Very new to Ceph but long time but long time sys admin who is jaded/opinionated. My 2 cents: 1) This sounds like a perfect thing to put in a poll and ask/beg people to vote. Hopefully that will get you more of a response from a larger number of users. 2) Given that the value of the odd releases is "dubious", maybe those that are using these releases can give reason why they feel they need/want them? I, personally, think having the even releases on a shorter cadence with the most users on each would be best, but I'm still new to this game, -Bryan -----Original Message----- From: ceph-users [mailto:ceph-users-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Sage Weil Sent: Wednesday, September 06, 2017 10:24 AM To: ceph-devel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx; ceph-maintainers@xxxxxxxx; ceph-users@xxxxxxxx Subject: Ceph release cadence Note: External Email ------------------------------------------------- Hi everyone, Traditionally, we have done a major named "stable" release twice a year, and every other such release has been an "LTS" release, with fixes backported for 1-2 years. With kraken and luminous we missed our schedule by a lot: instead of releasing in October and April we released in January and August. A few observations: - Not a lot of people seem to run the "odd" releases (e.g., infernalis, kraken). This limits the value of actually making them. It also means that those who *do* run them are running riskier code (fewer users -> more bugs). - The more recent requirement that upgrading clusters must make a stop at each LTS (e.g., hammer -> luminous not supported, must go hammer -> jewel -> lumninous) has been hugely helpful on the development side by reducing the amount of cross-version compatibility code to maintain and reducing the number of upgrade combinations to test. - When we try to do a time-based "train" release cadence, there always seems to be some "must-have" thing that delays the release a bit. This doesn't happen as much with the odd releases, but it definitely happens with the LTS releases. When the next LTS is a year away, it is hard to suck it up and wait that long. A couple of options: * Keep even/odd pattern, and continue being flexible with release dates + flexible - unpredictable - odd releases of dubious value * Keep even/odd pattern, but force a 'train' model with a more regular cadence + predictable schedule - some features will miss the target and be delayed a year * Drop the odd releases but change nothing else (i.e., 12-month release cadence) + eliminate the confusing odd releases with dubious value * Drop the odd releases, and aim for a ~9 month cadence. This splits the difference between the current even/odd pattern we've been doing. + eliminate the confusing odd releases with dubious value + waiting for the next release isn't quite as bad - required upgrades every 9 months instead of ever 12 months * Drop the odd releases, but relax the "must upgrade through every LTS" to allow upgrades across 2 versions (e.g., luminous -> mimic or luminous -> nautilus). Shorten release cycle (~6-9 months). + more flexibility for users + downstreams have greater choice in adopting an upstrema release - more LTS branches to maintain - more upgrade paths to consider Other options we should consider? Other thoughts? Thanks! sage _______________________________________________ ceph-users mailing list ceph-users@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx http://lists.ceph.com/listinfo.cgi/ceph-users-ceph.com ________________________________ Note: This email is for the confidential use of the named addressee(s) only and may contain proprietary, confidential or privileged information. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any review, dissemination or copying of this email is strictly prohibited, and to please notify the sender immediately and destroy this email and any attachments. Email transmission cannot be guaranteed to be secure or error-free. The Company, therefore, does not make any guarantees as to the completeness or accuracy of this email or any attachments. This email is for informational purposes only and does not constitute a recommendation, offer, request or solicitation of any kind to buy, sell, subscribe, redeem or perform any type of transaction of a financial product. _______________________________________________ ceph-users mailing list ceph-users@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx http://lists.ceph.com/listinfo.cgi/ceph-users-ceph.com