Clarification needed for Ignite cdc-ext module <<ignite-cdc-ext>>

We are using the Apache Ignite **cdc-ext** (**_Ignite2IgniteClientCdcStreamer_**) feature for a cache data replication use case in our project. Earlier, the cdc-ext feature was coordinated with **Apache Ignite 2.16**. However, now that cdc-ext refers to a snapshot version of **Apache Ignite 2.17** (which is yet to have an official release), our project that uses **Apache Ignite 2.16** fails to bring up the cdc-ext module due to the some missing classes from **Apache Ignite 2.16** (that are actually present in some other package location in **Apache Ignite 2.17 snapshot jar**).

The following exception is thrown when trying to bring up the cdc-ext module:

`java.lang.NoClassDefFoundError: org/apache/ignite/metric/MetricRegistry`

[Please find the attached exception trace]
[Ignite cdc exception log.txt](https://github.com/user-attachments/files/18238365/Ignite.cdc.exception.log.txt)

We had two queries around this:

1. When will the **Ignite cdc-ext** module (which is currently in experimental state) get an official release ?
2. Will the **Ignite cdc-ext** module be backward compatible with **Apache Ignite 2.16**, or do our systems have to be upgraded to **Apache Ignite 2.17** to support the Ignite cdc-ext feature ?

**_Note:_** Please redirect me to an appropriate channel if this Apache Ignite CDC ext query is supposed to be addressed at some other channel.

Start by examining the cdc-ext module metadata and the reported Ignite2IgniteClientCdcStreamer dependency against Apache Ignite 2.16 and the 2.17 snapshot. The issue is complete only when the release status and supported compatibility requirements are documented, including whether upgrading to 2.17 is required.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.