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[release-12.1.2] Chore: Clarify version update content (#109996)

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* Chore: Clarify version update content (#109987)

* baldm0mma/ clarify update content

* baldm0mma/ scan and update rest of doc

* baldm0mma/ run prettier

* baldm0mma/ rerun yarn run prettier:write

* Update docs/sources/upgrade-guide/when-to-upgrade/index.md

Co-authored-by: Jacob Valdez <jacob.valdez@grafana.com>

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Co-authored-by: Jacob Valdez <jacob.valdez@grafana.com>
(cherry picked from commit a180601968)

* baldm0mma/ run prettier write

* baldm0mma/ update major example

---------

Co-authored-by: Jacob Valdez <jacob.valdez@grafana.com>
This commit is contained in:
Jev Forsberg
2025-08-22 09:08:10 -06:00
committed by GitHub
co-authored by Jacob Valdez
parent 02651fbf4a
commit 3dd9a04b1b
1 changed files with 48 additions and 30 deletions
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docs/sources/upgrade-guide/when-to-upgrade/index.md
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@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ Currently, Grafana is on a monthly release cycle. Here’s a look at scheduled r
- The schedule above outlines how we plan release dates. However, unforeseen events and circumstances may cause dates to change.
- High severity security and feature degradation incidents will result in ad-hoc releases that are not scheduled ahead of time.
- Patching releases are for the current (last released) minor version of Grafana. Additional older versions of Grafana may be included if there is a critical bug or security vulnerability that needs to be patched.
- Patching releases are for all supported minor versions of Grafana. Each supported minor version receives patch releases with bug fixes and security patches until its end of life.
- Release freezes: Each year Grafana implements two release freezes to accommodate for the holiday season. During these times, no scheduled releases will be executed. However, this does not apply to changes that may be required during the course of an operational or security incident.
## Grafana security releases: improved version naming convention
@@ -96,49 +96,67 @@ For self-managed Grafana (both Enterprise and OSS), the support for versions fol
- Each minor release is supported for 9 months after its release date
- The last minor release of a major version receives extended support for 15 months after its release date
- Support levels change as new versions are released:
- **Full Support**: The most recently released major/minor version receive full support including new features, bug fixes, and security patches
- **Security & Critical Bugs Only**: Versions that are outside of the most recently released major/minor version, but still within their support period, receive only security patches and critical bug fixes
- **Full Support**: The current major version receives new features through new minor releases
- **Patch Support**: Individual minor versions receive patch releases (bug fixes and security patches) until end of life
- **Not Supported**: Versions beyond their support period receive no updates
Here is an overview of version support through 2026:
| **Version** | **Release date** | **Support end date** | **Support level** |
| ------------------------- | ------------------ | -------------------- | ----------------------------- |
| 10.2.x | October 24, 2023 | July 24, 2024 | Not Supported |
| 10.3.x | January 23, 2024 | October 23, 2024 | Not Supported |
| 10.4.x (Last minor of 10) | March 5, 2024 | June 5, 2025 | Not Supported |
| 11.0.x | May 14, 2024 | February 14, 2025 | Not Supported |
| 11.1.x | June 25, 2024 | April 23, 2025 | Not Supported |
| 11.2.x | August 27, 2024 | May 27, 2025 | Not Supported |
| 11.3.x | October 22, 2024 | July 22, 2025 | Not Supported |
| 11.4.x | December 5, 2024 | September 5, 2025 | Security & Critical Bugs Only |
| 11.5.x | January 28, 2025 | October 28, 2025 | Security & Critical Bugs Only |
| 11.6.x (Last minor of 11) | March 25, 2025 | June 25, 2026 | Security & Critical Bugs Only |
| 12.0.x | May 5, 2025 | February 5, 2026 | Security & Critical Bugs Only |
| 12.1.x | July 22, 2025 | April 22, 2026 | Full Support until next minor |
| 12.2.x | September 23, 2025 | June 23, 2026 | Yet to be released |
| 12.3.x | November 18, 2025 | August 18, 2026 | Yet to be released |
| **Version** | **Release date** | **Support end date** | **Support level** |
| ------------------------- | ------------------ | -------------------- | ------------------ |
| 10.2.x | October 24, 2023 | July 24, 2024 | Not Supported |
| 10.3.x | January 23, 2024 | October 23, 2024 | Not Supported |
| 10.4.x (Last minor of 10) | March 5, 2024 | June 5, 2025 | Not Supported |
| 11.0.x | May 14, 2024 | February 14, 2025 | Not Supported |
| 11.1.x | June 25, 2024 | April 23, 2025 | Not Supported |
| 11.2.x | August 27, 2024 | May 27, 2025 | Not Supported |
| 11.3.x | October 22, 2024 | July 22, 2025 | Not Supported |
| 11.4.x | December 5, 2024 | September 5, 2025 | Patch Support |
| 11.5.x | January 28, 2025 | October 28, 2025 | Patch Support |
| 11.6.x (Last minor of 11) | March 25, 2025 | June 25, 2026 | Patch Support |
| 12.0.x | May 5, 2025 | February 5, 2026 | Patch Support |
| 12.1.x | July 22, 2025 | April 22, 2026 | Patch Support |
| 12.2.x | September 23, 2025 | June 23, 2026 | Yet to be released |
| 12.3.x | November 18, 2025 | August 18, 2026 | Yet to be released |
## How are these versions supported?
The level of support changes as new versions of Grafana are released. Here are the key details:
Self-managed Grafana follows semantic-like versioning (MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH). Here's how different types of releases work:
- **Full Support**:
- **Major releases** (e.g., 12.0.0, 13.0.0):
- All new features
- All bug fixes
- Security patches
- Regular updates
- Awesome new features as well as significant architectural improvements and modernizations
- May include breaking changes that require migration steps
- Released once per year
- **Security & Critical Bugs Only**:
- **Minor releases** (e.g., 12.3.0, 12.4.0):
- Security vulnerability patches
- Critical bug fixes that cause feature degradation
- No new features
- Contain new features and enhancements
- Include bug fixes and security patches
- Released every other month
- **Patch releases** (e.g., 12.3.1, 12.3.2):
- **Only** contain bug fixes and security patches
- **No new features** - these wait until the next minor release
- Released monthly
**Support levels by version:**
- **Full Support** (current major version):
- Gets new minor releases with new features approximately every other month
- All minor versions within the major receive patch releases until end of life
- Example: Major 12.x gets new features via 12.1.0, 12.2.0, 12.3.0, etc.
- **Patch Support** (individual minor versions):
- Each minor version receives patch releases (bug fixes and security patches) until end of life
- No new features - these only come with new minor releases
- Example: 12.3.x gets 12.3.1, 12.3.2, etc. with fixes only
- **Not Supported**: Versions beyond their support period receive no updates and should be upgraded.
Keeping all this in mind, users that want to receive the most recent features and all bug fixes should be on the current (most recently released) version of Grafana.
**Example**: When 12.3.0 is released, it includes new features. Subsequent releases like 12.3.1 and 12.3.2 only include bug fixes and security updates. All new features developed after 12.3.0 wait until 12.4.0 is released.
### What is a critical feature degradation?