Support Policy
Following are the Volt Active Data Support Definitions, Responsibilities, Response Expectations, current Software Releases with EOL dates as of April 1st 2022 and Release Version Definitions.
In addition, we also have the following associated resources available to all customers:
Definitions
Volt Active Data (Volt): Volt Active Data or Volt name change as of February 2022. Previously known as VoltDB.
Initial Response: Non-automated contact through email or phone from Volt Support in response to an issue raised by our customer.
Relief: Any reasonable work-around, correction, improvement, extension or other change recommendation made by Volt in response to a specifically reported problem that allows Volt product to run without affecting business operations. At this point, Volt reserves the right to downgrade the severity level with agreement from the customer.
Resolution: If the resolution is corrected with an update release, the release will go through testing and quality process at Volt prior to being released to our customers. This allows the correction to be included in subsequent releases. If resolution is a result of a configuration change, this will be documented in the ticket and if applicable, a knowledge base article will be produced.
LTS (Long-Term Support): Version of software that is available to customers for three years to allow them to plan and schedule upgrades.
EOL (End-of-Life): Software is considered end-of-life when there are no further product update releases after the given EOL date. EOL date is set at time of initial release.
Major Release: A major release contains significant new functionality and fixes and may require adjustment to applications, deployments, and scripts in order to upgrade. It may also include removal of previously deprecated features.
Minor Release: A minor release contains some new features and fixes while maintaining backward compatibility within that major release. A minor release may announce the deprecation of features.
Update release: An update release contains improvements to features and fixes and will maintain backward compatibility.
LTS release: For each major release, the last minor release is identified as a long-term supported version.
Technical Support Tier Definitions and Responsibilities
The following table defines the tiers of technical support followed by Volt Active Data Support and our customer.
Support Levels
Tier 1 Support (Customer)
Description
- Monitoring of Volt product
- Identify an issue; determine the severity (business impact) and gather information on the issue
- Validate the details against the knowledge base and documented faults
- Perform simple troubleshooting & remedial actions
- Determine if further information and evidence are required and communication of request for same
- Design and implementation of Workaround if available
- Contact Volt for assistance if actions taken were not successful or if there are questions as a result
Tier 2 Support (Volt)
- Advanced troubleshooting recommendations
- Advanced workaround design
- Highly specialized technical skills from a specific core product group or professional services implementations group to assist in the resolution of issues owned by Volt
- Specialized troubleshooting recommendations
- Development of Resolution Update release
- Management of Problem to Resolution
*Includes Non-Severity 1 Enterprise Lab Program Support
Response Expectations
| Severity | Description | Response | Relief | Resolution |
| Critical Severity 1 | Production environment utilizing Volt product is severely impacted, unavailable or stopped. Workaround was not successful. Examples:System hang or crashData loss or data corruptionCritical functionality not availableComplete system outageCustomer resources must be available in Severity Level 1 situations and reasonably cooperate with Volt to resolve the issue. | 1 hour | 4 hours | 30 calendar days |
| Major Severity 2 | Production environment utilizing Volt product is operating in a partial state; potential to become full outage is imminent; degraded performance; loss of k-safety. Examples:Loss of node in a clusterProduct error or failure forcing a restart or recoveryFunctionality unavailable but the system is able to operate in a restricted fashion | 2 hours | 2 business days | 45 days or Next Release |
| Minor Severity 3 | Minor functions/features are easily avoided or a workaround exists while the product is still stable. examples:Unexpected / unusual error messagesIncorrect product behavior with minor impact; addressable with work aroundInitial installation or development milestones at risk | 1 business hour | 7 business days | Scheduled release |
| Low Severity 4 | No impact to Volt product in production environment Examples:General requests for advice on product usageClarification on product documentation or release notesQuestions on product functionality or configuration during implementationProduct enhancement request | 10 business days | N/A | N/A |
Product Release Versions
| Volt Release Type | Example | Description |
| Major Release | V9 | A major release contains significant new functionality and fixes which may require adjustment to customer applications, deployments and scripts in order to upgrade. A major release may also include removal of previously deprecated features. |
| Minor Release | V9.2 | A minor release contains some new features and fixes while maintaining backwards compatibility within that major version A minor release may announce the deprecation of features. |
| LTS Release | V9.3 | For each major release, the last minor release is identified as a long-term supported (LTS) release meaning it will remain for three years. |
| Update Release | V9.3.6 | An update release contains improvements to features and fixes and will maintain backwards compatibility. |
End-of-Life Policy
Volt Active Data Long Term Support (LTS) releases are available once a year and are supported for three (3) years. All non-LTS releases are supported for one year.
Customers deploying on a non-LTS release should plan on upgrading to an LTS release for that version when it becomes available.
The LTS program is designed to provide a longer term to allow for planning and choice when deploying or scheduling upgrades. Customers should upgrade before their version reaches End-of-Life (EOL).
The following table shows planned releases as of this revision. Future major releases, minor releases, and LTS releases will follow the same pattern.
| Volt Version | Release Date | EOL for Fixes |
| V11.4 LTS | July 2022 | July 2025 |
| v11 | August 2021 | August 2022 |
| v10.2 LTS | May 2021 | May 2024 |
| v10 | August 2020 | August 2021 |
| v9.3 LTS | May 2020 | May 2023 |
| v9 | April 2019 | April 2020 |
Customers who continue running Volt Active Data software past EOL for fixes will still receive technical support however at best effort levels. Any defects that require an update release would only be corrected in an update to a currently-supported LTS release and the customer will need to upgrade to apply the correction.