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Enterprise/Thunderbird/ExtendedSupport

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= Introduction =The shift to a new release process (the 'Rapid Release Process') has been difficult for organizations that deploy Thunderbird and Firefox to their users in a managed environment. These groups — which include small & medium business, enterprise, academic, and government — want to continue to offer Mozilla products to their users, but they need a version of Firefox and Thunderbird that gives them a longer support tail than what we currently offer. Mozilla is therefore proposing an Extended Support Release (ESR) scheme for Firefox as well as for Thunderbird that will help meet those needs.
The shift Since Thunderbird is a significant downstream consumer of the Gecko platform, which is itself influenced by Firefox's plans with respect to [https://wikisecurity & maintenance policies in particular, a large portion of the Thunderbird's own ESR proposal will be derived from Firefox'.mozilla.org/RapidRelease However, while sharing technology, Thunderbird is a new release process] has been difficult for organizations distinct product which is exposed to different distinct security and market environments, and we don't want to assume that deploy the discussions which have focused on Firefox necessarily apply as-is to Thunderbird . We would like to their encourage Thunderbird users in a managed environmentto read the Firefox proposal, discuss its relevance for Thunderbird and identify the differences that may apply. We've heard 2 primary concerns:
# The release schedule doesn't allow sufficient time for the organizations and their vendors to certify new releases of the products# the associated end-of-life policy exposes them to considerable security risk if they remain on a non-current version past Thunderbird 3.1. These groups — which include small & medium business, enterprise, academic, and government — want to continue to offer Mozilla products to their users, but they need a version of Thunderbird that gives them a longer support tail than what we currently offer. This is a '''proposal''' for an Extended Support Release (ESR) that will help meet those needs. '''Note:''' This proposal doesn't address organizations deploying Firefox. However, since Thunderbird is a significant downstream consumer of the Gecko platform, which is itself influenced by Firefox's plans with respect to security & maintenance policies in particular, a large portion of this proposal is directly driven by documented [[Enterprise/ThunderbirdFirefox/ExtendedSupport:Proposal|Firefox' own ESR proposalhere]]. However, while sharing technology, Thunderbird is a distinct product which is exposed to different distinct security and market environments, and we don't want to assume that the discussions which have focused on Firefox necessarily apply as-is to Thunderbird. That is why we felt we needed a separate ESR proposal for Thunderbird ESR.  = Proposal = Mozilla will offer an Extended Support Release (ESR) based on official releases of Thunderbird. Releases will be maintained for seven release cycles (42 weeks), with point releases coinciding with regular Thunderbird releases.  To permit organizations sufficient time for testing and certification, the ESR will have a two cycle (12 week) overlap between the time of a new release and the end-of-life of the previous release. This will allow organizations to qualify and test against Earlybird and Beta builds for twelve weeks leading up to the ESR, and an additional 12 weeks to certify and transition to a new ESR. The chart below outlines the process behind the creation and maintenance of the ESR, which will be based on release versions of Thunderbird . '''Please Note''': The base Thunderbird release and ESR version numbers are for demonstrative purposes only; they do not reflect the final versioning scheme or initial release) [[File:Esr-release-overview.png]] Maintenance of each ESR, through point releases, would be limited to high-risk/impact security vulnerabilities and would also include chemspills (off-schedule releases that address live security vulnerabilities). Backports of any functional enhancements and/or stability fixes would not be in scope. At the end of the 30-week support tail the release will be end-of-lifed in conjunction with an updated ESR being offered. Mozilla will continue to collect additional information conversation on deployment of Thunderbird in managed environments, and will work with community groups to facilitate adoption of the official releases of Thunderbird in those environments. Based on the data collected and adoption of the new release process over the course of maintaining the ESR, Mozilla would announce the continuation or impending end-of-life of the program. The initial proposal would be to support a minimum of two ESR releases. == Assumptions == * '''Thunderbird 8 or 9 will be the base for the initial ESR'''* Mozilla will commit to backporting security bugs qualified as [https://wiki.mozilla.org/Security_Severity_Ratings "Critical" and "High"] to the ESR. Other security and stability backports to the ESR will be included at Mozilla's discretion.