Create official migration guide from NGINX Open Source to NGINX Plus in product documentation

[travisamartin]

Description

There is currently no official documentation in the product docs for migrating from NGINX Open Source (NOSS) to NGINX Plus (N+), even though this is:

• A common customer use case
• A high-priority business objective (NGINX Plus is our primary revenue driver)

There is a support KB article that addresses the topic:
https://my.f5.com/manage/s/article/K000139565

However, it is outdated and minimal:

• It targets NGINX Plus R22. The current version is R34.
• Significant changes were introduced in R33 related to JWT-based telemetry reporting, which are not covered.
• There’s no guidance on post-migration steps, such as how to get value from the Plus API or other advanced features.

This gap puts customers at risk of:

• Incomplete or broken migrations
• Delayed time to value
• Overlooking NGINX Plus-only features
• Increased support requests

Goals / What needs to be documented

1. A clear, step-by-step migration guide for moving from NGINX Open Source to NGINX Plus
2. Instructions for:
   • Backing up and moving configuration and logs
   • Aligning with the correct target version (R34+)
   • Accounting for JWT telemetry changes starting in R33
3. A “What to do next” section to help users begin using core NGINX Plus features immediately (for example, enabling the NGINX Plus API for metrics)
4. Notes on how NGINX Plus differs from NOSS in areas like licensing, telemetry, and monitoring

Acceptance criteria

• Product documentation includes an up-to-date, officially supported migration guide from NOSS to NGINX Plus
• Content includes context and caveats for versions R33 and newer (especially around telemetry)
• Post-migration usage recommendations are included to accelerate time to value
• Support KB (K000139565) is deprecated and redirects to the new official documentation
• Documentation is searchable using common migration-related terms
• Reviewed and validated by stakeholders across Docs, Product, Support, and Engineering

References

• Support KB article: https://my.f5.com/manage/s/article/K000139565