# istio_spawn-upstream-span-for-gateway.yaml
apiVersion: release-notes/v2
kind: feature
area: telemetry
releaseNotes:
  - |
    **Improved** environment variable `PILOT_SPAWN_UPSTREAM_SPAN_FOR_GATEWAY` default value to `true`,
    enabling the spawning of upstream spans for gateway requests by default.

upgradeNodes:
  - title: enable PILOT_SPAWN_UPSTREAM_SPAN_FOR_GATEWAY by default
    content: |
        The environment variable `PILOT_SPAWN_UPSTREAM_SPAN_FOR_GATEWAY` is now set to `true` by default.
        This change enables the spawning of upstream spans for gateway requests by default, enhancing
        observability for services behind the gateway, more details could be found [here](https://www.envoyproxy.io/docs/envoy/latest/intro/arch_overview/observability/tracing#different-modes-of-envoy). Users who prefer the previous behavior can
        explicitly set this variable to `false` in their configuration.