Does BeeGFS support newer client than server versions?

[Steve Eppert]

Hey

I'm currently reviewing the BeeGFS 8 documentation and noticed a hint that BeeGFS 8 may be more robust when running mixed versions across management/meta/storage/client components.

Due to our security policy we need to update the BeeGFS clients more frequently than the servers. This could lead to a situation where the beegfs-client is newer than the BeeGFS server components, which are updated less often. (we have to update the beegfs-client to be compatible with the latest distribution kernel)

Does BeeGFS 8 officially support this kind of version skew - i.e running a newer 8.x client while the servers are still on an older 8.x release?

If mixed versions are supported, are there any constraints (for example: must beegfs-mgmtd always be at least the same version as the newest client)?

Thanks!

S

[Joe McCormick]

Hi Steve,

The official policy is documented at https://doc.beegfs.io/latest/release_notes.html#version-interoperability (which may be the hint you are referring to). But in short, yes, because BeeGFS 8 more strictly adheres to semantic versioning, you can now use newer BeeGFS 8.x clients with older 8.x servers. Scenarios where the client needs to be upgraded more frequently than servers was a big reason for this shift (i.e., to support new kernels, security requirements, etc.)

The only general constraint is if you want to use new functionality introduced in a specific minor version, all involved components must be running at least that version. For example if you want to use background data rebalancing introduced in 8.2, your BeeGFS CTL tool, metadata, and storage services would all need to be on 8.2. If there are any other constraints or known compatibility issues upgrading to a specific version, those will be documented in the release notes: https://doc.beegfs.io/latest/release_notes.html#known-issues-and-limitations. 

Hope that helps!

~Joe

[Steve Eppert]

That perfectly answers my questions and convinces me even more to upgrade to version 8.

Thanks!

S