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# OpenBMC Release Process
The OpenBMC release process document is the output of the Release Planning
work group. This documents the set of topics that have been discussed and
agreed upon to date, defining such things as the release process and schedule,
milestones, content definition and feature prioritization. All the decisions
were made in the work group meetings, with representatives from each member
company. You are encouraged to get involved and contribute. The meeting
information is available on the OpenBMC wiki:
https://github.com/openbmc/openbmc/wiki/Release-Planning
## Release Cycle
### Schedule
OpenBMC has its initial formal release branch as a Linux Foundation project
in February 2019, with a new release branch following every 6 months. Releases
are purposefully offset from Yocto releases by a few months to allow for
integration and testing.
### Versioning
The OpenBMC release will follow the Yocto numbering with slight modification
to allow for build information. The release version will follow the form:
Major.Minor.Fix.obmc-build. For example:
`2.6.4.obmc-2`
This would be interpreted as major release 2, minor release 6, fix release 4,
build 2. Even though OpenBMC will follow the Yocto release numbering, code
names for OpenBMC releases are still TBD.
### Milestones
Milestones are important dates within a release cycle. The milestone dates
agreed to are as follows: Design, Code, Freeze, and Release. The milestones
will each have entry and exit criteria.
#### Design
This is the date in the release cycle when a feature's design must be discussed
openly and completed. The design should follow the published design template
and be merged before this milestone. If this is not met, then the feature is
at risk for not being merged for the forming release cycle.
The Design Template can be found here:
https://github.com/openbmc/docs/blob/master/designs/design-template.md
#### Code
This milestone represents some major functionality that has to be completed by
this date in order for the feature to be delivered on time. It is a checkpoint
for the developers doing the work to evaluate and commit to for having that
part complete. Globally there can be one or more code milestones established,
but currently these are TBD.
#### Freeze
This is the date where the release content is frozen, that is, no new major
content will be accepted. This is necessary to allow time for the new features
to be fully tested. Any defects found will be evaluated to be included or not,
based on how close the release milestone is, and how much the defect impacts
other components and features. Feature freeze will occur 4 weeks before the
release milestone.
How the release freeze will be done with regard to freeze and branch
immediately or to freeze and test, branching on the release date is still TBD.
#### Release
The release milestone is the release date. It is defined as happening some
time within a targeted release week. It is desired to have the release happen
as soon as possible within the release week, but the week is given to allow
for typical infrastructure problems to occur and be fixed in order for the
release to happen.
The release date is a fixed time frame and cannot be moved. If a feature is
not done by the freeze milestone, then it will not be in that release, it will
have to be included in the next release cycle. The release date will not float
out until the feature is complete.
## Release Content
### Content Input
Community members define release content by inputting needed work into the
release management tool(s) specified below. Typically the content is a feature
that a particular company needs and one that they are willing to allocate some
resources to see completed. The feature does not need to be fully staffed by
that company, unless it is critical to that company and no other community
member is willing to contribute.
Release content is disclosed regardless of resource commitment because the
community consists of not just member companies, but individuals interested in
furthering OpenBMC. These community members may be willing to contribute to a
feature.
### Prioritization
Prioritization happens naturally with listing the content proposed for a
release cycle. If every community member participating in the Release Planning
work group wants a particular feature and agree to help staff the effort, it
automatically becomes a higher priority than an item that is mildly needed and
not staffed.
Just as with the content being fully disclosed, it is important to maintain a
list of medium priority work that didn't make the release cut, as it may be an
area that a new community member would like to start working on.
### Work Group Formation
Work groups form in the open around features for a release, not around company
boundaries. Work groups would definitely be needed for work spanning releases,
or high priority features with multiple community members. These work groups
need a lead to form and guide the group through the release milestones and to
deliver a well designed and tested feature.
Work groups can be formal or not depending on the work needing to be done and
the community member style. They can consist of email to the list or formal
weekly meetings via IRC or call to discuss designs and progress.
### Backlog
The backlog is simply the proposed release features that did not make the
release plan. They will be additional input for the next release cycle. They
are also available for new community members looking for a new project to
drive if none of the current work is within their expertise.
### Release Management Tools
We are initially using a Google spreadsheet, but the desire is to move to a
better tool to track and manage content and schedules. Several have been
proposed but selection is still TBD.
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