[ros-users] [Discourse.ros.org] [General] Suspension of Debian packaging for EOL'd Distros (Saucy, Utopic, Vivid, and Wily)

[Tully Foote]

It's been a long time coming and greatly [anticipated by maintainers](https://discourse.ros.org/t/drop-support-for-wily/727/10?u=tfoote). We originally announced this as pending [last year](http://lists.ros.org/pipermail/ros-users/2016-February/069828.html). However we found some technical blockers in our repository hosting techniques that would have broken older platforms when certain types of package releases were made.

We have resolved that issues and we have now disabled builds for EOL'd Ubuntu platforms. This turns off ~ 18,000 jobs on the farm and leaves ~30,000 remaining. With fewer platforms to support the buildfarm should run faster.

Now that we have support for turning off the targets, we will do this shortly after distros become EOL. Do not expect support beyond the end of a distro's life span. This has been part of the [Release Policy](http://wiki.ros.org/Distributions/ReleasePolicy) however we have not followed through until we could make sure not to break existing use cases.

What this means for you as a user:

* The new packages in [today's sync](https://discourse.ros.org/t/new-packages-for-indigo-jade-and-kinetic-2017-04-03/1598?u=tfoote) will be the last ones on those platforms. The packages will continue to be available from the repository however we will no longer be buidling new versions when releases are made.
* If you are on an EOL'd distro, it's strongly recommended to upgrade. (We will no longer ship updates, and you are no longer getting security updates in general.)

What this means for you as a maintainer:

* You no longer need to support the EOL'd Ubuntu distros in future releases, so the low water mark is relaxed.
  * Indigo is only targeting Trusty now.
  * Jade is only targeting Trusty now.
  * Kinetic is only targeting Xenial and Jessie now.






---
[Visit Topic](https://discourse.ros.org/t/suspension-of-debian-packaging-for-eold-distros-saucy-utopic-vivid-and-wily/1601/1) or reply to this email to respond.