consumers of DPDK with a stable target on which to base applications or
packages.
+The primary characteristics of stable releases is that they attempt to
+fix issues and not introduce any new regressions while keeping backwards
+compatibility with the initial release of the stable version.
+
The Long Term Support release (LTS) is a designation applied to a Stable
Release to indicate longer term support.
Any release of DPDK can be designated as a Stable Release if a
maintainer volunteers to maintain it and there is a commitment from major
-contributors to validate it before releases. If a release is to be designated
-as a Stable Release, it should be done by 1 month after the master release.
+contributors to validate it before releases.
+If a version is to be a "Stable Release", it should be designated as such
+within one month of that version being initially released.
A Stable Release is used to backport fixes from an ``N`` release back to an
``N-1`` release, for example, from 16.11 to 16.07.
year's November (X.11) release will be maintained as an LTS for 2 years.
After the X.11 release, an LTS branch will be created for it at
-http://git.dpdk.org/dpdk-stable where bugfixes will be backported to.
+https://git.dpdk.org/dpdk-stable where bugfixes will be backported to.
A LTS release may align with the declaration of a new major ABI version,
please read the :doc:`abi_policy` for more information.
What changes should be backported
---------------------------------
-Backporting should be limited to bug fixes. All patches accepted on the master
+Backporting should be limited to bug fixes. All patches accepted on the main
branch with a Fixes: tag should be backported to the relevant stable/LTS
branches, unless the submitter indicates otherwise. If there are exceptions,
they will be discussed on the mailing lists.
Fixes not suitable for backport should not include the ``Cc: stable@dpdk.org`` tag.
-Features should not be backported to stable releases. It may be acceptable, in
-limited cases, to back port features for the LTS release where:
-
-* There is a justifiable use case (for example a new PMD).
-* The change is non-invasive.
-* The work of preparing the backport is done by the proposer.
-* There is support within the community.
-
+To support the goal of stability and not introducing regressions,
+new code being introduced is limited to bug fixes.
+New features should not be backported to stable releases.
+
+In some limited cases, it may be acceptable to backport a new feature
+to a stable release. Some of the factors which impact the decision by
+stable maintainers are as follows:
+
+* Does the feature break API/ABI?
+* Does the feature break backwards compatibility?
+* Is it for the latest LTS release (to avoid LTS upgrade issues)?
+* Is there a commitment from the proposer or affiliation to validate the feature
+ and check for regressions in related functionality?
+* Is there a track record of the proposer or affiliation validating stable releases?
+* Is it obvious that the feature will not impact existing functionality?
+* How intrusive is the code change?
+* What is the scope of the code change?
+* Does it impact common components or vendor specific?
+* Is there a justifiable use case (a clear user need)?
+* Is there a community consensus about the backport?
+
+Performance improvements are generally not considered to be fixes,
+but may be considered in some cases where:
+
+* It is fixing a performance regression that occurred previously.
+* An existing feature in LTS is not usable as intended without it.
The Stable Mailing List
-----------------------
The Stable and LTS release are coordinated on the stable@dpdk.org mailing
list.
-All fix patches to the master branch that are candidates for backporting
-should also be CCed to the `stable@dpdk.org <http://mails.dpdk.org/listinfo/stable>`_
+All fix patches to the main branch that are candidates for backporting
+should also be CCed to the `stable@dpdk.org <https://mails.dpdk.org/listinfo/stable>`_
mailing list.
* Tagging the release with YY.MM.n (year, month, number).
* Uploading a tarball of the release to dpdk.org.
-* Sending an announcement to the `announce@dpdk.org <http://mails.dpdk.org/listinfo/announce>`_
+* Sending an announcement to the `announce@dpdk.org <https://mails.dpdk.org/listinfo/announce>`_
list.
-Stable releases are available on the `dpdk.org download page <http://core.dpdk.org/download/>`_.
+Stable releases are available on the `dpdk.org download page <https://core.dpdk.org/download/>`_.
git.droids-corp.org / dpdk.git / blobdiff