Release and support

Release lifecycles

Maintenance releases and hotfixes for minor versions will be served for one year after the publication of the next release.

End-of-support dates (EOS)

Supported releases are covered by the Airlock support process. That is, customers and partners may open support cases for these versions, and our support team will investigate these issues.

Support lifecycle for Airlock Gateway minor releases:

Minor version

Published

End-of-support date

8.5

11/2025

—

8.4

05/2025

08/20261)

8.3

10/2024

05/2026

No longer supported:

8.2

03/2024

10/2025

1)

Airlock Gateway 8.5 introduces OpenSSL version 3.5. Since the current version 3.0.x will only be supported by the OpenSSL project until August 2026, the support lifecycle for Gateway 8.4 has been slightly shortened to align with this timeline.

Extended support

Ergon offers the possibility to extend the support services beyond the end-of-support date. Airlock Gateway can be extended by a maximum of 6 months. This service is subject to an additional charge. To request a proposal for extended support please contact order@airlock.com.

Update types

To deliver new features, improvements, and security fixes for Airlock Gateway, Ergon provides the following four update types:

  • Major release update

  • Major release updates introduce significant enhancements or architectural changes. Upgrading from any previous release to a new major release requires a new installation.

  • Minor release update

  • Minor release updates deliver new features, improvements, and regular bug fixes. Updates from any previous minor release (X.Y) to the subsequent minor release (X.Y+1) are supported. Minor release updates cannot be uninstalled. Downgrading to an earlier version requires reinstallation.

  • Maintenance update

  • Maintenance updates address stability issues between releases. Maintenance versions will be provided every 3 months for the most recent minor version and every 6 months for all other supported versions. Maintenance updates cannot be uninstalled. Downgrading to an earlier version requires reinstallation.

  • Hotfix

  • Hotfixes address security issues between releases. Hotfixes will be provided for exploitable vulnerabilities for the most recent maintenance releases of supported minor versions. Hotfixes can be uninstalled (e.g., from X.Y-HF001 to X.Y).

 
Notice
  • Updates can only be installed if they are newer than the currently installed version.
  • Compatibility restrictions may apply between specific versions — always review the release notes of your target version before updating.

Release artifacts

We might provide additional artifacts that can be used with Airlock Gateway. This may comprise documentation, examples, tutorials, etc. Generally, these artifacts are only maintained for the most recent version. Nevertheless, it is at Ergon's discretion to decide which artifacts are also maintained for older versions.

Airlock semantic versioning

Airlock Gateway versions are expressed as x.y.z:

Semantic versioning requires a release to be major whenever it contains breaking changes. We adhere to the following definitions.

Definition of breaking change

The term breaking change typically refers to a change that falls into one or more of the following categories:

  • Invasive change, potentially requiring manual configuration adjustment (e.g., new regex engine, removal of a deprecated feature)
  • Change in the config REST API with expected high impact on customers
  • Non-backward compatible change in the control API.
  • Change that requires a full reinstallation (e.g., major OS update)

Definition of non-breaking change

The term non-breaking change typically refers to a change that falls into one or more of the following categories:

  • Change in a non-published feature or feature marked as incubating
  • Change due an improved rule or parser that requires only a non-invasive adjustment
  • Change in log structure or metrics, as we provide built-in dashboards