Is keeping Data Center products always on the latest version a good or bad idea?

[Darren]

I'm a brand new 'Jira service owner' and our service is provided by both Jira Cloud and Jira Data Center applications.

Our Data Center applications are Jira Software 9 and Jira Service Management 5

Given cloud products (not just Atlassian Cloud but Google, Microsoft, etc) are 'evergreen' and are 'always on the latest version, I'm tempted to do the same for our Data Center products i.e. to also keep them on the latest version.

(and to mitigate the risk that the Atlassian or the 3rd party app vendors breaks something for us, we protect ourselves with the usual 'Stage > test > Prod' due-diligence)

But as I said - I'm brand new, so I'm looking for some confirmation that "yeah that's a great idea, and we (wish we could) do that because..." or "no that's a terrible idea because..." - I'm kinda learning on the job here...

[Najjar _Innovura_ · Accepted solution]

Hello,

Firstly, congratulations on your new role as a 'Jira service owner'!

As per your query, I would actually endorse the idea of keeping your Jira instance up-to-date. Regularly updating your Jira Software and Jira Service Management applications allows you to take advantage of the latest features and improvements delivered by Atlassian and any additional add-ons. This ensures that your users are always benefiting from the latest advancements and enhancements in the tool.

In my own experience managing a Jira DC instance, I've found it incredibly valuable to keep everything updated. Beyond just the functionality benefits, it also provides a sense of continuous growth and evolution that users appreciate.

To ensure a smooth transition with each update, I often compile both Jira and apps release notes of new features available for "internal Jira users" / "JSM agents". and compile them in a confluence page and share them with our stakeholders. Sometimes new features may require a brief introduction for users to fully understand and utilize them. This way, users can enjoy these features as soon as they're available.

Of course, your 'Stage > Test > Prod' due-diligence is critical to ensure any update doesn't inadvertently disrupt your operations. As long as this precautionary step is in place, keeping your applications updated should prove advantageous.

Best,

[Darren]

thanks for this, @Najjar _Innovura_ 

I discussed this further internally and also did my own research

Long Term Support releases is the pattern they've settled on, for the reasons given in the text I've highlighted Atlassian's page on Long Term Support releases:

https://confluence.atlassian.com/enterprise/long-term-support-releases-948227420.html#:~:text=Long%20Term%20Support%20releases%20are,latest%C2%A0Long%20Term%20Support%20release.

[Darren · Accepted solution]

I discussed this further internally.

Turns out:  because of demands of other workload coupled with the complexity of their Jira instance, 'Long Term Support' releases are perfect for them:  they want to do upgrades infrequently.

So, for now, the decision is to upgrade from LTS to LTS (unless something else warrants otherwise, such as a CVE)

Here's the salient text from Atlassian's documentation re LTS releases and under what circumstances they're ideal:

https://confluence.atlassian.com/enterprise/long-term-support-releases-948227420.html#:~:text=Long%20Term%20Support%20releases%20are,latest%C2%A0Long%20Term%20Support%20release.

[P_D_ Foerster]

Hi Arnold,
just to add on top of this:

"Backport critical security fixes, as outlined in our current security bug fix policy, and fixes relating to stability, data integrity, or critical performance issues."

So the most important CVEs are covered, i.e. you will get an bug fix version of current LTS version fixing the vulnerability assuming you're still on an active LTS release.

What I did the past years was to keep track of the next upcoming LTS release and once it was released I started planning the upgrade to the new one.
Most plugins are not compatible on day one and internal testing also plays a vital role.

Cheers,
Patrice