Lifecycle

The document details lifecycle, including the releases, versioning, compatibility, upgrading and end of life of all deviceTRUST components.

Releases

Each deviceTRUST software release is categorised as one of the following:

• Feature Release - A feature release increases the functionality or compatibility of the product. We will typically release one to two feature releases annually.
• Service Pack Release - A service pack release aims to increase the quality of the feature release by addressing any software defects found since the release, but may also include a small number of low risk feature or compatibility enhancements.
• Patch Release - A patch release entirely focuses on increasing the quality of the product by addressing any software defects found either internally or by our customers. A patch release will never introduce new features.

Versioning

Each deviceTRUST software release is identified by its version number. deviceTRUST version numbers consist of the following format:

Year.Release.Build

Where:

• Year.Release uniquely identifies a feature release.
  • The year component is set to the two digit year when the software was first released, such as 21 for software released in 2021.
  • The release component is incremented for each feature release, starting with 1 for the first release of the year, 2 for the second, etc.
• Build represents the build number for the release.
  • The first release has a build number of 100.
  • Each service pack increments the build number by 100.
  • Each patch increments the build number by 10.

For example, version 20.2.310 identifies feature release 20.2 representing the second feature release of the year 2020. The 310 indicates that two service packs have been released and one additional patch.

Compatibility between components

We always aim to maintain compatibility between all releases of the deviceTRUST components, however sometimes this is not practical.

The table below details our common approach to compatibility. Before any upgrade of a component, it is strongly recommended to read the release notes of every released version of the software from the currently installed version to the target version being deployed. The compatibility section of the release notes may contain important information that overrides what is detailed here.

Upgrading

As a result of the compatibility between the deviceTRUST feature releases, the following upgrade process is recommended.

• Upgrade and deploy the deviceTRUST Agent.
• Upgrade the deviceTRUST Console.
• Upgrade the deviceTRUST Policy by opening and saving the policy within the new deviceTRUST Console.
• Deploy the upgraded deviceTRUST Policy based upon your deployment technology of choice.

End of life

deviceTRUST maintains support for each deviceTRUST feature release for 36 months starting with the release date of the initial release or latest service pack.