XCP-ng 8.3 Release Candidate 2

Samuel Verschelde -

We’re excited to announce the release of the second release candidate (RC2) for XCP-ng 8.3!

If you missed the announcement for XCP-ng 8.3 Release Candidate 1 (RC1), you can still check it out here:

XCP-ng 8.3 Release Candidate 1
The XCP-ng 8.3 Release Candidate 1 is now available! This is a perfect opportunity to join our dedicated testers from the user community. We invite you to provide feedback based on your unique use cases and hardware configurations.
XCP-ng BlogSamuel Verschelde

With the Release Candidate 2 now available, we invite you to join our incredible community of testers. This is your opportunity to provide valuable feedback on your specific use cases and hardware setups.

💡
While XCP-ng has a reputation for "just working," we want to shine a light on the huge amount of work happening behind the scenes to ensure this reliability. This release has been one of our most thoroughly tested versions to date, with thousands of tests run and hundreds of continuous integration (CI) cycles. Countless improvements have been made to our automated test suites, enabling us to handle dozens of complex update and upgrade scenarios, one after another, in each CI run. The result is a robust and refined release candidate, and we owe a massive thanks to everyone who has been involved in this process.

What is a Release Candidate (RC)?
A release candidate is a near-final version of our product that meets our internal quality standards and is ready for wider testing. We rely on your feedback during this phase to capture insights from a variety of environments and configurations that we can’t replicate in-house. By testing now, you can help ensure a polished and stable official release.

Why should you participate?
Now is the ideal time to become part of our passionate group of testers and make your voice heard! Your insights are crucial in shaping the final product, and we highly value the diverse range of scenarios our users represent.

Before we dive in, here’s a quick FAQ to address some key questions you might have:

ℹ️ FAQ

Who is this release for?

This release is for users who want to actively contribute to the development of XCP-ng 8.3 by testing and providing feedback. It’s also perfect for those eager to try out the new features in this version and help us refine them.

Where should I provide feedback?

You can share your feedback on the dedicated forum thread.

I already installed XCP-ng 8.3 RC1 (or another pre-release). How do I upgrade to RC2?

You can upgrade as usual through Xen Orchestra or by using yum update. A reboot is required. However, we recommend upgrading via the installation ISO image before putting XCP-ng 8.3 into production. If you upgrade now using the RC2 installation image, you won’t need to upgrade again to the final production release (a simple update will then be enough). Upgrading early helps us with testing.

I want to upgrade an existing pool running XCP-ng 8.2.1. Can I simply use yum update?

No, upgrading from earlier releases to XCP-ng 8.3 via yum is not supported. You’ll need to use the installation image to perform the upgrade.

When is the final release expected?

I prefer not to commit to an exact release date because we always reserve the right to delay if necessary to ensure the security and stability of XCP-ng. That being said, our internal target for the final release is currently set for the 30th of September.

📀 Download

SHA256 sums:

31366e9c5d97e454adbea0d55dbe36ae8dfc88cbbc7a121fa03d4fcb753e3638  xcp-ng-8.3.0-rc2.iso
5257eeea4c5f1531b1d20cc4f63d0a324e750002d64d3db32493b8bca2d6dbb9  xcp-ng-8.3.0-rc2-netinstall.iso

✨ What's new in XCP-ng 8.3 RC2? (vs RC1)

As we approach the final release, most of the changes in RC2 are focused on security patches, bug fixes, and improved hardware support. Here are a few highlights worth mentioning:

  • Guest templates: we’ve removed the "preview" label (inherited from XenServer) for templates of well-established Linux distributions such as RHEL 9 and Debian 12. Additionally, we’ve introduced new generic Linux templates for distributions without a dedicated template, replacing the less suitable "Other installation media" template.
  • XO Lite (v0.2.7): the latest update allows XO Lite to detect and load a newer version online, if available, rather than using the version currently packaged as an RPM in XCP-ng. This ensures you’re always running the most up-to-date version.
  • XAPI: one notable fix in this release addresses an issue where new fields in the XAPI database for certificate fingerprints weren’t being populated, which could lead to failures when adding new hosts to a pool.
  • Installer improvements: the installer now provides an earlier warning if you attempt to upgrade a system that was installed using a different BIOS type (Legacy BIOS vs. UEFI), helping avoid issues later in the process.

While a lot of things has gone into this release, much of it falls under the essential but less thrilling category of "testing and stability" 😄.

For more exciting updates, check out the previous pre-release announcements or stay tuned for the final release announcement, which will offer a comprehensive summary of all changes.

🎯 Conclusion

That’s it – the (hopefully) final release candidate before the official XCP-ng 8.3 launch is now ready for one last round of testing. We’re incredibly grateful to everyone who has contributed so far by providing feedback, sharing insights, and reporting bugs. Your efforts are critical to ensuring that XCP-ng 8.3 is as stable, secure, and feature-rich as possible.

This phase is where the collective power of our community truly shines. By testing on diverse hardware setups and under unique conditions, you help us identify the last remaining issues and polish the final product. Whether you’ve been with us since the early releases or are just now jumping in, your input has a direct impact on the quality of the official release.

As always, we appreciate your dedication to making XCP-ng a robust, open-source platform, and we’re excited to move closer to the final release. Stay tuned for the official announcement, and thank you once again for being part of this journey!