Release types for IBM Cloud Pak foundational services
IBM Cloud Pak foundational services releases a new version regularly, and follows three main release cycles to meet requirements of all our clients: Continuous Delivery (CD), Support Cycle-2 (SC-2), Long Term Service Release (LTSR). These release cycles differ in the type of content that is delivered and frequency with which they are released.
| Release type | Description | Release channel | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Continuous Delivery (CD) | Continuous delivery release is a vehicle that delivers new features and security vulnerability fixes. | v4.x channel. |
The v4.6 channel is both a CD and SC-2 channel. |
| Support Cycle-2 (SC-2) | IBM Cloud Pak foundational services version 4.6.x is an SC-2 release that offers extended support that allows you to maintain a stable base version of IBM Cloud Pak foundational services and ease maintenance costs. SC-2 releases deliver only security vulnerability and critical fixes. The 4.6.x version is fully supported for 2 years, plus an additional year of extended support and an optional period of sustained support. | v4.6 |
|
| Long Term Service Release (LTSR) | IBM Cloud Pak foundational services version 3.19 is an LTSR release that offers extended support that allows you to maintain a stable base version of IBM Cloud Pak foundational services and ease maintenance costs. The LTSR release follows
the OpenShift Container Platform lifecycle. For more information, see Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform Life Cycle Policy. The extended support is available to Cloud
Paks adopting the LTSR policy. Changes are limited to monthly security vulnerability and critical fixes. The 3.19 LTSR release is fully supported for 18 months, plus additional 6 months with support triage to ensure smooth transition into LTSR. A new LTSR version is planned to be released every 18 months. Refer to the IBM Cloud Pak documentation to switch from LTSR release to a Continuous Delivery stream if you require to adopt new features. The 3.19.9 LTSR release has been updated with the same features and fixes as IBM Cloud Pak® foundational services versions 3.20, 3.21, 3.22, and 3.23. |
v3 channel |
Do not install an LTSR and non-LTSR IBM Cloud Paks on the same OpenShift Container Platform cluster. |
| Extended Update Support (EUS) /n Support for EUS ended in October, 2022. | IBM Cloud Pak foundational services version 3.6 is an EUS release that offers extended support that follows the OpenShift Container Platform version 4.6 EUS model. The extended support is available to Cloud Paks adopting the EUS policy. Changes are limited to security vulnerability and critical fixes. Refer to the IBM Cloud Pak documentation to switch from EUS release to a Continuous Delivery stream if you require to adopt new features. | stable-v1 channel |
Do not install EUS and non-EUS IBM Cloud Paks on the same OpenShift Container Platform cluster. |
For more information about official support lifecycles for IBM Cloud Pak foundational services product, see IBM Software Support Lifecycle Policies.