1.9.x/announcing-1.9/upgrade-notes/><h5>BEFORE YOU UPGRADE</h5><p>Things to know and prepare before upgrading.</p></a><a class="update-notice entry" data-title='Update Notice' data-downloadhref=https://github.com/istio/istio/releases/tag/1.9.4 data-downloadbuttontext="DOWNLOAD 1.9.4" data-updateadvice="Before you download 1.9.4, you should know that there's a newer patch release with the latest bug fixes and perf improvements." data-updatebutton='LEARN ABOUT ISTIO 1.9.9' data-updatehref=/v1.21/news/releases