IBM Software Product Versioning
Some of my colleagues ask about how IBM does Software product versioning and how to remember the versions while working on the products. People tend to get confused while working on Operational activities specific to versioning.
IBM has clearly explained this versioning in below link and have clearly stated on how each of the product is represented. As per the link, below are the details for reference.
https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/ibm-software-product-versioning-explained
IBM names the version of the product in the format of V.R.M.F or V.M.F based on the principles of Semantic Versioning (SemVer).
- V- Version
- R – Release
- M – Modification
- F – Fix
Principles of Semantic Versioning Specification (SemVer) details can be found here, https://semver.org/
There are products where we see VRMF as part of their versions and in some products, we see VMF where there won’t be any details about the release.
Screenshot for reference taken directly from IBM Support site. Checkout the table with clear information on the numbered V.R.M.F and V.M.F
Some of the software’s for reference specific to IBM Product versioning are provided below,
WebSphere Application Server (WAS)
WAS is evergreen product and it has many versions and multiple fixes. It is based on V.R.M.F model. When we navigate to WAS knowledge center, we would see only V.R.M and there won’t be any details about Fixes. We have to navigate to Fix Central website to get to know details about fixes.
In knowledge center we would see below screenshot and when we navigate to fixes page, we would see clear information about the fixes.
Ex: WAS latest version is on 9.0.5 and latest Fix that is available is at 9.0.5.20.
Link for WAS Knowledge center: https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/was-nd/9.0.5?topic=network-deployment-all-operating-systems-version-90
Screenshot for reference:
Link to check available WAS Fixes: https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/recommended-updates-websphere-application-server#ver90
Screenshot for reference:
Another example which we can refer is on IBM Message Queue.
IBM MQ is another great messaging product, and it also has the same versioning model where it uses, V.M and then proceeds further with Fixes and with LTS and CD Release types. This particular product is different in terms of releases.
Ex: MQ in Knowledge center will be shown as 9.2 and then when we navigate to Fixes page, it gives us clear details on the Fixes available with clear version as 9.2.0.30.
Details about the Fixes can be seen here for IBM MQ: https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/7105264
As mentioned in IBM MQ Knowledge center link given below, it has more details on how the release types are classified: https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/ibm-mq/9.2?topic=mq-release-types-versioning
IBM MQ 9.2 version fixes are mentioned here: https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/fix-list-ibm-mq-version-92-lts
There are cases where the Product knowledge center or IBM Product support center pages provide more details on how the versioning is done.
IBM MQ support page can be taken as example for reference. This product is a classic example of how IBM Software Product versioning takes place.
In this link, https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/changes-ibm-mqs-maintenance-delivery-model, they explain about how the versioning takes place for IBM MQ. This is very complex to note incase if you haven’t worked on this product earlier and take a note of how it says below in that link.
IBM MQ continues to use a “V.R.M.F” version identifier format. On distributed platforms, LTS releases will continue to be designated by a zero (0) in the “M” digit of the V.R.M.F version identifier – for example 9.3.0.x . CD releases have a non-zero value in the “M” digit of the V.R.M.F version identifier – for example 9.3.1.x.
Also, take a note at the questions mentioned and below is something which is very important to understand on the versions,
CSU in above screenshot refers to Cumulative Security Updates. Note the divisibility of 5 rule over there.
People who have worked on IBM Products from long time or just started should be aware of the versioning as this is critical in all the components of Operational activities.