Grafana 7.0 preview: New image renderer plugin to replace PhantomJS

Grafana's upcoming 7.0 release will replace the PhantomJS image renderer with the new Grafana Image Renderer plugin, addressing the numerous issues associated with PhantomJS, including bugs and lack of support for modern web technologies. The change is driven by the end of PhantomJS project maintenance and aims to enhance the reliability and security of rendering images of Grafana dashboards. The new plugin, which has been available since June 2018, operates using a headless browser like Chromium and can be installed as a Grafana plugin or run as a remote rendering service. Docker is recommended for running the remote service, and several configuration options allow for scaling and optimizing performance, including setting up clustered modes to manage concurrent requests. Despite some challenges, such as lack of support for ARM architectures and the necessity of IPv6, the Grafana team continues to improve documentation and support, while Grafana Cloud users benefit from hosted rendering services. The release is part of a broader update with new features and best practices, promising better integration and performance as Grafana prepares for its 7.0 launch.