XCP-ng 8.3 is now LTS

Today marks several important updates for XCP-ng 8.3. In a nutshell:

• It officially becomes a Long-Term Support (LTS) release, as previously announced when it was first released on October 7th, 2024.
• We are releasing updated installation images ("ISOs") that include installer improvements and all updates published since the original release.
• XOSTOR, our hyperconverged storage solution powered by LINSTOR, is now officially supported on XCP-ng 8.3.
• A new, dedicated upgrade ISO is available to support upgrading from an 8.2 pool that includes a XOSTOR storage repository.

🚀 XCP-ng 8.3 is now LTS

XCP-ng 8.3 has already proven itself in production. Now that it’s officially an LTS release, we’re shifting gears to focus even more on stability: slower, safer updates and tougher testing across the board. You can keep your hosts up to date with full confidence.

This announcement does not represent a new release. It applies to the existing XCP-ng 8.3.

If you're already running XCP-ng 8.3, you're on the LTS version. There's no need for a full upgrade. Standard package updates will keep your system current.

💠 XOSTOR now supported on XCP-ng 8.3

XOSTOR is now fully validated for use with XCP-ng 8.3.

If you're currently using XOSTOR on XCP-ng 8.2, we've created a dedicated upgrade ISO to streamline the transition. This addresses versioning constraints from LINSTOR, which requires all hosts to run the same LINSTOR version throughout the upgrade process. Our specialized ISO ensures this requirement is met seamlessly.

Refer to the updated documentation for detailed instructions on upgrading a pool that uses XOSTOR.

💿 Refreshed installation media

New installation ISOs for XCP-ng 8.3 are now available. These include:

• All updates released since the initial version
• Installer improvements (e.g. enhanced hardware support, detection of XOSTOR during standard installations to avoid unsupported upgrades)
• Bug fixes

While older ISOs remain accessible, we recommend using the refreshed ones for new installs and upgrades.

These new ISOs also support migration from XenServer 8.4, provided certain conditions are met - specifically, the XAPI version on the XenServer hosts must be 25.6 or lower.

They are available on XCP-ng website:

We also updated the release notes, which you can read at https://docs.xcp-ng.org/releases/release-8-3/.

📋 Some of the changes since the initial 8.3 release

For a comprehensive view, you can refer to the blog posts we published since the release.

Here's a selection:

• All the security and bugfix updates included
• Better hardware support on a variety of devices, among which improved support for Zen 5, Diamond Rapids, and early AMD Turin support, and driver updates (Intel, Broadcom, MicroSemi, QLogic...).
• Nested virtualization is back. It's still incomplete, coming with no guarantees, but some of you had come to rely on it nevertheless, and were held back from the lack of support in XCP-ng 8.3.
• XCP-ng no longer crashes when virtualized under VMWare with defaults settings.
• Faster VM startup when using multiple virtual network interfaces (VIFs) or when the database is under heavy load.
• New metrics: IPMI DCMI power metrics
• Latest version of XO Lite

🫂 Prepare to say Goodbye to XCP-ng 8.2

XCP-ng 8.2 was originally scheduled to reach end of life on June 25th, 2025. However, we had committed to providing at least a three-month transition period after XCP-ng 8.3 became an official LTS release. That transition period starts today, which means the new end-of-life date for XCP-ng 8.2 is September 16th, 2025.

After that date, XCP-ng 8.2 will no longer receive security updates or bug fixes.

While our installer includes built-in support for system backups and various upgrade paths are supported, we strongly recommend reading the upgrade guide and reaching out to our support team if you have any questions before upgrading.

👏 A look back at the journey (and kudos)

As a CEO, I always find it valuable to step back and reflect after months of intense work. This new LTS was more than just another milestone: it marked a real step forward for the team. With our rapid growth, we gained the ability to tackle more things in parallel, thanks to having more specialists, better coordination, and a big boost in automated testing. But growing a team isn’t just about numbers, it’s about integration, training, and people stepping up to take on new roles. And we did it!

What really stood out was the way newcomers and long-time team members worked together so effectively, bringing fresh ideas and making them happen. That kind of collaboration doesn’t just happen, it has to be earned, and I’m proud of how naturally it took shape.

Delivering this LTS was no small feat. We had to juggle a lot: onboarding new teammates, integrating upstream updates, porting XOSTOR to 8.3, generating a fully automated upgrade process, and continuing to patch and support previous versions, all at the same time. Our internal test campaign was key, not just for QA but as a way to get everyone involved and familiar with the full platform, beyond just their corner of the codebase.

And of course, there were surprises: like the security issue we uncovered in the Windows paravirtualized drivers. That required tight coordination across teams, especially with the XO team, without losing sight of the LTS objective. Security always comes first, and we managed to handle it without derailing the LTS availability.

In the end, this was a real team achievement for everyone involved in XCP-ng. Massive kudos to the whole crew, whether you’ve just joined or you’ve been with us for years. And a big thank you to our community as well: your testing and feedback made a real difference.

⏭️ What's coming next?

Now that 8.3 has entered LTS, development doesn’t stop: in fact, some of the most requested features, like Qcow2 support (for very large disks) and improved networking, are already on their way and will be added directly into 8.3 without waiting for a major new release. That’s only possible thanks to the great work we've done on QA and CI, which lets us keep the rock-solid stability of 8.2 while still shipping smaller but important improvements.

At the same time, 8.3 also marks the end of the “8” series. The next major version will be XCP-ng 9.0, a significant leap that will provide a fresh base for more ambitious changes. It’s still too early to share a release timeline (we’ve had most of the platform team focused on wrapping up the LTS) but now we can finally dedicate more resources to building the “next next-gen” of XCP-ng!