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CoreMedia Release Cycle and LTS Strategy

Last updated 11 minutes ago

Understand LTS, AEP, AMP, and plugin releases, and plan your updates for continued maintenance.

LightbulbWhat you will learn

  • Understand release tracks, plugins, and maintenance periods.
  • Choose an update path.
  • Plan your updates.

Person reading a bookPrerequisites

  • Access to CoreMedia documentation

Person in front of a laptopTarget Audience

This guide is for Developers, Administrators, Project Managers.

CoreMedia separates long-term platform maintenance from feature releases in different tracks. Your choice of the release track determines which updates you can receive and when you may need to upgrade to a newer major version. The highest version number is not necessarily the right choice for continued maintenance.

Release tracks, maintenance updates, and plugins

CoreMedia provides two types of release tracks:

  • The Long Term Support (LTS) track provides long-term platform maintenance, including security fixes and technology updates. LTS names the track, not a release type.

  • An Agile Enhancement Pack (AEP) track provides platform features that cannot be delivered as plugins and require breaking platform changes. These typically involve extensive changes, such as a UI redesign or a core feature that affects many parts of the system. Dedicated AEP releases are therefore less frequent and do not follow a regular schedule.

Agile Maintenance Packs (AMPs) provide updates within a track. Minor AMPs are available on both tracks; major AMPs are available only on the LTS track. AMPs do not create a third track.

Starting with CMCC 13, each major version begins with a Major GA release that starts the combined LTS/AEP track. The tracks remain combined until a dedicated AEP release creates a separate AEP track. At that point, you can stay on LTS or choose the AEP track.

Plugins are the primary delivery mechanism for new features that do not require breaking changes in CMCC 13 and later. They are delivered independently of platform updates. LTS-track AMPs, including major AMPs, may provide extension points required by plugins and may include features, provided that neither the extension points nor the features introduce breaking changes. Features delivered in AMPs are opt-in and are not enabled by default for end users. Whether delivered as plugins or included in AMPs, these features do not require you to switch to an AEP track.

If a feature is delivered as a plugin, you can adopt it without waiting for the next AEP release. You can plan platform updates for security and compliance separately from plugin updates for new functionality. Fewer feature-driven platform upgrades reduce upgrade effort and give you more flexibility in scheduling changes.

Release or delivery type Purpose What it means for your project

Major GA

Starts a new major version with a combined LTS/AEP track.

Adopt the new major version and plan your upgrade.

AEP

Introduces platform features that cannot be delivered as plugins and require breaking platform changes.

Choose the separate AEP track and plan for its shorter maintenance period.

Minor AMP

Highly compatible bug fixes and security updates.

Apply updates as drop-in replacements. Minor AMPs are released on demand or roughly every eight weeks.

Major AMP

Technology updates, including third-party library updates required to apply security fixes or keep those libraries on supported versions.

Plan for changes to project customizations. A major AMP may include breaking changes when required for security reasons, for example, when applying a security fix requires a third-party library update. These changes do not move you to an AEP track.

Plugin (CMCC 13 and later)

New features delivered independently of platform updates.

Adopt features without switching to an AEP track, and update plugins separately from the platform.

Maintenance periods and update planning

Release cadence and maintenance periods serve different purposes. Use the following guidelines to plan your updates:

  • Major releases: New major releases are planned every 18 months, starting with CMCC 13 in January 2026. This cadence is separate from branch maintenance periods. Plan your upgrades according to the applicable maintenance and support dates.

  • Minor AMP updates: Apply minor AMPs regularly, ideally every eight weeks, to receive bug fixes and security updates. Minor AMPs do not extend the branch’s maintenance period.

  • Major AMP updates: Major AMPs are released every six month and have one year of support. So, with a six-month overlap, you can plan for major AMP updates once or twice a year. These releases provide important third-party dependency updates, including updates required for security fixes, and may require changes to your project customizations.

For current support dates and coverage, see the Product Support Lifecycle.

