Even-numbered releases are stable. Odd-numbered releases are unstable (bloody). See stable vs. bloody for more details on the difference between them.
Stable releases come out every 26 weeks. Interim, “weekly” updates to stable follow a fixed schedule denoted by letters, one per week. Weekly releases are made as needed. The first release of a new stable version is synonymous with weekly release “a”, though the letter is not used.
During the intervals between stable releases, Bloody moves forward rapidly, picking up changes from upstream illumos-gate and updating various userland packages. Major goals for each interval are noted.
The following image illustrates how releases progress.
Image from OmniOS: Motivation and Design, LISA '12 (video)
Note: this plan went into effect as of r151006. Also note: r151022 had an 8-month development cycles, due to upstream churn around r151022's start.
Normal stable releases receive updates for one year. Long-Term Support releases receive updates for three years. LTS releases are staggered every two years, with r151006 being the first. Releases in bold are currently receiving support.
| Release | Type | Release Date | Updates Until |
|---|---|---|---|
| r151006 | LTS | H1 2013 | H1 2016 |
| r151008 | normal | H2 2013 | H2 2014 |
| r151010 | normal | H1 2014 | H1 2015 |
| r151012 | normal | H2 2014 | H2 2015 |
| r151014 | LTS | H1 2015 | H1 2017 |
| r151016 | normal | H2 2015 | H2 2016 |
| r151018 | normal | H1 2016 | H1 2017 |
| r151020 | normal | H2 2016 | H1 2017 |
| r151022 | LTS | H1 2017 |
Upgrades are supported from the most previous version in a given track (Stable vs. LTS) for the life of a given release. For example, upgrades from r151008 to r151010 will be supported for 1 year after the release of r151010, but not upgrades from r151006 to r151010. Upgrades from r151006 will be supported to r151014 for 3 years after the release of r151014.