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Version Lifecycle
- 22 May 2023
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Version Lifecycle
- Updated on 22 May 2023
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Article Summary
Itential is always improving and updating our software to provide customers with the latest in network automation. A natural part of this is to shift our developer focus toward features and enhancements that utilize newer technologies to ensure all our products are cutting edge. However, we recognize that not all of our customers have the ability to update their IAP environments at the same cadence as our release cycle. To accomodate these requirements, Itential will now provide Long Term Support (LTS) and Standard Term Support (STS) versions of IAP.
Long Term Support (LTS)
The introduction of LTS releases will provide customers with the option of an IAP version with a three (3) year support period. The image and table below highlight some of the differences between an LTS and STS version of IAP.
Figure: LTS & STS Release Schedule
| LTS Period | Release & Support Phase | Duration | Customer Commitments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Release and Regular Maintenance | 24 Months | While the product release is in this phase, it will receive monthly maintenance releases for bug fixes. The maintenance release may contain enhancements, at Itential’s discretion. Product Support is available during this period. |
| 2 | Critical and Security Vulnerabilities | 6 Months | While the product release is in this phase, it will receive monthly maintenance releases for issues that address critical customer issues, or are related to critical security vulnerabilities. Product Support is available during this period. |
| 3 | Help Desk Support | 6 Months | Only Product Support is available during this period. No maintenance releases will be issued during this phase. |
| 4 | End of Support | - | The product release has reached end of support. At Itential’s discretion, Itential may provide Product Support. |
Maintenance Releases
Maintenance releases will continue to be applied to IAP environments in the current fashion by acquiring and then installing the specific updates. Maintenance releases will only include bug fixes and security updates whose inclusion is dependent on the current stage in the LTS product release and support cycle (see above).
Upgrades
Upgrades between LTS versions will be supported by directly allowing a customer to upgrade to the next LTS version, without requiring upgrade to any STS version between the LTS versions.
ⓘ LTS Upgrade Example:
If you are on 2022.1 and you are upgrading to 2024.1, you must upgrade from 2022.1 to 2024.1.
Standard Term Support (STS)
Standard Term Support (STS) IAP provides customers with the ability to integrate new features more quickly into their environments due to the standard six month planned release cycle of major IAP versions. Release and support phases for STS versions are provided in the table below:.
| STS Period | Release & Support Phase | Duration | Customer Commitments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Release and Regular Maintenance | 12 Months | While the product release is in this phase, it will receive monthly maintenance releases for bug fixes. The maintenance release may contain enhancements, at Itential’s discretion. Product Support is available during this period. |
| 2 | Critical and Security Vulnerabilities | 6 Months | While the product release is in this phase, it will receive monthly maintenance releases for issues that address critical customer issues, or are related to critical security vulnerabilities. Product Support is available during this period. |
| 3 | Help Desk Support | 6 Months | Only Product Support is available during this period. No maintenance releases will be issued during this phase. |
| 4 | End of Support | - | The product release has reached end of support. At Itential's discretion, Itential may be provide Product Support. |
Maintenance Releases
Maintenance releases will continue to be applied to IAP environments in the current fashion by acquiring and then installing the specific updates.
Upgrades
Upgrades between major versions will continue to be applied to IAP environments in the current fashion. This requires that customer upgrade each major version in the path to the desired version.
ⓘ STS Upgrade Example:
If you are on 2021.1 and you are upgrading to 2022.1, you must do the following:
- Upgrade from 2021.1 to 2021.1
- Upgrade from 2021.2 to 2022.1
Monthly Maintenance Releases
Maintenance Releases are scheduled for availability on the 1st Tuesday of every month during a major version lifecycle. If that day should fall on a holiday, the release will be rescheduled for the next business day.
Deprecations
Deprecations can be introduced with the introduction of any release, including an LTS release. While that release is still active in a customer’s environment, the feature that is marked as deprecated will still be available. No backports or bug fixes will introduce deprecations to an existing release
Breaking Changes
Breaking changes can be introduced with the introduction of any release, including an LTS release. No backports or bug fixes will introduce breaking changes to an existing release
End of Support
After two (2) years for STS or three (3) years for LTS, a major IAP software version will its their End-of-Support (EOS) date. Once the software reaches EOS, Itential will no longer accept support tickets related to the version, and Maintenance Releases for the version will cease to be published.
| Release Version | Support Model | Release Date | End of Support |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023.1 | STS | May 19, 2023 | May 19, 2025 |
| 2022.1 | LTS | Sep 01, 2022 | Sep 01, 2025 |
| 2021.2 | STS | Jan 24, 2022 | Jan 24, 2024 |
| 2021.1 | STS | June 25, 2021 | June 25, 2023 |
| 2020.2 | STS | Jan 5, 2021 | Jan 5, 2023 |
| 2020.1 | STS | Apr 24, 2020 | Apr 25, 2022 |
| 2019.3 | STS | Dec 6, 2019 | Dec 6, 2021 |
| 2019.2 | STS | Aug 2, 2019 | Aug 2, 2021 |
| 2019.1 | STS | Apr 1, 2019 | Apr 1, 2021 |
| 2018.3 (PH6) | STS | Nov 9, 2018 | Nov 9, 2020 |
| PH5 | STS | Sep 4, 2017 | Dec 29, 2019 |
Software Repository Retention
Itential will periodically remove software from the Itential Software Repository if it has reached its End of Support lifecycle.
Third-Party Integrations
All third-party software version compatibility is documented in Release Notes under Product Notices for each release version. To get the most up-to-date requirements for any third-party integration, including open source, first identify the IAP release version you are using and then refer to the respective release note.
When a third-party integration has reached obsolescence on the Itential platform, it will no longer be actively supported by the Service Desk. For customers with unsupported third party integrations, Itential may provide limited assistance, where possible, but no bug fixes, workarounds or patches will be provided. As such, the end user will need to upgrade to the newest version of the integration in accordance with version compatibility documented in Release Notes.
