OpenCHAMI is a microservices-based High-Performance Computing (HPC) system manager designed to support HPC-specific applications while integrating third-party open-source containers for non-HPC-specific functionality. This release policy outlines the versioning, support, and update mechanisms for OpenCHAMI’s releases and microservices.
Each OpenCHAMI release consists of a collection of containers that:
- Are identified by a unique release version.
- Are cryptographically signed and can be attested using known versions, SHA hashes, and signatures.
- Include both OpenCHAMI’s custom microservices and selected third-party open-source containers.
- Are packaged and delivered in a way that ensures reproducibility and security.
To accommodate various environments, OpenCHAMI supports multiple deployment options:
- RPM Packages: Built for RHEL and SUSE-based systems, utilizing Podman quadlets for container deployment.
- Helm Charts: Provided for Kubernetes-based deployments.
- Docker Compose: Available for simpler or local deployments.
- Major releases introduce new features, architecture changes, or breaking changes.
- Each major release is supported for three years, contingent on the support lifecycle of third-party dependencies.
- Major releases are identified using semantic versioning (e.g.,
2.0.0
).
- Updates within a major release stream are delivered on a quarterly basis.
- These updates include security patches, bug fixes, and incremental feature improvements.
- Quarterly updates do not introduce breaking changes and are versioned as minor or patch releases (e.g.,
2.1.0
,2.1.1
).
- Each microservice within OpenCHAMI follows independent versioning.
- Microservices may be updated more frequently than the main quarterly release cycle.
- Microservice updates are backported into quarterly releases as necessary.
- OpenCHAMI commits to providing best-effort support for three years per major release.
- Support includes critical bug fixes, security patches, and compatibility updates.
- The availability of updates for third-party open-source containers depends on their respective maintainers.
- Backward compatibility is maintained within a major release stream where possible.
- Upgrade paths will be documented, including required migrations for major releases.
- Automated upgrade scripts may be provided to simplify the transition between versions.
- After three years, a release enters end-of-life status, meaning:
- No further updates or security patches will be provided.
- Users are encouraged to migrate to a newer release before the EOL date.
- Any third-party dependencies that reach EOL within the five-year window may necessitate early updates or discontinuation of support.
- Each release is cryptographically signed, and images are published with verifiable signatures.
- OpenCHAMI artifacts (containers, RPMs, Helm charts, Docker Compose files) are distributed via:
- Official container registries (e.g., Quay.io, Docker Hub).
- Package repositories for RHEL and SUSE-based distributions.
- Helm chart repositories for Kubernetes deployments.
- GitHub or other official distribution channels.