MariaDB shortens maintenance period from 5 to 3 years
Thu, 2026-06-11 09:34 —
Shinguz
Somehow this news slipped past me: MariaDB has shortened the support period for the long-term releases of the MariaDB Community Server from 5 to 3 years. OK, I guess that’s not really surprising — I’ve been offline for a good month…
MariaDB Server LTS Release Support Periods
| Release | GA date | EoL date | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12.3 | 28 May 2026 | Jun 2029 | 3 years |
| 11.8 | 4 Jun 2025 | 4 Jun 2028 | 3 years |
| 11.4 | 29 May 2024 | 29 May 2029 | 5 years |
| 10.11 | 16 Feb 2023 | 16 Feb 2028 | 5 years |
| 10.6 | 6 Jul 2021 | 6 Jul 2026 | 5 years |
| 10.5 | 24 Jun 2020 | 24 Jun 2025 | 5 years |
| 10.4 | 18 Jun 2019 | 18 Jun 2024 | 5 years |
| 10.3 | 25 May 2018 | 25 May 2023 | 5 years |
| 10.2 | 23 May 2017 | 23 May 2022 | 5 years |
| 10.1 | 17 Oct 2015 | 17 Oct 2020 | 5 years |
| 10.0 | 31 Mar 2014 | 31 Mar 2019 | 5 years |
Source: MariaDB Server long-term release maintenance periods
I am curious to see how all the distributions will handle this. They have significantly longer support periods, after all.
And what about the competitors — the other databases?
Debian
Debian Long Term Support (LTS) is a project to extend the lifetime of all Debian stable releases to (at least) 5 years.
Source: Debian Long Term Support
| Version | Name | Release | ext-LTS | EoL | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 13 | trixie | 2025-08-09 | 2030-07-01 | 2035-06-30 | 5 / 10 years |
| Debian 12 | bookworm | 2023-06-10 | 2028-07-01 | 2033-06-30 | 5 / 10 years |
| Debian 11 | bullseye | 2021-08-14 | 2026-09-01 | 2031-06-30 | 5 / 10 years |
| Debian 10 | buster | 2019-06-06 | 2024-07-01 | 2029-06-30 | 5 / 10 years |
| Debian 9 | stretch | 2017-06-17 | 2022-07-01 | 2027-06-30 | 5 / 10 years |
| Debian 8 | jessie | 2015-04-26 | 2020-07-01 | 2025-06-30 | 5 / 10 years |
| Debian 7 | wheezy | 2013-05-04 | 2018-06-01 | 2020-06-30 | 5 / 7 years |
Source: Extended Long Term Support
Ubuntu
| Version | Name | Release | End of Support | EoL | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | Resolute Raccoon | 23. April 2026 | May 2031 | April 2041 | 5 / 15 years |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | Noble Numbat | 25. April 2024 | June 2029 | April 2039 | 5 / 15 years |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | Jammy Jellyfish | 21. April 2022 | June 2027 | April 2037 | 5 / 15 years |
| Ubuntu 20.04 LTS | Focal Fossa | 23. April 2020 | May 2025 | April 2035 | 5 / 15 years |
| Ubuntu 18.04 LTS | Bionic Beaver | 26. April 2018 | June 2023 | April 2033 | 5 / 15 years |
| Ubuntu 16.04 LTS | Xenial Xerus | 21. April 2016 | April 2021 | April 2031 | 5 / 15 years |
| Ubuntu 14.04 LTS | Trusty Tahr | 17. April 2014 | April 2019 | April 2029 | 5 / 15 years |
Source: List of releases
Rocky Linux
| Release | Codename | Release Date | Active Support End | End of Life | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rocky Linux 10 | Red Quartz | June 11, 2025 | May 31, 2030 | May 31, 2035 | 5 / 10 years |
| Rocky Linux 9 | Blue Onyx | July 14, 2022 | May 31, 2027 | May 31, 2032 | 5 / 10 years |
| Rocky Linux 8 | Green Obsidian | May 1, 2021 | May 31, 2024 | May 31, 2029 | 3 / 8 years |
Source: Rocky Linux Release and Version Guide
Oracle / MySQL Releases
| Release | GA Date | Premier Support End | Extended Support End | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MySQL 9.7 | Apr 2026 | Apr 2031 | Apr 2034 | 5 / 8 years |
| MySQL 8.4 | Apr 2024 | Apr 2029 | Apr 2032 | 5 / 8 years |
| MySQL 8.0 | Apr 2018 | Apr 2025 | Apr 2026 | 7 years / 8 years |
| MySQL 5.7 | Oct 2015 | Oct 2020 | Oct 2023 | 5 years / 8 years |
| MySQL 5.6 | Feb 2013 | Feb 2018 | Feb 2021 | 5 years / 8 years |
| MySQL 5.5 | Dec 2010 | Dec 2015 | Dec 2018 | 5 years / 8 years |
| MySQL 5.1 | Dec 2008 | Dec 2013 | Not Available | 5 years |
| MySQL 5.0 | Oct 2005 | Dec 2011 | Not Available | 6 years |
Source: Oracle Lifetime Support Policy
Percona
Percona Distribution for PostgreSQL (PDPG) und Percona Server for MySQL (PS): At least 5 years, if I am interpreting the support matrix correctly…
Source: Percona Release Lifecycle Overview
OurSQL / VillageSQL
No finished software is available yet, and thus no support policies, as far as I know. Is that even planned at all?
Source: OurSQL und VillageSQL
PostgreSQL
| Version | First Release | Final Release | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | September 25, 2025 | November 14, 2030 | 5 years |
| 17 | September 26, 2024 | November 8, 2029 | 5 years |
| 16 | September 14, 2023 | November 9, 2028 | 5 years |
| 15 | October 13, 2022 | November 11, 2027 | 5 years |
| 14 | September 30, 2021 | November 12, 2026 | 5 years |
| 13 | September 24, 2020 | November 13, 2025 | 5 years |
| 12 | October 3, 2019 | November 21, 2024 | 5 years |
| 11 | October 18, 2018 | November 9, 2023 | 5 years |
| 10 | October 5, 2017 | November 10, 2022 | 5 years |
Source: Versioning Policy
Further sources
- MariaDB 10.6 Changes & Improvements
MariaDB 10.6 is a long-term maintenance stable version. The first stable release was in July 2021, and it will be maintained until July 2026. - MariaDB 10.11 Changes & Improvements
MariaDB 10.11 is a long-term maintenance release series, maintained until February 2028. - MariaDB 11.4 Changes & Improvements
MariaDB 11.4 is a current long-term series, maintained until May 2029. - MariaDB 11.8 Changes & Improvements
MariaDB 11.8 is a long-term release, maintained until June 2028. - MariaDB 12.3 Changes & Improvements
MariaDB 12.3 is a long term release, maintained until June 2029.
Comments
It seems the decision was made as early as June last year
As the screenshot from GitHub shows, it appears this decision was made as early as June 2026: