K2 Product Release Strategy

Executive Summary

As a Microsoft partner, K2 works closely with Microsoft to ensure that our products and integrated functionality will work on the next versions of the Operating Systems (OS), Platform and Technology components, and Applications from Microsoft. As part of this relationship, we determine how our current product functionality can be supported on the next Microsoft platform, as well as how that functionality can be expanded to work with new Microsoft products and technologies.

Examples of OS, Platform/Technology components, and Applications from Microsoft include:

• OS -- Windows Server, Windows Client
• Platform/Technology -- SQL, IIS, .NET Framework, Silverlight
• Applications -- Visual Studio, SharePoint, Office

In general, K2 will support the next versions of Microsoft technologies with existing K2 functionality soon after the Microsoft technology is officially released (referred to as Release To Manufacture (RTM) or Release to Web (RTW), depending on the product). For core Microsoft technologies, such as those in the OS and Platform/Technology categories, K2 typically supports these technologies soon after they are released. Microsoft Applications, in turn, will be supported first with K2 software support for the new Application version, then potentially later with K2 feature extensions of the new Application release.

This approach requires sufficient backwards compatibility in the Microsoft updates, such as from WSS 3.0/MOSS 2007 to SharePoint 2010, and also that there are no architectural changes from Microsoft that would require K2 to make fundamental changes to the existing architecture of the K2 platform. The formats of these update releases, such as a special release or the inclusion in a regular update, depends on where we are in our current release cycle. If the Microsoft release does not maintain sufficient backwards compatibility, the release would be considered a new application or platform that would not have initial formal support from K2.

Following an update from Microsoft, K2 will build within the following 12 to 36 months new features that take advantage of the updated Microsoft technology, and these features as well as any future K2 features will be dependent on the latest version of the targeted OS, Platform/Technology, or Application from Microsoft . When K2  takes advantage of features in new versions from Microsoft, K2 will discontinue building new features for previous versions of the Microsoft products, such as SharePoint 2007.

Any support for new platforms from Microsoft not currently integrated with K2 software will be communicated as K2 develops plans, if any, for integration with those platforms.

For more information about supported releases, previous version support, and the current compatibility of K2 products, see the detailed information below and the compatibility matrices for each product:

• K2 blackpearl Compatibility Matrix
• K2 blackpoint Compatibility Matrix
• K2 connect Compatibility Matrix

 

Targeted Release Frequency

K2 releases software on a regular basis and in three different categories:

• Major releases (e.g. K2.net 2003, K2 blackpearl) are released on 4 to 5 year cycles
• Minor releases (e.g. K2 blackpearl 4.5) are released on 6 to 18 month cycles
• Updates (e.g. K2 blackpearl 4.5 (KB001040)) are released on 6 to 12 week cycles

For more information about what each type of release contains, see the definitions in the Product Release Definitions section below.

 

Technical Summary

K2’s release strategy is based on concurrently updating the three main product lines – K2 blackpearl, K2 connect and K2 blackpoint.  K2 plans that major platform updates and feature enhancements will be available to all three products (as appropriate) with the same release cycle.

The term “N-1” as used here refers to the various product releases that K2 will support.  “N” will refer to the current release, while “-1” will refer to the prior release.  When, for example, K2 indicates N-1 releases will be supported, it means that K2 will support the current release and the prior release, and that anything released before that will not be supported. This applies to all products except when otherwise noted below.

K2 currently targets a Major Release (as defined below) to the K2 platform every 4-5 years.  The current Major Release for the K2 platform, K2 blackpearl (v4.x), is targeted to be superseded by the next Major Release, “v5”.  K2 will support N-1 Major Releases with the latest supported Minor Release or the latest service pack.

The K2 platform (including K2 blackpearl, K2 blackpoint and K2 connect) introduces the Minor Release to maintain the stability and supportability of the Major Release.  Minor Releases will contain fixes and features developed between Major Releases.  K2 will support N-1 Minor Releases.

K2 encourages licensees to start planning upgrades to the latest release towards the end of the beta cycle for that release.

The current release (“N”) and future releases will get the focus of our innovation – the prior release (“-1”) will only get updates.

Product Release Definitions

The following release definitions apply to this document.

Major Release

Definition and Features

• Represents a major product generation of the K2 workflow/BPM product set.
• A clean installer that does not require a K2 product to be already installed.
• Contains the full product installer that provides for all allowable configurations.
• Available via the customer portal.
• Can be uninstalled.

Examples

• K2.net 2003 represents the previous Major Release (v3.x).
• K2 blackpearl represents the current Major Release (v4.x).
• K2 “v-next” would represent the next Major Release (v5.x).

Support

K2 will support N-1 Major Releases.  The K2 blackpearl platform also requires N-1 Minor Releases to be applied to receive support.  For example, as of September 2010, Major Release support included the current Major Release of K2 blackpearl with either of the N-1 Minor Releases (K2 blackpearl 4.5 (4.10060.1.x) or K2 blackpearl 0807 (4.8210.3.0)), and the prior Major Release K2.net 2003 SP4 (3.6262.1.0). Prior Major Releases, K2.net 2003 in this case, do not receive the N-1 service pack and update support, but only the "N" release of service packs or updates.

