New Relic Alert Condition Broken By Version 3.71.0

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Hey guys, have you been experiencing issues with your New Relic alert conditions lately? Specifically, if you've recently upgraded to version 3.71.0 of the New Relic Terraform provider, you might have run into a nasty surprise. It seems this version is causing problems, breaking existing newrelic_nrql_alert_condition resources. Let's dive into what's happening and how to fix it.

The Problem: Version 3.71.0 Breaks Existing Alerts

So, what's the deal? Well, after upgrading to New Relic provider version 3.71.0, many users are reporting that their existing alert conditions are failing. The error message you might see looks something like this:

Error: Cannot query field "targetEntity" on type "AlertsNrqlStaticCondition".

This error means that the Terraform provider is unable to find or use the targetEntity field within your alert condition configurations. For those of you who've been using New Relic for a while, this might sound familiar, but with a different spin. It's like the new version of the provider is incompatible with older configurations, leaving you with broken alerts.

The core issue seems to stem from changes in how the provider handles nrql_alert_condition resources. Specifically, the introduction of new functionalities in 3.71.0 has, unfortunately, disrupted the compatibility with existing configurations. This is a classic case of a new release introducing breaking changes. The good news is the issue is known and the fix is to rollback your provider version to a previous release.

Impact of the Bug

This bug can have a significant impact on your monitoring capabilities. Alert conditions are the backbone of your proactive monitoring strategy. When they fail, you might miss critical issues that can affect your application's performance or availability. The lack of working alerts can result in:

  • Delayed Incident Response: If alerts are not firing, you won't be notified about issues in a timely manner.
  • Performance Degradation: Without alerts, you might not catch performance bottlenecks early on.
  • Business Impact: Severe issues can go unnoticed, leading to customer dissatisfaction or financial losses.

Therefore, understanding the problem and finding a workaround is vital to ensure your New Relic monitoring continues to function correctly.

Affected Resources and Configurations

Let's clarify what's actually breaking. The main resource affected by this issue is the newrelic_nrql_alert_condition. Specifically, any existing configurations that rely on the older structure are likely to fail. Here's a quick look at the kind of configuration that is causing issues.

Example Configuration

Here's a snippet from the original report, showing a typical nrql configuration that's causing problems:

nrql {
 query = "SELECT average(\`aws.rds.CPUUtilization\`) FROM Metric FACET entity.name"
}

This is a pretty standard NRQL query, designed to monitor CPU utilization. The problem isn't with the query itself but with how the New Relic provider now interprets it. The error arises during the processing of this NRQL query within the alert condition.

Troubleshooting Tip

If you encounter this error, start by examining your newrelic_nrql_alert_condition blocks. Check how you're defining your queries and ensure they align with the expected syntax. Also, be sure to verify your provider version is the cause. You can do this by temporarily rolling back to a previous version.

Actual vs. Expected Behavior

To understand the issue fully, we need to compare the actual behavior (what's happening) with the expected behavior (what should be happening).

Actual Behavior (the Bug)

In version 3.71.0, the actual behavior is that the newrelic_nrql_alert_condition resources are failing. This results in the "Cannot query field "targetEntity" error, which is preventing the creation or update of existing alerts. Essentially, the alert configuration process is breaking.

This also causes all related alerts to stop working as expected. If the alert cannot be created, then the systems relying on the alerts are unable to get any meaningful insight. And if it's an update, then the system may fail on subsequent apply operations and prevent it from being modified.

Expected Behavior

The expected behavior is that existing alert conditions should continue to work seamlessly. When you update a provider, you don't expect it to break established functionalities. Specifically, your alert conditions should continue to monitor your metrics, trigger alerts when necessary, and provide timely notifications. The alerts should work without any issues.

In short, the upgrade should not introduce any breaking changes to the existing alerts or configurations.

Steps to Reproduce the Issue

Want to see this bug in action? It's pretty straightforward:

  1. Use Terraform version 1.13.3: This specific version of Terraform has been identified as a factor.
  2. Upgrade to New Relic provider version 3.71.0: This is the version where the problem is most apparent. Earlier versions appear to work fine.
  3. Apply existing configurations with newrelic_nrql_alert_condition resources: Run terraform apply on your existing configurations, especially those with nrql blocks.
  4. Observe the error: If you have configurations similar to the one described earlier, you will likely see the "Cannot query field "targetEntity" error. This will prevent your Terraform apply from completing successfully.

By following these steps, you can reproduce the issue and confirm that the provider upgrade is, in fact, the root cause. This confirms the issue and gives you the information to perform the fix.

Workarounds and Solutions

Okay, so what can you do? Here are a couple of solutions to get you back on track.

Downgrade the New Relic Provider

The most straightforward solution is to downgrade your New Relic provider version. Specifically, revert to version 3.70.6 or an earlier version known to work correctly. This ensures that your existing configurations remain compatible and your alerts continue to function.

To downgrade your provider, modify your Terraform configuration to specify the older version. For example, in your required_providers block, you'd change:

terraform {
 required_providers {
 newrelic = { source = "newrelic/newrelic" version = "3.71.0" }
 }
}

To:

terraform {
 required_providers {
 newrelic = { source = "newrelic/newrelic" version = "3.70.6" }
 }
}

After making this change, run terraform init to update your provider and then apply your configurations as usual. Your alerts should start working normally again.

Stay Updated

Keep an eye on the New Relic provider updates. The developers are likely working on a fix for this, and a new version might resolve the issue. Subscribe to the provider's release notes or follow the GitHub repository for updates.

Important Considerations

Before you start rolling back versions, consider these points:

  • Testing: Always test your changes in a non-production environment before applying them to production.
  • Documentation: Refer to the official New Relic provider documentation for the latest updates and best practices.
  • Communication: Inform your team about the issue and the steps you're taking to resolve it. This is important to ensure that everyone is on the same page.

Conclusion: Keeping Your Alerts Online

So there you have it, guys. Version 3.71.0 of the New Relic Terraform provider has introduced a breaking change. If you're encountering the "Cannot query field "targetEntity" error, the best immediate solution is to downgrade to version 3.70.6. Also, keep an eye on future updates, and always test changes in a non-production environment first. By taking these steps, you can ensure that your New Relic alerts continue to function correctly and you stay on top of your application's performance. Happy monitoring!