Maintenance depends on whether you consider the entire LTS track or an individual release branch:

Scope Maintenance period Required action

LTS track

During the major release’s Regular Support period.

Move to newer major AMP branches to continue receiving updates.

Individual LTS major AMP branch

Currently one year from its initial release.

Update before the branch reaches end of maintenance.

Dedicated AEP branch

Same branch maintenance period as an individual LTS major AMP branch.

Move to a supported successor release before maintenance ends. This can be the next AEP or a new Major GA version.

Choose LTS if you want long-term maintenance and fewer breaking changes in required updates and upgrades. Choose an AEP if you need its features and can plan an upgrade before that branch reaches end of maintenance.

You can move from LTS to AEP, but you cannot return to LTS within the same major version. If no supported successor AEP is available, continued maintenance requires an upgrade to a newer major release.

CMCC 12: The 2506 AEP branch receives no further updates

The 2506 AEP branch, including 2506.0.5, receives no further maintenance or security updates. No further AEP releases are planned for CMCC 12. Maintenance continues only on the 2406 LTS track.

If you use the 2506 branch, you must upgrade to CMCC 13 to receive further updates. You cannot return to the CMCC 12 LTS track.

If you plan to stay on CMCC 12, choose a supported release from the 2406 LTS track rather than selecting 2506 because of its higher version number.

The following figure illustrates maintenance periods using current and planned releases.

release lifecycle cmcc v13 2025 no marker
Figure 1. Product Releases and LTS Strategy

How to manage your update process

Use these steps to choose an update path and plan maintenance for your deployment.

Step 1: Start on the LTS track

Choose a supported release from the LTS track for your CMCC major version. For CMCC 12, this is the 2406 track; for CMCC 13, it is the 2512 track.

Step 2: Apply minor AMP updates regularly

Apply minor AMP updates regularly, ideally every eight weeks, to receive bug fixes and security updates.

Step 3: Plan for major AMP updates

Plan time for major AMP updates once or twice a year. Updating only once a year requires careful scheduling to avoid a gap in maintenance. Review any breaking changes, which are permitted only when required for security reasons, and adapt your project customizations as needed. On the LTS track, move to a newer major AMP branch before your current branch reaches end of maintenance.

Step 4: Adopt new features via plugins

If you use CMCC 13 or later, adopt available feature plugins at a pace that suits your project. Check each plugin’s minimum required platform version, and plan plugin updates independently of platform updates.

Step 5: Choose your track when an AEP is released

If a dedicated AEP is published, decide whether its features justify leaving the LTS track. The same is true when you upgrade to a newer major version that already includes a dedicated AEP. Before switching, compare the AEP branch’s maintenance period with the LTS track’s maintenance during Regular Support, as described in Maintenance periods and update planning. Plan your next upgrade before the AEP branch reaches end of maintenance; this may require moving to a newer major version.

Step 6: Check support dates

Check the Product Support Lifecycle for current support dates. Schedule the required updates or upgrades before maintenance ends for your chosen branch.

support times
Figure 2. Support Times - Product Releases and LTS Strategy

Dates in these illustrations are for explanatory purposes only. Future release dates are planned, not legally binding commitments, and are subject to change without notice. Check the Product Support Lifecycle for current support dates.

Version numbers

The three-part numbering used by the LTS model identifies the release branch and its maintenance updates:

Part Example Meaning

First

2512

LTS or AEP release track identifier in YYMM format, for example, 2406, 2412, or 2512.

Middle

2512.1

Major AMP level. Increases for technology updates that may include breaking changes required for security reasons.

Last

2512.1.3

Minor AMP level. Increases for highly compatible bug fixes and security updates.

A higher middle or last part identifies a maintenance update, not a switch to an AEP track. For example, 2512.1 remains on the CMCC 13 LTS track.

The examples describe releases on the 2406 and 2512 tracks, not the numbering of earlier CMCC 12 releases.

Further reading

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