[yocto] RFC: Yocto LTS?

[Philip Balister]

On 10/14/2015 12:26 PM, Chris Simmonds wrote:
> 
> On 14/10/15 17:27, Mark Hatle wrote:
>> 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
>>
> 
> Thanks, that is all clear now.

We wouldn't be opposed to a group of people supporting a release for
longer. But they would need to provide the people to do the work. LTS
work is hard.

Philip

> 
> Chris
>