To ensure the stability and security of user services, this document introduces the lifecycle management mechanism for editions of AI Gateway.
Version Number Specification
AI Gateway uses a three-digit version number, that is, a.b.c, where each part of the version number has the following meaning:
a.b: aligns with the first two digits of the version number in the Kong open source community.
c: version number for feature development and bug fixes. Increment this version number when feature development or bug fixes occur.
Example: version number 3.9.1 indicates the feature version based on the open-source Kong 3.9 version.
Key Lifecycle Milestones
AI Gateway provides up to 27 months (18+9) of service support for each released product version. The support lifecycle is divided into the following three phases:
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GA (General Availability) | It means that the current version is fully deliverable to live network customers. During this period, the platform provides patches and service support for the version in this stage. | No additional attention is required. Use the product as normal. |
EOM (End of Marketing) | It refers to the time when the creation of new instances for the current version is stopped across the entire network. The version generally goes to the EOM stage 18 months after it goes to the GA stage. During this period, the platform provides patches and service support for the version in this stage. | Develop an upgrade plan to upgrade to the latest stable version before the edition EOS. |
EOS (End of Service & Support) | It refers to the time when service is stopped for the current version. At this point, the version is expired. The version generally goes to the EOS stage 27 months after it goes to the GA stage. The product will no longer provide technical support other than version upgrades, nor will it commit to SLA. | You must take immediate Ops action to upgrade your instance to the latest stable version. Before this upgrade, your instance may be at high risk, facing potential system attacks or business stability risks. You must act as soon as possible. |
patches and service support
Patch Scope
New features provided by the platform, functional defect fixes, community-contributed feature integrations, and security risk fixes.
Service Support Scope
Instance creation: supports creating version instances in the GA phase.
Upgrade and Ops support: provides the feature of version upgrades, and offers support for troubleshooting and failure recovery.
After-sales support: provides Q&A, online guidance, troubleshooting, and debugging services. However, for instances of expired versions, the platform does not guarantee the quality or effectiveness of technical support, and the SLA may be affected due to non-compliance with best practices.
Expired Version Risk
We cannot create new instances for expired versions.
The platform no longer provides patch services for expired versions.
The quality and effectiveness of technical support cannot be guaranteed.
The platform reserves the right to forcibly upgrade instances of expired versions. Before performing a forced upgrade, we will send relevant notifications via SMS, email, in-site messages, and other means at least one month in advance.
To ensure the stability of your production services, we recommend that you promptly plan and upgrade your instance versions. For product upgrade operations, see Upgrading Gateway Versions.