Feature Release Lifecycle
This document describes the release lifecycle stages used by Platform9 when releasing new major features or new products.
Platform9 features may progress through a lifecycle that consists of following stages:
The lifecycle stage for a new feature or new product is explicitly called out in the Release Notes. The release notes are a recommended read before using any new feature or initiative by Platform9.
Preview
Features in 'Preview' stage are in early stages of development and not ready for production usage. Typically for a feature in 'Preview' phase, only a limited subset of all capabilities that ultimately combine to make the feature production ready have been implemented. Further, features in 'Preview' will have only completed a limited amount of testing and minimal documentation will be provided and may not be hosted publicly. Platform9 makes no commitments towards availability of Preview Features in future versions of our software and the set of APIs will likely change.
The goal for releasing features in 'Preview' stage is to get early real world feedback. Your feedback helps our product teams validate the use cases early and adapt if necessary.
The timeline for how long a feature stays in 'Preview' stage as well as whether or not it graduates to general availability is determined by Platform9.
Limited Availability
A new feature or product in 'Limited Availability' stage is available for you to selectively opt-in and use in both production and non production use cases.
A new feature or product may skip the 'Limited Availability' stage depending on scope and size of the feature and its impact on other features and / or overall functionality of the product.
If you are interested in leveraging a Limited Availability feature for production or non production use cases, please contact your Platform9 Solution Architect or the Support team. The Solution Architect / Support team will make you aware of the pre-requisites for the feature as well as existing known issues, capability gaps and open bugs.
Any bugs or issues that you encounter when using a feature or initiative in Limited Availability are managed and fixed using the same process used for features that are Generally Available.
General Availability
A feature or product in General Availability is functionality that is available for all Platform9 customers to be consumed for both Production and Non Production use cases.
Features in GA are supported by Platform9 Support Teams and Customer Success Teams and issues are addressed according to your Customer Agreement with Platform9.
Quick Comparison
| Description | Preview | Limited Availability | General Availability |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular contact with Platform9 Product Team | Direct and regular contact to gather feedback and address issues | Contact facilitated via your Support or Customer Success team based on need | Contact facilitated via your Support or Customer Success team based on need |
| API changes | Subject to change | Backward compatible | Backward compatible |
| Terms and Service Level Agreements per your Platform9 MSA | No | Yes as long as feature is used within limits explicitly called out by your Platform9 Support / Customer Success contact | Yes |
| Announced in release notes | Explicitly called out as Preview | Explicitly called out as Limited Availability | Explicitly called out as General Availability |
| Support and Customer Success available | Limited to none | Yes | Yes |
| Documentation | Limited | Yes | Yes |
| Ready to use for production and non production use cases | No | Yes but with limits explicitly called out by your Platform9 Support / Customer Success contact | Yes |
| Release model | Made available to limited set of early adopters as a Beta / Preview release | Made available to select customers with limits explicitly called out by your Platform9 Support / Customer Success contact | Available to all |