Graphiant's Software Release Life Cycle

Graphiant employs a rolling release cadence for software upgrades.

Continuous delivery of software releases provides not only the stability from building upon prior versions, but also the added benefit of simultaneously delivering new features, including within the data plane.

This process ensures features and fixes at a quick cadence with high quality.

Supported Releases:

Latest Release:

The Latest software release is the most current version, containing the newest features.

A Latest Release is:

Released every month, and is a short-term release.
Supported for one month, for critical bug-fixes only.
Actively tested in QA while it is supported; it will not be in QA after that.

Recommended Release:

Every 3rd Latest Release is targeted to be the Recommended Release, which provides a version that has had continual development and bug-fixes for three months prior to earning the title of Recommended.

A Recommended Release is:

Released every three months.
Supported for three months, for spot-fixes only.
Actively tested in QA while it is supported; it will not be in QA after that time.

Software Release Table

Release Type	Latest	Recommended
How Frequently Released	Every three weeks	Every three months
Length of Support	One month	Three months
Type of Support	Critical Bug-fixes	Spot-fixes
Ideal Use	Newest features	Prolonged Use

Note:
Once a software release has been deployed:
Images will keep changing, but it will only be with critical bug-fixes in a given release train.
Any non-critical bug-fixes are only available in the next release.
Any added features and large changes will be available in the next release, so as to not impact baseline stability.
Should a bug-fix need to occur prior to the next release, a Maintenance Release will be deployed.
Upgrade to this Maintenance release to be ensured of the most reliable image.

Release Nomenclature

Graphiant uses the YY.MM.<counter> methodology of naming software versions, where:

YY = Last 2 digits of the year that the software version was released
M / MM = Month that the software version was released.
<counter> = placeholder for which number release the version is within it's release train.

For example, a software release built in March 2025 that is the 2nd version would be named 25.3.2.

Likewise, in general the naming convention for any version within a release train in December of 2025 would be 25.12.x.

For any Maintenance Release, the release will end in one number greater than the prior-deployed version within that release train.

For example, if the current Latest version is 25.6.1 and a bug-fix occurs prompting a Maintenance Release, it would be labeled 25.6.2.

Software Release Life Cycle Chart

This image represents the rolling cadence of Graphiant's Software Release Life Cycle.

A new Latest Release is offered every month, ideal for keeping up with the latest features.

The Recommended Releases, once through the three-month usage and support cycle, are offered every three months. Since these releases are supported in their entirety for 6 months, they are ideal for prolonged use.

Note:
At any given time, both a Latest Release and a Recommended Release are available from which to choose.
Please review the Release Notes for Recommended and Latest to determine the release that best works for your environment. For any questions, please reach out to Customer Support and/or your Sales Engineer and we can provide further guidance.

For information on the End of Maintenance / End of Life for each software release, click here.

The Graphiant Continuous Integration / Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) Process

Graphiant not only maintains baseline stability, but also improves it - with new features and remediating bugs along the way that exist in the currently deployed images.

Graphiant heavily relies on automation in all stages of the continuous integration / continuous delivery process, in both in testing and operations, to ensure the avoidance of regressions while still maintaining a quick cadence of stable new features.

The journey of CI/CD starts with the Developer-Managed Stages, and is followed by the QA-Managed Stages.

Within this process Graphiant performs many tests, at both the developer and QA levels, to ensure high-quality features and releases.

Regression Data

Occasionally regressions may occur and those are handled with the same high quality of support that Graphiant offers in every facet of the CI/CD process.

Should a key failure case occur, automation assists whenever possible in a quick rollback.

Regression = something that used to work in prior release(s), but stopped working after an upgrade.
Usually discovered soon after initial deployment
Later rollouts have had no recurrence of these issues

Note:
Regressions do not include bugs in new features, nor bugs in old features that were not seen before.

Graphiant shares regression data in the interest of transparency, and commitment to quality services and quick resolution.

At the time of the writing of this document (09/2024), Graphiant has had only 7 regressions since the move to the rolling release cadence.

Note:
Not upgrading to new releases will inevitably lead to hitting prior found, and fixed, issues, more so than seeing regressions.

Notification of New Releases

When Graphiant releases a new software version, a blue banner will appear at the top of the screen upon login to the Graphiant Portal.

From here you can click ‘View Release Notes' and see the versions introduced and what features they have.

Here you will find the information on the new releases.

