Understanding Releases and Notes

Our release notes contain detailed information about the release, including:

  • Change Log — key changes to the product functionality

  • Improvements — new features added to the product to extend functionality

  • Bug Fixes — bug fixes addressing previous functionality

  • UI Changes — changes to the user interface

  • API Changes — changes to the APIs (e.g. GraphQL) that may alter integrations

  • Configuration Changes — differences in the configurable settings

  • Upgrade Compatiblity — basic release compatibility and advice for upgrades

Version Numbering

We follow a version numbering convention that is similar to that recommended by Semantic Versioning. Basically, we use the MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH numbering format, which is defined as follows:

  • MAJOR: When there are major changes to the software, including high-profile ones, we'll change the value of this number, the primary number (e.g., the version will change from 1.x.x to 2.x.x).

  • MINOR: When we've added some new features or new functionality to LogScale software, we'll issue a new release and the secondary number will be changed (e.g., 1.16 to 1.18). Unlike Semantic Versioning, though, we allow backwards incompatible changes (e.g., changing compression algorithms).

  • PATCH: When a patch is added, the tertiary or third number will be increased (e.g., 1.18 to 1.18.1). Only backwards-compatible security or bug fixes are made with these. No new features or other code changes are permitted. This is important, as it means that each patch release should be more stable than the last.

Preview & Stable Releases

LogScale provides two separate releases, Stable and Preview. The stable release contains the latest functionality and is considered appropriate for production use. The preview release includes new functionality that is still considered to be under development. Using a preview release gets you access to the newest features and functionality.

Upgrade Requirements

When reviewing the release notes, a section at the top of each release notes sections provides basic information about the release and upgrade compatibility. For example:

Version Type Release Date End of Support Upgrades From JDK Compatibility Data Migration Configuration Changes
1.82.0 Stable 2023-04-12 2024-04-12 1.44 11 No Yes

  • Version — The full version number for this release.

  • Type — The release type, either Stable or Preview.

  • Release Date — The date when this version was released.

  • End of Support — The date when LogScale Support will no longer support this version.

  • Upgrades From — The minimum version of LogScale required to upgrade to this version. Upgrades from earlier versions may not succeed and are not recommended.

  • JDK Compatibility — The compatible JDK version required to upgrade to this version.

  • Data Migration — If No, you can safely upgrade without worrying about migrating your data. If Yes you will have to migrate data. This will be in relation to the last stable version, not the minimum previous version. See Updating LogScale in a Cluster for more information on how to do this.

  • Configuration Changes — Indicates whether there are configuration changes within the release that should be checked and updated during the upgrade process to ensure that they meet your requirements. See the Full Release Notes Index for information on the specific changes.

Built-in Release Information

To determine the version of LogScale you are using and view information on the latest releases available from the LogScale user interface:

  1. Click the caption icon at the top of the screen: the Releases panel shows the full list of releases, with the most recent on top.

  2. Click any release link for all detailed information on that release.

Built-in Release Information

Figure 431. Built-in Release Information


If you're using LogScale Cloud, the latest — Preview or Stable — is used; upgrades are handled automatically for you.

Validating Release Checksums

The release notes include the checksum for release packages. You can verify the checksum for a package on the command-line.

To check an MD5 hash use the md5 tool:

logscale
$ md5 server-1.82.0.tar
MD5 (server-1.82.0.jar) = 4b4b4411d930d00275bc3a412c0c5c50

To check an SHA hash, use the shasum command:

logscale
$ shasum server-1.82.0.tar
ca22652ca303a162f81711f43977e14e528f6e85  server-1.82.0.tar
logscale

To check an SHA256 hash, use the shasum command:

logscale
$ shasum -a 256 server-1.82.0.tar
908a907b5c1ffbdce667b932daea0aab46a8ece4e164072f5bae0eb77d3bdd6f  server-1.82.0.tar

To check an SHA512 hash, use the shasum command:

logscale
$ shasum -a 512 server-1.82.0.tar
bbc65ea8641ac3d9910da4a9dcda0c1817d2a8acc2e81491a389d2671af7e57c12f019ad71af7309d4ad68b67997a6cbd3b0fba3a2048f07b7c7567abd05b8ae  server-1.82.0.tar

If the checksums do not match the quoted values, you should obtain a new version of the package.