FreeBSD/i386 demoted to Tier 2 for FreeBSD 13.x
28 January, 2021 by jhb@FreeBSD.org | freebsd
FreeBSD is designating i386 as a Tier 2 architecture starting with FreeBSD 13.0. The Project will continue to provide release images, binary updates, and pre-built packages for the 13.x branch. However, i386-specific issues (including SAs) may not be addressed in 13.x. The i386 platform will remain Tier 1 on FreeBSD 11.x and 12.x. More background: The i386 (32-bit x86) architecture has been a substantial part of the FreeBSD Project’s history and success. FreeBSD began with i386 as the only supported architecture, and the ease of availability of i386 computers was key to FreeBSD’s growth and adoption. However, the computer industry and the x86 architecture have evolved over time. For at least the past decade, 64-bit x86 has been the dominant FreeBSD architecture both in terms of users and active development. The FreeBSD/i386 user base has steadily declined and is now on par with other Tier 2 architectures. As a result, the i386 architecture will be demoted to a Tier 2 architecture starting with FreeBSD 13.0. Due to i386’s history as a Tier 1 architecture and it’s existing install base, the Project will continue to provide a high level of support for i386 in FreeBSD 13.x. This will give existing i386 users extra time to migrate to a fully-supported architecture for future FreeBSD releases. For FreeBSD 13.x, the FreeBSD project commits to providing release images, binary updates, and pre-built packages for i386. The FreeBSD Release Engineering and Security Teams will continue to build, test, and distribute EN and SA artifacts for i386 alongside all other supported platforms. However, EN and SA issues that are specific to i386, or that require unique development for i386, may not be addressed. The userland ABI will continue to be preserved in 13.x similar to other Tier 1 platforms. For branches beyond 13.x (e.g. 14.x), the FreeBSD Project reserves the right to reduce the amount of support provided. We anticipate that i386 will receive reduced support inline with existing Tier 2 platforms for 14.x, and will announce the level of support i386 will receive in 14.x as we are closer to the 14.0 release date. Due to the prevalence of existing i386 binaries, we also anticipate that we will avoid breaking the userland ABI in future branches. Specifically, we expect that time_t will remain 32 bits on i386. Support for i386 on currently-supported FreeBSD branches (11.x and 12.x) will continue at their current Tier 1 level for the duration of their support lifetime. On behalf of the FreeBSD core, port manager, release engineering, and security teams, -- John Baldwin _______________________________________________ freebsd-announce@freebsd.org mailing list https://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-announce To unsubscribe, send any mail to "freebsd-announce-unsubscribe@freebsd.org"