Mozilla may put Firefox on 'slow release' track for enterprise users

Stephen Withers
Monday, 26 September 2011 13:21

Business IT - Open Source

The rapid release tempo recently adopted for Firefox is causing angst for enterprise users. A proposed 'slow track' may soothe those furrowed brows.

Mozilla this year switched to a rapid release schedule for Firefox, making new features available as soon as they are considered ready for prime time, rather than holding them back for major releases. This approach mimics that adopted by Google for its Chrome browser.

Although enterprises appear to be happy with the incremental update model when it is applied to cloud services, some insist on thoroughly testing new major versions of desktop software before deployment. That causes a problem with applications such as Firefox, where new features and security updates are intermingled.

To eliminate the need to choose between prompt deployment of security fixes and thorough in-house testing, Mozilla is considering a 'slow-track' release schedule (aka extended support) for such organisations.

The idea is that there will be an extended support release (ESR) corresponding to every seventh release of Firefox. This would occur at 42-week intervals, giving organisations a chance to test and deploy Firefox, and then use it for several months before the next ESR appears. There would be a two-cycle (12-week) period between the release of one version and the end of support for its predecessor, and ESR users could begin their testing with the 'Aurora' (pre-beta) release of the Firefox version corresponding to an ESR release.

Although no new features would be added during the life of any particular ESR, critical and high-impact security fixes would be deployed as point releases, in parallel with the normal Firefox release schedule plus any emergency patches.

Mozilla warns that if implemented, the proposal would divert resources from the main Firefox project. In addition, the ESR would be less secure that the regular version as only the most important security fixes would be backported, and new functionality which could provide increased security will be added at a slower pace.