Updates and Upgrades
Console and Local Control Plane updates roll out automatically and never interrupt a workload. Upgrades to hypervisor operating system require a reboot and are offered to you to be applied when you are ready.
Console Updates
The Console is updated continuously. New and improved functionality is made available with nothing for you to install or schedule. Shipped changes are announced in What’s New.
Local Control Plane Updates
The local control plane on your hypervisor is updated automatically. Updates are applied without disrupting virtual machines.
Hypervisor OS Upgrades
About once a year, Gallium releases a new base operating system for the hypervisor. An upgrade needs a reboot, so it is never applied on its own.
What happens to your virtual machines depends on the product.
| Product | Virtual machines during the upgrade | Downtime |
|---|---|---|
| Cluster | Migrated to another hypervisor before each one reboots, one hypervisor at a time in an order the cluster chooses | None, with N+1 capacity |
| Standalone | VMs must be stopped | The length of the reboot |
| Edge | VMs must be stopped | The length of the reboot |
An upgrade can be deferred for up to a year. After that, the previous release reaches end of support.
Security Fixes
Security patches or mitigrations ship as local control plane updates wherever possible. A hypervisor OS may be required to address certain threats and will be released when needed.