Use the following table for further illustration:

Major Release	Minor Release	Supported?
K2.net 2003	SP1
	SP2
	SP3
	SP4
K2 blackpearl	RTM
	0803
	0807
	4.5

Target Frequency

A Major Release is planned every 4-5 years. Major releases are available on the Downloads menu located on the K2 Customer Portal page.

Minor Release

Definition and Features

• Represents a minor product update that includes the latest updates and new functionality.
• A full installer that does not require a K2 product to be already installed.  The installer can upgrade a prior Minor Release (or Major Release if no Minor Release is available)
• The release notes associated with the Minor Release will detail the included updates, the files affected by the release, and new features.
• Available via the customer portal.
• The minor release may be uninstalled but only if the applicable major release is uninstalled. 
• The customer portal will have only the then-current Minor Release available for download, with each new Minor Release replacing the previous Minor Release.
• Semi-optional Installation – Customers may elect to bypass the latest Minor Release, but must remain within the N-1 support parameters (see Support below).

Note: For K2 blackpoint, only the latest minor release will be supported for updates and hotfixes. This means that while previous updates are still supported, updates are only released for the latest minor release.

Examples

• K2 blackpearl 0803
• K2 blackpearl 0807
• K2 blackpearl 4.5

Support

K2 will support N-1 Minor Releases (the current Minor Release and the prior Minor Release).  For example, support as of September 2009 will include the current Minor Release, K2 blackpearl 0807, and the prior Minor Release, K2 blackpearl 0803.

Target Frequency

A minor release is planned every 6-18 months.

Update

Definition and Features

• Represents the rollup of all updates/hotfixes available at a point in time for a Major Release, or Major Release with a Minor Release.
• Installation of an Upgrade requires either a Major Release, or a Major Release with previous minors/updates, to already be installed.
• The Knowledge Base article associated with the minor release will detail the included updates and the files affected by the updates.
• Available via the customer portal.
• Cannot be uninstalled.
• Updates are cumulative.  This means each Update will contain the fixes in the previous Updates along with any new fixes.
• Since Updates are cumulative, the customer portal will have at most one Update available for download.  NOTE: K2 blackpearl 0807 (4.8210.2.450) Update KB000450 is considered the “baseline” for Updates and will remain on the customer portal as newer Updates are posted.  K2 blackpearl 4.5 will adhere to the “only one update” guidelines.
• If no fixes have been identified in an update cycle, then there will not be an update for that cycle.
• If in the same cycle a Minor Release is planned, the Minor Release will supersede an Update and there would be no separate Update during that cycle.
• Optional Installation – customers may elect to not install Updates.  However, ongoing technical support may require the installation of the latest Update to resolve and/or receive fixes for critical issues.
• In some circumstances, an Update may require a previous Update to be installed.

Examples

• K2 blackpearl 0807 Update (4.8210.x.525) KB000525
• K2 blackpearl 0807 Update (4.8210.x.535) KB000535
• K2 blackpearl 0807 Update (4.8210.x.545) KB000545

Target Frequency

Updates are released as needed.

How Minor Releases Work

Updates will apply to a specific Minor Release.  When a Minor Release is applied to a previous Minor Release (with or without Updates), the entire previous release will automatically be uninstalled first before the new Minor Release is applied (which may be older than the Update to the previous Minor Release). This means that if a customer upgrades from the previous Minor Release to the current Minor Release, the customer may be required to apply updates to the current Minor Release as the same update for the previous Minor Release will not be applied automatically.

Compatibility

It is highly recommended that all K2 software components that interact in an “environment” be updated to the same version at all times.  An “environment” is any combination of K2 components that utilize a single instance of K2 Databases.  For example, an installation with two load-balanced K2 Servers, two SharePoint web front-ends running K2 for SharePoint components, and 10 developers running K2 for Visual Studio components, all sharing an instance of K2 Databases, would be considered an “environment”.  In this example, the K2 Database, the K2 Servers and the K2 for SharePoint components are considered “Server Components” and the K2 for Visual Studio components are considered “Client Components.”

K2 requires that all Server Components and Client Components in an environment be at the same Major Release and Minor Release (see the Release Component Compatibility).  Additionally, K2 requires that all Server Components be at the same Update level.  For example, if K2 Server has Update KB000483 installed, the K2 for SharePoint components in the same environment must also have Update KB000483 installed.

K2 highly recommends that all Client Components be at the same Update level as the Server Components in the same environment.  K2 strives to ensure support for older Client Components Updates when newer Server Component Updates have been applied.  However, some Updates may contain core architectural and/or structural changes that physically prohibit compatibility. K2 will indicate via the associated KB article that the Update will not be compatible, and the customer will be expected to apply the specific Update across the entire environment, client and server. For example, K2 Client Components which have K2 blackpearl 0807 Update (4.8210.x.525) KB000525 installed require a K2 Server running K2 blackpearl 0807 Update (4.8210.x.525) KB000525 or later for compatibility.