Will FreeBSD 10.4 be an extended release

T

Tim L

Under the previous support model (https://www.freebsd.org/security/security.html#sup) the last release from each -STABLE branch was usually designated an extended release. At the point FreeBSD 10.4 is listed as a normal release. Does anyone know if it will be changed to a extended release? Or did switching to the new support model with FreeBSD 11 change how they are handling it.

I have some FreeBSD 10.4 systems still running and was expecting to have though next summer to upgrade to FreeBSD 11. But if FreeBSD 10.4 isn't an extended release I'll need to upgrade sooner.
 
Tim L said:
Does anyone know if it will be changed to a extended release?
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That's going to depend if a 10.5 will be released or not. I don't think there's been a definitive answer yet. At the moment they're busy getting 12.0 ready for release.

The whole reason for the new schedule was to cut down on the number of release versions that needed to be supported at any given time. So I suspect 10.4 will be the last of the 10 series. But like I said, I have no definitive answer.
 
Doubt it very much, FreeBSD has moved to the OpenBSD support model where they support only one version of the OS at a time and when the new release is nearing release the older one is marked for obsolescense and support for it ends a month or two after the new release is out.
 
kpa said:
where they support only one version of the OS
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One minor version. There can still be two or more major versions, depending on how fast a new major release will happen.

FreeBSD 11.0 was released in October 2016, add 5 year support to that and the end of 11 will be around October 2021. FreeBSD 12.0 will be released in about two months. So between November 2018 and October 2021 both 11.x and 12.x will need to be supported. But only the latest minor version of each major branch.

If (big IF) 13.0 is released somewhere before October 2021 there would be three major versions to support in that time-frame.
 
There was certain hardware support dropped in 11 which makes it very important to me to have an extended release. So it is not simply finding time to upgrade but finding new hardware. I'm perfectly fine if 10.4 is the last release if there are patches provided as an extended release.
 
bgrant said:
There was certain hardware support dropped in 11 which makes it very important to me to have an extended release. So it is not simply finding time to upgrade but finding new hardware. I'm perfectly fine if 10.4 is the last release if there are patches provided as an extended release.
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Could you please share which exactly hardware is no longer supported?
 
Sure. The asr driver was dropped between 10 and 11 and my SuperMicro server required that driver for the raid.

That being said, my organization (actually former org since I retired recently) has decided to retire that system's hardware so I no longer need the support of 10.4.
 
SirDice said:
The whole reason for the new schedule was to cut down on the number of release versions that needed to be supported at any given time. So I suspect 10.4 will be the last of the 10 series. But like I said, I have no definitive answer.
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Well, I really wish there were more minor releases and less major releases. I have always held the belief that a major release should be reserved for foundational major changes. I struggle to believe that FreeBSD architecture is changing that much that often. And if they are trying to cut down on the number of releases to support then fine, that is easily acheiveable without have a new major release everytime the weather changes.
 
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