* The ESR will have its own [https://wiki.mozilla.org/AUS Application Update Service (AUS)] channel, and ESR-specific point releases and major updates will be offered through that channel when a given ESR reaches its end-of-life* The ESR will be released day-and-date with the Thunderbird release it is based upon to the best of Mozilla's ability to do so.* Point releases to the ESR will run should happen in parallel with the Thunderbird release schedule (e.g. point releases will be released every 6 weeks at the same time as a regular Thunderbird release, [http://betanews.com/2009/03/27/mozilla-to-release-urgent-chemspill-Firefox-update-next-week/ chemspills] when a Thunderbird chemspill is released)* When an ESR reaches end-of-life, no further point releases or chemspill updates will be offered for that ESR, and an update to the new version will be offered to users of the end-of-lifed version through the AUS channel* The ESR will not be marketed through mozilla.com properties other than the Enterprise wiki page and/or staging servers.* '''Thunderbird 3.1 will be end-of-lifed 12 weeks after the initial ESR is offered''' (to allow sufficient time for those groups using 3.1 to qualify and transition to the ESR) == Caveats ==  * Only those Operating Systems, or versions thereof, supported at the beginning of an ESR will be supported through the life of that release.* Organizations that deploy the ESR would be strongly encouraged to participate in the [https://wiki.mozilla.org/Enterprise Enterprise Working Group] (EWG) to ensure they are kept abreast of developments, and can contribute feedback and assistance where needed.* Organizations that deploy the ESR will be assuming a number of risks (see below), and must understand the implications of using the ESR versus the current release of Thunderbird. * Mozilla will need to be crisp and clear in its messaging, to ensure that users of the ESR understand its limitations and risks, that they are accepting those limitations and risks, and to ensure expectations are set appropriately all around. = Benefits = * The proposed ESR would provide those organizations with the time they need to maintain Thunderbird while pushing faster adoption of newer versions, provide a bridge to facilitate the adoption of Mozilla's new release cadence, or move back to IE or another product.* Can be used as an opportunity to introduce product and process changes that facilitate certification and deployment, and will ideally move organizations to a point where faster release cycles become a non-issue in deploying Thunderbird.* Helps Mozilla determine what is required to support a product for a period longer than our regular release cycle, and to build up additional expertise to be able to meet those needs without affecting critical path development. * Gives Mozilla time to get a better read on the opportunities in a market space it is unfamiliar with. = Risks = * '''The ESR will not have the benefit of large scale testing by nightly and beta groups.''' As a result, the potential for the introduction of bugs which affect ESR users will be greater, and that risk needs to be understood and accepted by groups that deploy it. To help mitigate these risks, Mozilla will be asking organizations that deploy the ESR for assistance with testing alpha and/or beta builds of the ESR with their user base.* Over time, and ESR will be less secure than the regular release of Thunderbird, as new functionality will not be added at the same pace as Thunderbird, and only hightb-risk/impact security patches will be backported. It is important that organizations deploying this software understand and accept this.* There is the potential for confusion among Thunderbird users between the regular release of enterprise|Thunderbird and the ESR. To help lessen the potential of confusion between releases, the ESR will be an associative brand of Thunderbird (e.g. Mozilla Thunderbird ESR). Specific naming has not been finalized, but the intent is to be clear that the releases are based on a released version of Thunderbird.* Maintaining the ESR will consume development resources that will impact the regular release of Mozilla products. Mozilla will need to build capability in back-porting, and will actively solicit the community for assistance in reducing the resource requirements of maintaining the ESR.* The ESR is specifically targeted at groups looking to deploy it within a managed environment. It is not intended for use by individuals, nor as a method to mitigate compatibility issues with addons or other software. Public (re)distribution of Mozilla-branded versions of the ESR will not be permitted. = Enterprise & Vendor Certification = One of the challenges of the ESR will be to shift testing and qualification methodologies used by deployment groups from reactive to proactive. Because the release schedule of the ESR will run in parallel with the Thunderbird release schedules, the release dates of the ESR and its point releases will be known well in advance.  The ESR will provide deployment groups and vendors with up to 12 weeks of testing and qualification, and an additional 12 week overlap between ESRs to certify and deploy the released version. The chart below outlines the Thunderbird ESR testing/qualification time-frames. [[File:Esr-qualify.pngmailing list]] = Additional Information (please review) = * [https://wiki.mozilla.org/Enterprise/Meetings/2011_Aug Meeting notes from the Enterprise Working Group call on Mozilla's Release Process]
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