Re: Upcoming D-I Bookworm RC 3 and RC 4

Hi all,

Cyril Brulebois <[email protected]> (2023-05-06):
> I think it'd make sense to have at least 2 releases:
>  - 1 around mid-May;
>  - 1 around end of May.
> 
> The first one would bundle a bunch of the fixes or improvements being
> worked on these days, making sure everything works as intended.

This part has happened as planned.

> The second one would be an “everything is frozen, we upload d-i one
> last time” release, which could include a few last-minute fixes or
> improvements if required or desired.

And that part I'd like to plan a little more.

> I'm happy to touch base with the release team again when we approach
> end of May, to see what would be considered best for the (hopefully)
> final d-i upload (and d-i-n-i, at least a dinstall afterward). It
> might make sense not to wait too much before doing so, in case we end
> up having to fix a package or two, and re-upload…

Dates that have been announced[1] so far:
 - 2023-05-24: full freeze
 - 2023-05-28: last moment to file unblock requests
 - 2023-06-03: bookworm totally frozen
   (per “last week prior to the release”)

 1. https://lists.debian.org/debian-devel-announce/2023/04/msg00007.html

On the d-i side, we'll have a round of translation updates[2], along
with some last tweaks, before RC 4.

As far as I understand, at least at the moment, we aren't expecting a
new linux upload before the release. But if the need arises, we should
be able to deal with it.

 2. https://lists.debian.org/debian-boot/2023/05/msg00250.html


I'm not sure what the best timeline would be for RC 4. Let's consider
two options:
 - After the full freeze is in effect: we would have RC 3 and RC 4
   roughly two weeks apart, which matches what I had in mind initially,
   but we might have a few more changes coming in via late unblock
   requests, that could impact the installer.
     Example: May 25.
 - After a green light from the release team, i.e. once all unblock
   requests have been considered, and once it's expected there should
   be no changes in the archive.
     Window: May 28 - June 3.

In the first case, we would have a little more time to sort incoming
installation reports, and to react if needed. We might need a final
upload of debian-installer(-netboot-images).

In the second case, we would have a little less time, but the message
in the release announcement could be a clear “there are no more pending
changes for bookworm, this is the closest thing to the release, please
test extensively” (better wording welcome). We would probably not need a
final upload of debian-installer(-netboot-images), with debian-cd
picking up the exact same files that were used for RC 4, for the final
release.

Both options seem equally reasonable to me, please let me know whether
you have a preference. I don't need an answer right away, that can be
discussed during the upcoming release team meeting.

(If we go for “d-i/d-i-n-i are the last packages changing in bookworm”,
please keep in mind we need at least 1 britney run and 1 dinstall run
between the d-i upload and the d-i-n-i one.)


> Regarding the final release, I'm happy to perform a final d-i upload
> if some packages needed an update since RC 4… but hopefully the last
> build can be reused without any changes.

No changes there, I'll be on stand-by for anything d-i related until the
(tentative) release date.

> Interactions with other teams
> =============================
> 
> [ kibi does dak copy-installer ]

That was confirmed to be working fine while preparing RC 3.

> [ kibi does debian-cd ]

That was also confirmed to be working fine while preparing RC 3.


Cheers,
-- 
Cyril Brulebois ([email protected])            <https://debamax.com/>
D-I release manager -- Release team member -- Freelance Consultant

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