 Windows: D12 v2; Linux: D4 v2 Windows: D12 v2; Linux: D4 v2 Worker: recommended VM sizes D3 v2, D4 v2, D12 v2 D3 v2, D4 v2, D12 v2 D3 v2, D4 v2, D12 v2 Windows: D12 v2, D13 v2, D14 v2; Linux: D4 v2, D12 v2, D13 v2, D14 v2 Windows: D12 v2, D13 v2, D14 v2; Linux: D4 v2, D12 v2, D13 v2, D14 v2 ZooKeeper: default VM size A3 A2 ZooKeeper: recommended VM sizes A3, A4, A5 A2, A3, A4 Edge: default VM size Windows: D12 v2; Linux: D4 v2 Edge: recommended VM size Windows: D12 v2, D13 v2, D14 v2; Linux: D4 v2, D12 v2, D13 v2, D14 v2 Brazil South and Japan West only (no v2 sizes):
Cluster type Hadoop HBase Storm Spark R Server Head: default VM size D3 D3 A3 D12 D12 Head: recommended VM sizes D3, D4, D12 D3, D4, D12 A3, A4, A5 D12, D13, D14 D12, D13, D14 Worker: default VM size D3 D3 D3 Windows: D12; Linux: D4 Windows: D12; Linux: D4 Worker: recommended VM sizes D3, D4, D12 D3, D4, D12 D3, D4, D12 Windows: D12, D13, D14; Linux: D4, D12, D13, D14 Windows: D12, D13, D14; Linux: D4, D12, D13, D14 ZooKeeper: default VM size A2 A2 ZooKeeper: recommended VM sizes A2, A3, A4 A2, A3, A4 Edge: default VM sizes Windows: D12; Linux: D4 Edge: recommended VM sizes Windows: D12, D13, D14; Linux: D4, D12, D13, D14
Note
- Head is known as Nimbus for the Storm cluster type.
- Worker is known as Supervisor for the Storm cluster type.
- Worker is known as Region for the HBase cluster type.




