AI has fundamentally changed the software industry through its ability to discover software vulnerabilities at an unprecedented pace. This has driven software vendors to adopt faster release cadences, making more frequent software updates the new industry norm.
VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) is no exception. With the unified versioning introduced in VCF 9, several release types are available to deliver updates, each serving a specific purpose.
The following diagram summarizes the VCF unified versioning model, showing whether each release type is synchronized across the VCF software stack or delivered independently, along with its installation method.
Rather than bundling security fixes into the next scheduled maintenance release, Express Patches allow them to be delivered as soon as they are available. Unlike upgrades, which must be applied in a specific order, Express Patches can be applied in any order, reducing some of the overhead in rolling out the fixes.
As a result of this faster release cadence, product fixes can also be delivered much sooner, rather than waiting for the next maintenance or minor release.
