This document details the IPS software release process.

The release process of IPS is based on customer needs and software development best practices followed by the industry.
The primary objective of this process is to create and maintain well-defined and predictable release cycles that deliver high-quality product releases.
In general, this process caters to all customers, those preferring to stay on a release for an extended period, and those updating software frequently for new fixes and feature enhancements.

IPS offers the following types of releases:

• Major Release:
  A major release typically introduces new features, binary changes, as well as software changes of significant size. Every major release undergoes a Federal Certification process.
   
• Minor/Update Release:
  A minor/update release offers an incremental feature addition and critical software fixes awaited by customers, and is determined by the product roadmap. A major release is followed by 7–9 minor releases with a quarterly cadence, and is an important release vehicle for product features and fixes.
   
• Hotfix Release:
  A hotfix release delivers one or more software fixes for major or minor releases and is offered, as needed, to select customers who require fixes in a timebound manner. Fixes delivered by a hotfix release are carried forward to future major or minor releases.

Sample release cadence for Trellix IPS software releases:


Characteristics of a Major release versus a Minor or Update release:

	Major Release	Minor/Update Release
Versioning	Sensor and Manager software follow the four-octet version scheme: Physical IPS Sensor: 11.1.5.x Physical IPS Sensor – Federal Certification: 11.1.17.x Virtual IPS Sensor: 11.1.7.x IPS Manager: 11.1.7.x IPS Manager – Federal Certification: 11.1.19.x
Timeline	A major release has a 2–2.5 year cadence.	A minor release has a quarterly cadence.
End of Life (EOL)	In principle, Trellix IPS follows the Trellix EOL Support Policy. Product End-of-Life Support Policy (trellix.com)
Support Period	Each major software release has a 4–5 year life span until it reaches End of Support (EOS) and the release is supported for one more year before EOL. The overall life span of a major release and associated minor releases is 5–6 years. Quarterly minor releases follow a major release for 2–2.5 years. Hotfixes are delivered as needed until a major release reaches EOS. Minor releases aren't offered beyond EOS. Customers receive technical support, equivalent to a GA release, and limited Hotfix support, unless no major change takes place in the underlying Software and Hardware Architecture.
Signature Set Updates	Signature Set updates are available until EOL.
Product Security Fixes	Product security fixes are delivered with minor or hotfix releases until EOL. If Software and Hardware architecture of the release limits feasibility of the fix, it might be recommended that you upgrade to a newer release for the fix.
Certification	Each major release undergoes the CC, FIPS, and /DoDIN APL Certification processes.