Upgrades and Versioning in ArangoGraph

Select which version of ArangoDB you want to use within your ArangoGraph deployment and choose when to roll out your upgrades

Release Definitions

The following definitions are used for release types of ArangoDB within ArangoGraph:

Release Channels

When creating a deployment in ArangoGraph, you can select the minor version of ArangoDB that your deployment is going to use. This minor version is in the format Major.Minor and indicates the major and minor version of ArangoDB that is used in this deployment, for example 3.10 or 3.9.

To provide secure and reliable service, databases are deployed on the latest available patch version in the selected version. For example, if 3.10 is selected and 3.10.3 is the latest version of ArangoDB available for the 3.10 minor version, then the deployment is initially using ArangoDB 3.10.3.

End of Life (EoL)

Each minor version’s availability within ArangoGraph is based on the end of life date of that particular minor version of ArangoDB, as published in the ArangoDB EoL policy. You can refer to the upcoming EoL versions on the end of life announcements page.

You can create new deployments of ArangoDB using a minor version up to one month before the planned end of life date.

Upgrades

Manual Upgrades

At any time, you can change the release channel of your deployment to a later release channel, but not to an earlier one. For example, if you are using 3.10 then you can change your deployment’s release channel to 3.11, but you would not be able to change the release channel to 3.9. See how to edit a deployment.

Upon changing your release channel, an upgrade process for your deployment is initiated to upgrade your running database to the latest patch release of your selected release channel. You can use this mechanism to upgrade your deployments at a time that suits you, prior to the forced upgrade when your release channel reaches its end of life.

Automatic Upgrades

Major Versions (X.y.z)

The potential disruption of a major version upgrade requires additional testing of any applications connecting to your ArangoGraph deployment. As a result, when a new major version is released on the ArangoGraph platform, an email is sent out to inform you of this release.

You are not forced to upgrade to the latest major release channel until all other previous release channels have reached their end of life. For example, you are not forced to upgrade to 4.0 or later until the latest 3.Y release channel is end of life. Typically, this would provide a window of upgrade of around 12 months. It is recommended to pro-actively test with and upgrade to the latest release channel when it becomes available, rather than waiting for the end of life of your existing release channel with a forced upgrade.

In the event that you are using the last minor version of a previous major version that reaches end of life, you are forcibly upgraded to the next available version. For example, if you are using 3.11 and the version channels 4.0 and 4.1 are also available, upon the end of life of 3.11, you are going to be upgraded to the 4.0 release channel, not 4.1.

Minor Versions (x.Y.z)

Although minor upgrades are not expected to cause significant compatibility changes like major versions, they may still require additional planning and validation.

This is why minor upgrades are treated in the same manner as major upgrades within ArangoGraph. When a new minor version is released on the ArangoGraph platform, an email is sent out to inform you of this release.

You are not forced to upgrade to the next major version until all other previous release channels have reached their end of life. For example, if you are running the 3.9 release channel and it reaches end of life, you are going to be upgraded to 3.10 rather than 3.11. Typically, this would provide a window of upgrade of around 12 months. It is recommended to pro-actively test with and upgrade to the latest release channel when it becomes available, rather than waiting for the end of life of your existing release channel with a forced upgrade.

Patch Versions (x.y.Z)

Upgrades between patch versions are transparent, with no significant disruption to your applications. As such, you can expect to be automatically upgraded to the latest patch version of your selected minor version shortly after it becomes available in ArangoGraph.

ArangoGraph aims to give approximately one week’s notice prior to upgrading your deployments to the latest patch release. Although in exceptional circumstances (such as a critical security issue) the upgrade may be triggered with less than one week’s notice. The upgrade is carried out automatically. However, if you need the upgrade to be deferred temporarily, contact the ArangoGraph Support team to request that.