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184 lines
7.1 KiB
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184 lines
7.1 KiB
Plaintext
---
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layout: docs
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page_title: Long-term support for Vault
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description: >-
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Learn the details about long-term support for Vault Enterprise.
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---
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# Long-term support for Vault
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@include 'alerts/enterprise-only.mdx'
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Long-term support (LTS) eases upgrade requirements for installations that cannot
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upgrade frequently, quickly, or easily.
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## LTS summary
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<table>
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<thead>
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<tr>
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<th style={{width:'30%', verticalAlign:'middle'}}>Question</th>
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<th style={{verticalAlign: 'middle'}}>Answer</th>
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</tr>
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</thead>
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<tbody>
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<tr>
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<td style={{verticalAlign: 'middle'}}>
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<a href="#who">Who should consider long-term support?</a>
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</td>
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<td style={{verticalAlign: 'middle'}}>
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Enterprise customers using Vault for sensitive or critical workflows.
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</td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td style={{verticalAlign: 'middle'}}>
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<a href="#what">What is long-term support?</a>
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</td>
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<td style={{verticalAlign: 'middle'}}>
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Extended maintenance for select, major Vault Enterprise versions.
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By default, HashiCorp maintains Vault Enterprise versions for one year,
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which includes feature updates and critical patches. LTS extends
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maintenance for an additional year with critical patches.
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</td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td style={{verticalAlign: 'middle'}}>
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<a href="#where">Where do I enable long-term support?</a>
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</td>
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<td style={{verticalAlign: 'middle'}}>
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You do not need to download a separate binary or set a flag for long-term
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support. As long as you select an LTS Vault Enterprise version when
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you <a href="/vault/install">install</a> or <a href="/vault/docs/upgrading">upgrade</a> your
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Vault instance, LTS is included.
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</td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td style={{verticalAlign: 'middle'}}>
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<a href="#when">When are LTS versions released?</a>
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</td>
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<td style={{verticalAlign: 'middle'}}>
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As of Vault Enterprise 1.16, the first major release of a calendar year includes
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long-term support.
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</td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td style={{verticalAlign: 'middle'}}>
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<a href="#why">Why is there a risk to updating to a non-LTS Vault Enterprise version?</a>
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</td>
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<td style={{verticalAlign: 'middle'}}>
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If you upgrade to a non-LTS Vault Enterprise version, your Vault instance
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will stop receiving critical updates when that version leaves the default
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maintenance window.
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</td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td style={{verticalAlign: 'middle'}}>
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<a href="#how">How do I update my LTS Vault Enterprise installation?</a>
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</td>
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<td style={{verticalAlign: 'middle'}}>
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Follow your existing Vault upgrade process, but allow extra time for the
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possibility of transitional upgrades across multiple Vault versions.
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</td>
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</tr>
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</tbody>
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</table>
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<a id="who" />
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## Who should consider long-term support?
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Vault upgrades are challenging, especially for sensitive or critical workflows,
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extensive integrations, and large-scale deployments. Strict upgrade policies
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also require significant planning, testing, and employee hours to execute
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successfully.
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Customers who need assurances that their current installation will receive
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critical bug fixes and security patches with minimal service disruptions should
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consider moving to a Vault Enterprise version with long-term support.
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<a id="what" />
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## What is long-term support?
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Long-term support offers extended maintenance through minor releases for select,
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major Vault Enterprise versions.
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The standard [support period and end of life policy](https://go.hashi.co/vault-support-policy)
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covers "N−2" versions, which means, at any given time, HashiCorp maintains
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the current version ("N") and the two previous versions ("N−2").
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Vault versions typically update 3 times per calendar year (CY), which means that
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**standard maintenance** for a given Vault version lasts approximately 1 year.
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After the first year, LTS Vault versions move from standard maintenance to
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**extended maintenance** for three additional major version releases (approximately one additional year)
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with patches for bugs that may cause outages and critical vulnerabilities and exposures (CVEs).
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Maintenance updates | Standard maintenance | Extended maintenance
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--------------------------------- | -------------------- | --------------------
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Performance improvements | YES | NO
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Feature updates and improvements | YES | NO
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Bug fixes | YES | OUTAGE-RISK ONLY
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Security patches | YES | HIGH-RISK ONLY
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CVE patches | YES | YES
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<a id="where" />
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## Where do I enable long-term support?
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You do not need to download a separate binary or set a flag for long-term
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support. As long as you select an LTS Vault Enterprise version
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(e.g., 1.16, 1.19) when you [install](/vault/install) or [upgrade](/vault/docs/upgrading) your
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Vault instance, LTS is included.
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<a id="when" />
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## When are LTS versions released?
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As of Vault Enterprise 1.16, the first release of a calendar year includes
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long-term support.
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LTS versions overlap by one year with the previous LTS version entering its
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extended maintenance window when the new LTS version begins its standard
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maintenance window.
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<a id="why" />
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## Why is there a risk to updating to a non-LTS Vault Enterprise version?
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Long-term support is intended for Enterprise customers who cannot upgrade
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frequently enough to stay within the standard maintenance timeline of one year.
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The goal is to establish a predictable upgrade path with a longer timeline
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rather than extending the lifetime for every Vault version.
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Long-term support ensures your Vault Enterprise version continues to receive
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critical patches for an additional three major version releases (approximately one additional year).
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If you upgrade to a non-LTS version,you are moving your Vault instance to a version
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that lacks extended support. Non-LTS versions stop receiving updates once they leave
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the standard maintenance window.
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@include 'assets/lts-upgrade-path.mdx'
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Version | Expected release | Standard maintenance ends | Extended maintenance ends
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------- | ---------------- | -------------------------- | ---------------------
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1.19 | CY25 Q1 | CY26 Q1 (1.22 release) | CY27 Q1 (1.25 release)
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1.18 | CY24 Q3 | CY25 Q3 (1.21 release) | Not provided
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1.17 | CY24 Q2 | CY25 Q2 (1.20 release) | Not provided
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1.16 | CY24 Q1 | CY25 Q1 (1.19 release) | CY26 Q1 (1.22 release)
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If a newer version of Vault Enterprise includes features you want to take
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advantage of, you have two options:
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1. Wait for the next available LTS release to maintain long-term support.
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1. Upgrade immediately, then upgrade to an LTS release before the standard
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maintenance window expires.
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<a id="how" />
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## How do I upgrade my Vault Enterprise LTS installation?
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You should follow your existing upgrade process for major version upgrades but
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allow additional time. Upgrading from version LTS to LTS+1 translates to jumping
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3 major Vault Enterprise versions, which **may** require transitional upgrades
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to move through the intermediate Vault versions.
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