- Release Notes
Automation Cloud Dedicated release notes
Release notes for the current year are available by selecting a month in the table of contents on the left.
Each page lists the changes made in Automation CloudTM Dedicated during the month: new features, bug fixes, and more.
This page explains how updates are delivered, controlled, and communicated across environments in Automation Cloud Dedicated, using a deployment model based on rings.
Release overview
Automation Cloud Dedicated releases happen every two weeks. Each sprint delivers a payload that includes: new features and enhancements, security patches, infrastructure, configuration updates, and bug fixes.
All updates follow a ring-based rollout strategy governed by a service deployment plan.
Rollout schedule and environments
The deployment lifecycle of Automation Cloud Dedicated involves the following components:
- Release cadence – Releases follow a once every two weeks schedule. Each sprint includes cumulative updates, such as new features, improvements, security patches, and bug fixes.
- Ring-based rollout – The releases
progress through multiple environments in sequence, with Sandbox being the first
environment. The following environments depend on you preferred schedule and
deployment architecture.
The Sandbox environment is a shared instance that you can use for validating updates in advance. This is when release notes are published.
Note: The rollout flow excludes blackout windows and freeze periods.
Types of releases
- Standard release: Regular deployment of product, infrastructure, and configuration updates every two weeks.
- Hotfix releases: Emergency fix for security vulnerabilities or high-impact bugs.
Hotfixes and emergency releases
For high-priority fixes, the deployment lifecycle follows these exceptions:
- Releases are fast tracked across all rings.
- Ring delays, maintenance windows, and blackout windows may be bypassed based on urgency.
Upgrade controls
Automation Cloud Dedicated provides flexibility over when updates are deployed. You can configure your production environment using the following upgrade control types:
- Delayed release: Postpone updates for up to 30 days.
- Blackout window: Prevent deployments during a fixed period.
The rules of a blackout period are the following:
- Can last a maximum of 30 consecutive days.
- Must be followed by a 10-day open period before another blackout can be applied.
- Must be submitted at least five business days in advance.
- Cannot block deployments schedules within the next 48 hours.
For example, you can extend a blackout window that ends in less than two days, but you can adjust a blackout window that ends in more than five days.
- Maintenance window: Ensure
upgrades occur outside of business hours.
The maintenance window is typically scheduled between 3PM and 9PM EST.
A 6-hour continuous window is recommended for upgrades across all production environments.
Communications and user responsibility
To ensure you are aware of how releases are rolling out to your Automation Cloud Dedicated organization, you must check the following resources:
- Release notes: Published on the same day the Sandbox environment is upgraded.
- Status page notifications: Used for any downtime, with at least seven days notice.
As an Automation Cloud Dedicated user, you are expected to do the following:
- Regularly check the release notes and status page updates.
- Review the release notes once published.
- Validate the changes in Sandbox and any other approved environments.
- Open a support ticket to pause the production release if you discover regressions or performance issues.
Rollout example
For example, if a sprint release is deployed to Sandbox on July 7, and the production delay is 30 days, the timeline would be as follows:
- Sandbox upgrade performed on July 7.
- Release notes published on July 7.
- Production upgrade performed on August 9.
