--- title: "What’s new in Calico 3.17" source: "https://wordpress-1075849-4005834.cloudwaysapps.com/blog/whats-new-in-calico-3-17/" --- [Technical Blog](https://wordpress-1075849-4005834.cloudwaysapps.com/category/technical-blog/) # What’s new in Calico 3.17 By [Casey Davenport](https://wordpress-1075849-4005834.cloudwaysapps.com/blog/author/caseydavenport/) on Nov 30, 2020 • 2 min read We’re thrilled to announce Calico v3.17.0! This release includes a number of cool new features as well as bug fixes. Thank you to each one of the contributors to this release! For detailed release notes, please go [here](http://docs.projectcalico.org/release-notes/). Here are some highlights from the release… ## MTU Auto-Detection Calico v3.17 supports automatic detection of host MTU and automatic configuration of pod network MTU based on your environment! Calico will now automatically determine the best MTU for new pods based on the underlying network MTU and enabled encapsulation methods, providing optimal network performance without the need for any manual configuration. Calico has always provided top-of-the-line performance, as evidenced by the [latest independent CNI benchmark tests](http://itnext.io/benchmark-results-of-kubernetes-network-plugins-cni-over-10gbit-s-network-updated-august-2020-6e1b757b9e49), but required manual MTU configuration in order to unlock. With automatic MTU detection now included in Calico v3.17, you’ll get best-in-class performance right out of the box. This feature was a long time coming, and something we are **really** excited about. Keep an eye out for additional improvements in this area, including the ability to adjust MTU for already-running workloads. ## Windows BGP Networking We first released Calico for Windows in Calico v3.16. This original release included support for VXLAN networking only. Calico now supports BGP networking when running on Windows nodes, providing better support for on-premises environments with Windows nodes. ## Additional Platform Support for Windows Nodes During the Calico v3.17 release cycle, the Calico team brought Calico for Windows support to both OpenShift and Rancher clusters. We’ll be continuing to certify the Windows HNS data plane against additional platforms in upcoming releases in order to reach parity with Calico’s native Linux and eBPF data planes, enabling you to choose the right tool for the job wherever your cluster may run. ## Simpler Calicoctl Installation and Configuration A subtle change in Calico v3.17 is that the calicoctl command line tool will now default to using the Kubernetes API datastore (previously set via the environment variable `DATASTORE_TYPE=kubernetes`), as well as reading from the default kubeconfig located at `~/.kube/config.` This change reduces the amount of configuration required, and makes it easier to install calicoctl. Additionally, calicoctl can [now be installed as a kubectl plugin](http://docs.projectcalico.org/getting-started/clis/calicoctl/install#install-calicoctl-as-a-kubectl-plugin-on-a-single-host)!   [Open Source](https://wordpress-1075849-4005834.cloudwaysapps.com/tags/open-source/)[Release](https://wordpress-1075849-4005834.cloudwaysapps.com/tags/release/)[Project Calico](https://wordpress-1075849-4005834.cloudwaysapps.com/tags/project-calico/) Add Tigera as a preferred source on Google to see more of our content in your search results. [![Add as a preferred source on Google](https://wordpress-1075849-4005834.cloudwaysapps.com/app/themes/tigera2021/dist/img/google-preferred-source-light.png)](https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=tigera.io) ## Related posts [![What’s New in Calico: Winter 2026 Release](https://wordpress-1075849-4005834.cloudwaysapps.com/app/uploads/2026/03/What-is-new-in-Calico-winter-2026.png)](https://wordpress-1075849-4005834.cloudwaysapps.com/blog/whats-new-in-calico-winter-2026-release/) [Company Blog](https://wordpress-1075849-4005834.cloudwaysapps.com/category/company-blog/) #### [What’s New in Calico: Winter 2026 Release](https://wordpress-1075849-4005834.cloudwaysapps.com/blog/whats-new-in-calico-winter-2026-release/) By [Veronika Smolik](https://wordpress-1075849-4005834.cloudwaysapps.com/blog/author/veronika-smolik/) on Mar 4, 2026 AI Powered Intelligence, Unified Traffic Observability and Scalable Infrastructure Management As anyone managing one or more Kubernetes clusters knows by now, scaling can introduce an exponentially growing number of problems. The sheer volume of metrics,... [Read more](https://wordpress-1075849-4005834.cloudwaysapps.com/blog/whats-new-in-calico-winter-2026-release/) [![Join Calico at KubeCon Europe 2026: AI Agents, Silent Discos, and Dutch Delights!](https://wordpress-1075849-4005834.cloudwaysapps.com/app/uploads/2026/02/Blog-Kubecon-Euro-2026-.png)](https://wordpress-1075849-4005834.cloudwaysapps.com/blog/calico-at-kubecon-cloudnativecon-europe2026/) #### [Join Calico at KubeCon Europe 2026: AI Agents, Silent Discos, and Dutch Delights!](https://wordpress-1075849-4005834.cloudwaysapps.com/blog/calico-at-kubecon-cloudnativecon-europe2026/) By [Tigera Team](https://wordpress-1075849-4005834.cloudwaysapps.com/blog/author/marketingtigera-io/) on Feb 25, 2026 The cloud-native community is heading to the historic canals and vibrant tech scene of Amsterdam for KubeCon + CloudNativeCon Europe 2026! From March 23–26, Amsterdam will be buzzing with the latest in Kubernetes, platform engineering,... [Read more](https://wordpress-1075849-4005834.cloudwaysapps.com/blog/calico-at-kubecon-cloudnativecon-europe2026/) [![Project Calico 3.30+ Hackathon: Show Us What You Can Build!](https://wordpress-1075849-4005834.cloudwaysapps.com/app/uploads/2026/02/Blog-Hackathon-.png)](https://wordpress-1075849-4005834.cloudwaysapps.com/blog/project-calico-3-30-hackathon-show-us-what-you-can-build/) #### [Project Calico 3.30+ Hackathon: Show Us What You Can Build!](https://wordpress-1075849-4005834.cloudwaysapps.com/blog/project-calico-3-30-hackathon-show-us-what-you-can-build/) By [Tigera Team](https://wordpress-1075849-4005834.cloudwaysapps.com/blog/author/marketingtigera-io/) on Feb 17, 2026 Build the Future of Cloud-Native Networking! 🚀 The Calico community moves fast. With the releases of Calico 3.30 and 3.31, brings improvements in scalability, network security, and visibility. Now, we want to see what YOU... [Read more](https://wordpress-1075849-4005834.cloudwaysapps.com/blog/project-calico-3-30-hackathon-show-us-what-you-can-build/)