LTS Enablement Stack

Wed Sep 5 19:23:53 UTC 2012

On 08/10/2012 02:05 PM, Leann Ogasawara wrote:
> Hi Everyone,
>
> At UDS-Q we began discussions for how we will provide enablement stack
> offerings in the Precise 12.04 LTS release, eg. provide the 12.10
> Kernel and X.org in 12.04 beginning with the 12.04.2 point release. 
> We captured plenty of feedback during these discussions and noted
> numerous areas which still needed sorting as we move through the
> Quantal devel cycle [A,B,C].  Logistics regarding support time frames,
> image seeding, and upgrade paths/policies were all of specific
> concern.  With the Quantal devel cycle well under way and the 12.04.2
> point release a few months away, I've been attempting to drive many of
> the remaining areas of concern to a resolution.  I thought I would
> take this opportunity to share a current status of where we are. 
> Please note I've marked some items "[TBD]" as they are still
> undergoing review and discussion:
>
>  1. For the 12.04.2 CD's, we will default to the new Quantal
>     enablement stack.  Due to size limitations we are unable to
>     provide options for both the Quantal enablement stack and the
>     original Precise stack.
>  2. [TBD] For the 12.04.2 DVD's, we will default to the new Quantal
>     enablement stack but are also actively investigating the
>     possibility of providing an option to allow users to remain on the
>     original Precise stack.
>  3. The 12.04.0 and 12.04.1 point releases will be archived and
>     available at old-releases.ubuntu.com.
>  4. For the 12.04.2 CD's (and possibly the 12.04.2 DVD's if we are
>     unable to provide an option to remain on the original Precise
>     stack for the DVD's), we will message that anyone installing and
>     wishing to remain on the original 12.04 stack to please install
>     from the 12.04.0 or 12.04.1 media and update.
>

Just expanding on item #4 with some additional details which were just
discussed on #ubuntu-devel:

 * For the 12.04.2 point release, https://help.ubuntu.com/ and
http://www.ubuntu.com/download/desktop should be updated to
message/notify users that they do have the option to install with the
12.04.1 media as an alternative to remain on the original Precise
stack.  A link to the 12.04.1 media which will be archived at
old-releases.ubuntu.com should also be referenced in this message.

Thanks,
Leann

>  1. We only intend to support enablement stack package combinations in
>     12.04 which are derived from the same release, eg. the 12.10 X.org
>     must be used in conjunction with the 12.10 kernel and vice versa. 
>     Intermixing a 12.10 enablement kernel with the 12.04 X.org stack
>     or a 12.10 enablement X.org stack with a 12.04 kernel will not be
>     officially tested nor supported.
>  2. Anyone running with the original Precise stack will not be
>     automatically updated to the new Quantal enablement stack.  Users
>     can electively choose to install the Quantal (or newer) enablement
>     stack meta package if they wish to do so.
>  3. Additionally, anyone upgrading to Precise will not be
>     automatically upgraded to the new Quantal enablement stack. 
>     Again, they can electively choose to do so by manually installing
>     the appropriate meta package.
>  4. The original 12.04 stack in Precise will remain supported for the
>     usual 5yr life cycle of the LTS release.
>  5. Anyone running with the newer Quantal enablement stack will remain
>     on that stack until the following 14.04 LTS enablement stack is
>     available and supported in 12.04.  Users will *not* be
>     automatically rolled forward to interim non-LTS enablement stack
>     offerings.
>       * If anyone is interested in updating to newer enablement stack
>         offerings in Precise as they become available, we will provide
>         series specific meta packages which they can manually choose
>         to install.  We will also provide a rolling release meta
>         package for those who do want to roll forward automatically. 
>         Again, this will be an elective package install and not mandatory.
>  6. When an interim non-LTS enablement stack offering (ie Q|R|S
>     enablement stack in P) reaches it's EOL, users will be
>     automatically rolled forward to the 14.04 LTS enablement stack, eg
>     12.10 enablement stack users will be automatically upgraded to the
>     14.04 enablement stack in Precise upon the 12.10 enablement stack
>     reaching it's EOL.  This will ensure a continuous line of
>     support.  See item 11 below for follow on discussions.
>  7. [TBD] The interim non-LTS enablement stacks (ie Q|R|S enablement
>     stacks in P) will only be supported in Precise from the time they
>     appear in a point release through the remainder of their natural
>     release life cycle, eg the 12.10 enablement stack will be
>     supported for 15mo in Precise due to the 3mo offset between
>     12.10's official release and the 12.04.2 point release.
>       * There are concerns that 12.10 will EOL at the same time 14.04
>         is released.  Some are in favor of driving a more rigorous QA
>         effort of the 14.04 enablement stack in 12.04 to ensure an
>         immediate and smooth transition to the 14.04 enablement stack
>         on the day the 12.10 enablement stack EOL's.  This would also
>         likely result in an increased level of quality for the initial
>         14.04 release due to the extra testing focus.  Others are
>         however more conservative and would prefer we not offer the
>         14.04 enablement stack in Precise until the 14.04.1 time
>         frame.  We commonly message that users should not be using an
>         LTS release for production environments until the .1 release. 
>         It seems reasonable that we should message the same advice for
>         the enablement stacks and subsequently not automatically
>         upgrade users of the 12.10 enablement stack until the 14.04.1
>         time frame.  This provides an additional 3mo window where we
>         would benefit from bug fixes and overall testing we receive in
>         the initial months following 14.04's release.  However, the
>         disadvantage here is this extends the support window of the
>         12.10 enablement stack in Precise beyond it's natural support
>         window in it's original 12.10 release.  It produces a larger
>         maintenance burden as well as a slightly more complicated
>         policy which would need to be messaged.
>  8. [TBD] Anyone running an R or S enablement stack in Precise might
>     have an unexpected result if they upgrade their entire system to
>     Quantal.  The packages offered in the R/S enablement stack would
>     supersede the Quantal packages.  This still needs further
>     discussion for an appropriate upgrade policy/expectation for
>     anyone in this scenario.
>  9. Apport has and will be updated to allow bug reporting in Precise
>     against the enablement stacks.  These bugs will also be
>     appropriately tagged to assist in searching.
>
> Please feel free to raise any additional questions/concerns which may
> not have been addressed above.  I'll also try and provide updates for
> the "TBD" items as they come to a resolution.
>
> Thanks,
> Leann
>
> [A]
> https://blueprints.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+spec/security-q-kernel-backports
> [B]
> https://blueprints.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+spec/desktop-q-xorg-lts-updates
> [C]
> https://blueprints.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+spec/qa-q-assuring-kernel-quality
>
>
>

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