Performing a Service Upgrade to the Graphiant Platform

Locating the Service Upgrade

To upgrade the software on a Graphiant Edge, navigate to the home screen in the Graphiant Portal.

Click 'Service Management'; select 'Service Upgrade'.

This will bring up the "Service Upgrade" screen.

The table contains the following fields:

Host Name: The name of the Edge
Serial Number: The serial number of that Edge
Status: The status of the Edge (Up / Impaired / Down)
Upgrade Status: Whether the Edge is up to date, or has an available upgrade
Site: The site to which the Edge is attached
Service Version: The current service version for that Edge (Latest / Recommended)
Software: The software release currently running on the Edge
Scheduled: If the Edge is scheduled for an upgrade (No / Upgrade Scheduled)
Details: Date of last upgrade

The Latest Service Versions are located at the top.

To view the details of the Service Versions, click 'View Details' at the right of the box for the respective version.

This opens up a modal from which you can view the Release Notes for the upgrade, as well as download a virtual image to deploy a new virtual Graphiant Edge.

For instructions on downloading a virtual image and deploying a new virtual Edge, click here.

Click 'View Release Notes' to see the added features, updates, and any bug fixes that are included in this release.

This will bring up the Release Notes for this release.

Prior release Notes are able to viewed by selecting the desired date to the left.

Upgrading a Graphiant Edge

From the Service Upgrade page, select the Edge(s) to upgrade; click the 'Upgrade' button that appears above the device list.

Note:
Graphiant recommends a batch size of fifteen devices for simultaneous upgrade, but no more than twenty-five.

A pop-up will appear to choose which Upgrade Version the Edge will receive.

Select the version to be applied in the drop-down.

Click 'Upgrade Now'.

The upgrade will happen immediately. Should a later date/time be desired, click the calendar to select a later upgrade.

Click off of the calendar to set that date / time.

Click 'Schedule Upgrade'.

Note:
Ensure to select 'Schedule Upgrade'; 'Upgrade Now' will disregard the future schedule and upgrade immediately.

A banner at the top of the page will appear stating that the upgrade is scheduled, whether it be for the current time, or for the time / date chosen.

The Upgrade Status will show "Scheduled Upgrade".

The time / date for the upgrade to be performed will appear in the 'Scheduled' column.

When the upgrade starts, the Scheduled column will go through the following stages:

Downloading: Software download occurs.
Verifying: Ensuring the integrity of the downloaded file image.
Installing: The software is being written to the device.
In Maintenance: This may last a couple of minutes, to allow traffic to stop using the Edge.
Activating: During the activation of the upgrade, the Edge will reboot.

The 'Upgrade Status' column will show percent downloaded while in the "Downloading" stage.

Following that, the Upgrade Status will have a rolling progress visual for the duration of the process.

Note:
During this process, the Status column may say "Impaired", or "Down" briefly, as the Edge reboots and re-establishes its connection to the Graphiant core.

When the upgrade is complete, the Edge exits maintenance mode and is again active, and the Upgrade Status will read "Up To Date", and the Service Version, Software, and Details will all be updated with the information from the upgrade.

Rescheduling a Scheduled Upgrade

From the Service Upgrade page, click on the desired Edge for which to have the upgrade rescheduled.

Click 'Reschedule / Upgrade'.

The modal will be brought up to make any adjustments to the date / time.

Click 'Schedule Upgrade'.

The Upgrade schedule time / date will now be updated.

Cancelling a Scheduled Upgrade

From the Service Upgrade page, click on the desired Edge for which to have the upgrade cancelled.

Click 'Reschedule / Upgrade'.

The upgrade modal will pop up.

Click 'Cancel' to cancel the scheduled upgrade.

Alert:
There is no warning confirmation once you click 'Cancel'; the scheduled upgrade will immediately be cancelled.

Graphiant Recommended Device Upgrade Order

Graphiant recommends upgrading network devices in the following order:

1) High-Availability Deployments:
- If configured for Active / Backup, upgrade the Backup device.
- If configured for Active / Active, upgrade the "B" device.
2) Non-HA Deployments, Single Edge Sites with low traffic / users.
3) High-Availability Deployments:
- If configured for Active / Backup, upgrade the Active device.
- If configured for Active / Active, upgrade the "A" device.
4) All remaining Non-HA Deployments, Single Edge Sites with high traffic / users.

Note:
Graphiant recommends a batch size of fifteen devices for simultaneous upgrade, but no more than twenty-five.

Software End of Maintenance and End of Life Information

Latest Software Releases

Recommended Software Releases