ceph/doc/releases/general.rst

   1 .. _ceph-releases-general:
   2
   3 =======================
   4 Ceph Releases (general)
   5 =======================
   6
   7 .. toctree::
   8     :maxdepth: 1
   9
  10 Understanding the release cycle
  11 -------------------------------
  12
  13 Starting with the Nautilus release (14.2.0), there is a new stable release cycle
  14 every year, targeting the month of March. Each stable release series will receive a name
  15 (e.g., 'Mimic') and a major release number (e.g., 13 for Mimic because 'M' is
  16 the 13th letter of the alphabet).
  17
  18 Releases are named after a species of cephalopod (usually the common
  19 name, since the latin names are harder to remember or pronounce).
  20
  21 Version numbers have three components, *x.y.z*.  *x* identifies the release
  22 cycle (e.g., 13 for Mimic).  *y* identifies the release type:
  23
  24 * x.0.z - development versions
  25 * x.1.z - release candidates (for test clusters, brave users)
  26 * x.2.z - stable/bugfix releases (for users)
  27
  28 Release candidates (x.1.z)
  29 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  30
  31 There is a feature freeze roughly two months prior to the planned
  32 initial stable release, after which focus shifts to stabilization and
  33 bug fixes only.
  34
  35 * Release candidate release every 1-2 weeks
  36 * Intended for final testing and validation of the upcoming stable release
  37
  38 Stable releases (x.2.z)
  39 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  40
  41 Once the initial stable release is made (x.2.0), there are
  42 semi-regular bug-fix point releases with bug fixes and (occasionally)
  43 feature backports.  Bug fixes are accumulated and included in
  44 the next point release.
  45
  46 * Stable point release every 4 to 6 weeks
  47 * Intended for production deployments
  48 * Bug fix backports for 2 full release cycles (2 years).
  49 * Online, rolling upgrade support and testing from the last two (2)
  50   stable release(s) (starting from Luminous).
  51 * Online, rolling upgrade support and testing from prior stable point
  52   releases
  53
  54 For each stable release:
  55
  56 * `Integration and upgrade tests
  57   <https://github.com/ceph/ceph/tree/master/qa/suites/>`_ are run on a regular basis
  58   and `their results <http://pulpito.ceph.com/>`_ analyzed by Ceph
  59   developers.
  60 * `Issues <http://tracker.ceph.com/projects/ceph/issues?query_id=27>`_
  61   fixed in the development branch (master) are scheduled to be backported.
  62 * When an issue found in the stable release is `reported
  63   <http://tracker.ceph.com/projects/ceph/issues/new>`_, it is
  64   triaged by Ceph developers.
  65 * The `stable releases and backport team <http://tracker.ceph.com/projects/ceph-releases/wiki>`_
  66   publishes ``point releases`` including fixes that have been backported to the stable release.
  67
  68 Lifetime of stable releases
  69 ---------------------------
  70
  71 The lifetime of a stable release series is calculated to be approximately 24
  72 months (i.e., two 12 month release cycles) after the month of the first release.
  73 For example, Mimic (13.2.z) will reach end of life (EOL) shortly after Octopus
  74 (15.2.0) is released. The lifetime of a release may vary because it depends on
  75 how quickly the stable releases are published.
  76
  77 Detailed information on all releases, past and present, can be found at :ref:`ceph-releases-index`
  78