Release 11.6.0-rc2

Preparation

• Create preparation MRs for this version and add the links below:

  # In the release-tools project:
  bundle exec rake "patch_merge_request[11.6.0-rc2]"

  • CE: https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-ce/merge_requests/23550
  • EE: https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-ee/merge_requests/8697

• Cherry-pick changes into preparation MRs following their instructions

• Ensure the CE preparation MR has been fully merged into the EE counterpart

• Merge the preparation branches

• For omnibus-gitlab cherry-pick remaining merge requests directly into CE stable branch. Then, merge the CE Omnibus stable branch into EE.

• Check the following list of critical issues/MRs which are to be included in 11.6.0-rc2. Ensure each has made both CE and EE:

  • REFERENCE_TO_MR_TO_PICK

• Ensure builds are green on Omnibus CE stable branch and Omnibus EE stable branch

Packaging

• Sync stable branches for CE, EE, and Omnibus to dev

• Check for any problematic migrations in EE, and paste the diff in a snippet: git diff -M --diff-filter=RA v<PREVIOUS_TAG>-ee..11-6-stable-ee -- db/migrate db/post_migrate ee/db/migrate ee/db/post_migrate =>

• Tag the 11.6.0-rc2 version using the release command:

  # In Slack:
  /chatops run tag 11.6.0-rc2

• Check progress of EE packages build and CE packages build

  • This might take a while (around 80 min).
  • We only need the EE packages to finish to continue with next steps.

Deploy

Deploys to production require confirmation from a production team member before proceeding. Use !oncall prod in the #production channel to find who's on call and ping someone. Deploys to staging or canary can be done at will, just mention it in the #production channel.

• Warm up the packages on takeoff by running:

  # In Slack:
  /chatops run deploy 11.6.0-rc2.ee.0 --warmup

staging.gitlab.com

• Notify #production that you're about to deploy on staging

• On video call, deploy 11.6.0-rc2 to staging.gitlab.com

  # In Slack:
  /chatops run deploy 11.6.0-rc2.ee.0

• Comment with the output of the migrations from the takeoff script in this issue

• Link to deployment job (even failed attempts) => https://ops.gitlab.net/gitlab-org/takeoff/-/jobs/60641

QA

• Create a "QA Task" issue using the ChatOps command:

  # In Slack, replacing LAST_DEPLOYED_VERSION with the appropriate value:
  /chatops run qa_issue vLAST_DEPLOYED_VERSION..v11.6.0-rc2

• Wait for the QA Task deadline to pass

canary VMs on gitlab.com

• Notify #production that you're about to deploy on canary

• On video call, deploy 11.6.0-rc2 to the canary VMs on gitlab.com

  # In Slack:
  /chatops run deploy 11.6.0-rc2.ee.0 --production --canary

• Link to deployment job (even failed attempts) => https://ops.gitlab.net/gitlab-org/takeoff/-/jobs/60685

• Confirm that there are no errors on canary

  • canary errors on sentry.gitlab.net
  • canary dashboard

gitlab.com (production)

• Get confirmation from a production team member to deploy production. If someone besides the oncall confirms, @mention the oncall so they are aware.

• Confirm there are no critical alerts on gitlab.com on the alerting dashboard

• On video call, deploy 11.6.0-rc2 to GitLab.com

  # In Slack:
  /chatops run deploy 11.6.0-rc2.ee.0 --production

• Link to deployment job (even failed attempts) =>

Release

• Publish the packages via ChatOps:

  # In Slack:
  /chatops run publish 11.6.0-rc2

• Verify that packages appear on packages.gitlab.com

• Verify that Docker images appear on hub.docker.com: EE / CE

• Post a tweet about the 11.6.0-rc2 release in the #releases channel:

  !tweet "GitLab 11.6.0-rc2 is available: https://packages.gitlab.com/gitlab/unstable
  This is a release candidate, we'll release 11.6 on the 22nd of this month."