Istio 1.24.1 update

[strekm]

Description

Update the Kyma Istio module to use a new Istio version.
Update the Istio version and dependencies, adjust tests and documentation if needed.
The upgrade needs to have zero downtime for production-ready settings.

ACs:

• Review Istio RNs.
• Verify that the new Istio version doesn't introduce features that transition to a new phase in Istio, potentially affecting Kyma's Istio behavior. If such changes are identified, discuss them with the team to determine the best course of action.
• New Istio minor should be bumped on the main / New Istio patch should be bumped on the main and the latest release branch.
• Images of the new Istio version are synced to the Kyma registry by adding them to the external-images.yaml.
• Prepare Kyma runtime Istio RNs based on open-source Istio RNs.
• Istio installs and upgrades to a new version.
• Tests and documentation updated if needed.
• Verify that sidecars are in sync with Control Plane.
• Istio and Envoy Version updated in the README.md and /docs/user/README.md files. You can use the scripts scripts/get_module_istio_version.sh and scripts/get_module_envoy_version.sh to extract the versions.
• Check compatibilityVersion of the previous minor version. You can find it in the helm-profiles directory. Evaluate content, and adjust compatibility mode implementation in api/v1alpha2/compatibility_mode.go. Check the release notes for any compatibility flags that might be not covered by the compatibilityVersion. Update docs/user/04-00-istio-custom-resource.md if needed. Document updated compatibility environment variables in the release notes.
• Update k8s.io/* and sigs.k8s.io/* dependencies in go.mod to the version used in the new Istio release. --> follow up

DoD:

• Provide documentation.
• Test on a production-like environment.
• Verify if the solution works for both open-source Kyma and SAP BTP, Kyma runtime.
• Check the outcome of all related pipelines.
• As a PR reviewer, verify code coverage and evaluate if it is acceptable.
• Add release notes.

Attachments
Istio Release Announcements
Upgrade notes

PR

• Bump Istio to 1.24 #1149