Mozilla has proposed a new release schedule for Firefox based on concerns from enterprise users. The new Extended Support Release (ESR) is designed to allow organizations more time to certify and test new releases of the browser, as outlined on the MozillaWiki.
Mozilla has been receiving a lot of attention from media lately due to their rapid release schedule of Firefox. Under the current plan, a new version of the browser is launched every six weeks and allows the average user access to the latest features without having to wait for a full-scale update that could take several months to prepare.
Some business professionals wanting to use Mozilla products in the workplace feel this six week window doesn’t provide enough time to evaluate and implement a new browser, nor does Mozilla leave enough time for product support once a new browser is introduced.
Under the ESR, browser releases will be maintained for seven release cycles (42 weeks) with point releases coinciding with regular Firefox releases. Additionally, there will be two cycles (12 weeks) where the next ESR will overlap with the existing one to provide sufficient time for testing and certification among organizations.
Mozilla points out that support for ESR products would be limited to high-risk security vulnerabilities and that products will reach end-of-life status after the regular five release cycles (30 weeks). Regular desktop release cycles will remain unaffected by ESR.
Mozilla expects the new schedule to go into effect starting with Firefox 8 or 9.
