[yocto] RFC: Yocto LTS?

[Mark Hatle]

On 10/14/15 8:28 AM, Chris Simmonds wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> Is there a statement about the period of support for a Yocto release?
> Looking through the updates, it seems that 12 months is typical, a was
> the case for 1.4, 1.5 and 1.6 for example, but I cannot see a
> declaration anywhere that this is the expected norm.
> 
> Leading on from that, is 12 months enough? Most projects have a
> lifecycle that is much longer. Is there an argument for an LTS Yocto
> release, maybe once a year? If not, what is the recommended way for a
> project developer to keep a distribution up to date in the light of the
> several well-publicised security flaws that have been discovered over
> the last year or so and the new ones that will no doubt be discovered in
> the future?

https://wiki.yoctoproject.org/wiki/FAQ#What_is_the_overall_support_plan_for_the_Yocto_Project.3F

=What is the release cycle of the Yocto Project?=
Each release of the Yocto Project is subject to its own release schedule
according to the community-maintained Project Planning Guide. It is generally
expected that a new version of the Yocto Project will be released every six months.

=What is the overall support plan for the Yocto Project?=
Security patches and critical bug fixes are supplied one release back. No
toolchain or kernel changes are allowed for these updates. Support for longer
periods of time can be supplied by commercial OSVs.



Effectively this means that support is on the last two releases.  Releases are
typically released every 6 months.  After that point it is usually supported by
OSVs, or others that offer commercial services.  In the past we have done a few
very late security fixes past the 'last two releases' point, however that has
been for unique situations.

You should consider keeping current with the Yocto Project releases or consider
commercial support if you need more then an approx 12 - 18 month support cycle.

--Mark

> Regards,
> Chris Simmonds
>