This page captures various proposals for changing the Ubuntu release cadence.

Current release scheme

Currently we have:

• LTS releases every ~ 2 years (8.04 -- only on the server, 10.04, 12.04); Ubuntu Desktop has 3 years of support for 8.04 and 10.04, with 5 years on 12.04 LTS
• interim releases every 6 months
• development release (currently raring) where next interim or LTS release is prepared -- see diagram below

Issues with current release scheme:

• releases every 6 months are too far apart when compared with web and mobile standards (updates ~ every month)
• lots of time spent on security updates and SRUs of many past supported releases
• insufficient amount of testers of SRUs
• insufficient quality checks of uploaded packages before they reach developers (raring-proposed to raring migration)

Proposed rolling release + monthly updated release scheme

Rick Spencer proposed on ubuntu-devel@ a new release cadence dropping the interim (non-LTS) releases but adding monthly releases supported only until the next month.

An initial proposed implementation was captured in the foundations-1303-monthly-snapshots blueprint

Details on the ReleaseCadence/RollingRelease sub page.

Benefits:

• Fresher software in the hands of users
• Fewer stable releases to support conserves engineering efforts for current development and LTS point releases

Drawbacks:

• Questionable replacement for current LTS (doubts about quality of a rolling release)
• Difficult for some flavor communities to fulfill their mission without a stable base to ship on
• Supporting the monthly snapshot requires new engineering efforts

6 Month Releases

Continue to release interim releases but only support them until roughly the next interim release 6 months later.

Details on the ReleaseCadence/SixMonthInterimRelease subpage.

Benefits:

• Not a radical departure from our current release cadence
• Fresher software in the hands of users
• Fewer stabler releases to support conserves engineering efforts for current development and LTS point releases

Drawbacks:

• Software ages to six months old each release
• Cost of doing release management each cycle
• Users must update each month to receive support

True Monthly Releases

Can we make even MORE releases in a year? And can we automate that process to make it bulletproof for end-users?

• Make the update process from point to point really bulletproof. Upgrading today is possible, but to keep the system clean over multiple successive upgrades requires an uncommonly high level of skill with APT.
• Strengthen the definition of point releases in the LTS so that interim releases are obviously less relevant.
• Do a reasonable amount of release management on, say, MONTHLY releases that they are actual releases rather than just snapshots.

Details on the ReleaseCadence/TrueMonthlyReleases subpage.

Benefits:

• Fresher software in the hands of users
• Fewer stabler releases to support conserves engineering efforts for current development

Drawbacks:

• Cost of doing release management each cycle
• Users must update each month to receive support