dCache Releases

Release Policy

dCache follows a timeboxed two dimensional release policy. Every three months we produce a feature release. Feature releases have version numbers 2.x.0, where x is a positive integer. Each feature release is followed up by a number of maintenance releases containing bug fixes or high priority feature tweaks. Maintenance releases for release 2.x.0 have version numbers 2.x.y, for y being an integer larger than 0. For example; 2.0.0 is a feature release, 2.0.1 is the first maintenance release for the 2.0-series and 2.0.2 is the second maintenance release.

A feature release is maintained for four months during which regular maintenance releases are made. We strive to make a final release within the last two weeks of those four months. Long term support releases (the "Golden Releases") are maintained for at least 2 years.

Recommended Releases

At any point in time, dCache.org will recommend one or more releases. Recommended releases are marked green below. Unless you have a reason not to do so, we urge you to use recommended releases on production systems.

Other releases are considered stable, however care should be taken as such releases may only have received a limitted amount of public testing. Unless you have reason to do otherwise, we urge you to not install or upgrade to these release series unless you are already using that particular release series.

Any change comes with a risk of introducing bugs. We urge all sites to carefully test each release with their setup before upgrading a production system. Upgrading to a newer maintenance release within the same release series is however a relatively low risk step and we strongly recommend to always use the latest maintenance release.

If you use repackaged versions of dCache not provided by dcache.org, for instance from OSG, EMI, gLite or NDGF, then the provider may recommended a different version. In that case use the version recommended by the provider.

Golden Releases

Golden releases are our long term support releases. These release series will receive updates for typically two years, with amble overlap between releases to allow sites to upgrade to the next Golden Release.

The release schedule of golden releases is adjusted to match the WLCG and LHC schedules.

We support upgrading from one golden release to the next and provide detailed upgrade instructions. We do however not explicitly support "skipping" golden releases. We therefore recommend that a site that uses a golden release plans for upgrading to the next golden release when such a release becomes available and no later than the end of life of the previous golden release.

Choosing between golden releases and regular releases is a matter of site policy and a matter of taste. Using regular releases means upgrading more often, and each feature release comes with a risk of introducing bugs. On the other hand it means the upgrade process is more incremental, with less drastic changes between each release. One also gets early access to new features, performance improvements, and low priority bug fixes.

Upgrade instructions

Non-pool nodes must belong to the same feature release, but may use different patch level releases. That is, version 2.x.y is compatible with 2.x.z; under the older release numbers 1.9.x-y is compatible with 1.9.x-z. Pool nodes (which do not have any doors or other dCache services) belonging to different feature releases can be mixed to some extend. Please consult the compatibility matrix of the release notes for details.

We try to avoid configuration and schema changes in maintenance releases. Moving from one feature release to another may require configuration changes during upgrade. We provide a summary of such changes for all releases since 1.9.0 in the upgrade instructions.

Downloads

Server 2.2.x

In addition to the usual improvements and bug fixes, dCache 2.2 focuses on :

• gPlazma 1 implemented as a plugin for gPlazma2
• Java Authentication and Authorization Service (JAAS) based password authentication
• Default partition type in the PoolManager is WAAS
• NFSv4.1 door shows some statistic information
• Added renaming to FTP implementation
• Added support for change mode, owner and group of a directory tag
• SRM always listen for SSL connections
• Added login monitoring to gPlazma2

Server 1.9.12

In addition to the usual improvements and bug fixes, dCache 1.9.12 focuses on:

• Completing the transition to the new configuration system and improving the script to migrate old configurations.
• Adding GLUE 2 support.
• Replacing the pin manager with a faster and more robust implementation.
• Extending the dcache script.
• Adding HTTP support to third party srmCopy transfers.
• Adding proxy certificate and VOMS support to the HTTP/WebDAV door.
• Reducing file open latency.
• gPlazma 2 with ARGUS black listing (missing from initial release).

The older 1.9-series dCache releases, which are no longer supported, are available from this link.