RFC: OpenSearch Dashboards Backporting Policy Updates for 3.0 Transition

[ananzh]

Overview

With OpenSearch/OpenSearch-Dashboards 3.0 on the horizon and no planned 2.20 release, we need to update our backporting strategy for OpenSearch Dashboards to ensure efficient maintenance of existing versions while preparing for the 3.0 release.

Background

• OpenSearch 2.19 is the last planned release in the 2.x series
• OpenSearch 3.0 development is actively underway

Proposed Changes

1. Version Tag Management

• Remove all v2.20 tags from existing PRs

2. Backporting Policy

• Restrict backports to 2.19 branch for:
  • Critical bug fixes
  • Security patches (CVEs)
  • CI changes (cypress tests) to allow bug fixes pass 2.19 CI
• Direct all new feature development and improvements to the main branch (3.0)

3. PR Management

• Close existing backport PRs that were targeted for 2.20
• Update labeling system to clearly identify 2.19-targeted backports

Impact

This change will:

• Reduce maintainer overhead
• Focus development efforts on OpenSearch 3.0
• Ensure continued stability of 2.19 through targeted critical fixes
• Streamline the PR review process

Discussion Points

1. Should we maintain the 2.x branch long-term, or should it be deprecated/deleted similar to how 1.x was handled?
2. Are there any specific criteria we should establish for what constitutes a "critical" bug fix?

Timeline

• RFC Open for Comments: 1 week

Please share your thoughts and concerns on this proposal. We want to ensure this change serves the needs of both maintainers and the broader OpenSearch community.

[ruanyl]

@ananzh I'm aligned with your proposal :)

1. Should we maintain the 2.x branch long-term, or should it be deprecated/deleted similar to how 1.x was handled?

My understanding is once we switched to the new branch model, opensearch release(opensearch-build) will no longer track 2.x, then 2.x branch has no difference than a regular feature branch. For 2.19 patches, it should go directly to 2.19 branch, it seems unnecessary to maintain 2.x branch.

[kavilla]

+1 I think we have removed the 1.x branch completely similarly.

[kavilla]

Should we remove #9328?