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balena os and device type support policies #3117

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Clarifying our support policies around balenaOS releases and device types


Please make sure to read the CONTRIBUTING document before opening the PR for relevant information on contributing to the documentation. Thanks!

@rmorillo24 rmorillo24 requested a review from alexgg December 13, 2024 09:08
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flowzone-app bot commented Dec 13, 2024

Website deployed to CF Pages, 👀 preview link https://35058e01.balenacloud-docs.pages.dev

@flowzone-app flowzone-app bot enabled auto-merge December 13, 2024 09:13
Find more information below about our version support policy.

__Note:__ {{ $names.os.upper }} 1.x to 2.x updates limit the amount of data you can have in your application's `/data` folder to about 170MB (compressed). If you have more data, the update will fail and your device won't be modified.

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This note is probably no longer relevant as we should have no devices lower than v2.14 on the fleets.

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Agreed

At balena, we’re here to make sure balenaOS runs smoothly on actively maintained hardware models. This policy lays out what we support, what you can expect, and how we handle devices when they reach the end of their lifecycle.

**What We Offer for Official Supported Hardware Models**
- balenaOS Image: A tested and ready-to-use version of balenaOS, available in our documentation.
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available in our documentation is ambiguous, not sure what it is referring to. Does it mean available to download through the official channels? What has the documentation to do with balenaOS images?

**When Does a Device Get Discontinued?**
We’ll discontinue a device type if:
- The Manufacturer Stops Support: If the hardware maker stops supporting or selling the device.
- It’s No Longer Used: No new devices of this type have been added to balenaCloud in the past 6 months.
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Has this always been the case? If I were a customer and I'm paying for my fleet of devices, even if the number is stable, I would strongly argue the device is actively used.
I personally don't see a reason to state something like this - if a device is really no longer being used we can discontinue it and no-one will realize.

**What if You’re Using a Discontinued Device?**
Here’s what you can expect:
- Support Wrap-Up: Updates, patches, and bug fixes will no longer be provided. We’ll still do our best to help with workarounds or recommend alternative devices.
- Custom Support Options: Need continued support? We can explore custom options on a case-by-case basis, which may involve additional fees.
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There is also forum based, community and best effort support. Should we not mention that?

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That would be a different entry in the FAQ regarding how to get support on a community device

pages/faq/questions.md Outdated Show resolved Hide resolved
Find more information below about our version support policy.

__Note:__ {{ $names.os.upper }} 1.x to 2.x updates limit the amount of data you can have in your application's `/data` folder to about 170MB (compressed). If you have more data, the update will fail and your device won't be modified.

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Agreed

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- The device type will stop appearing as an option for creating new fleets or adding new devices in the dashboard.
- Any devices already provisioned will keep working, but they won’t get any more OS updates.

**When Does a Device Get Discontinued?**
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Clarify what discontinuation means in the balenaCloud sense which is very different to real terms

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@alexgg alexgg Dec 17, 2024

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I don't think we currently discontinue devices from BC - we commit to keeping them working as they were on the last release. That is made possible by API versioning and the introduction of new features on new versioned API. This is obviously great for the product as a value add for customers, and up to date we have been able to afaik, but it may be something the backend guys object to.

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@rmorillo24 rmorillo24 marked this pull request as draft December 20, 2024 14:29
auto-merge was automatically disabled December 20, 2024 14:29

Pull request was converted to draft

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3 participants