Java support going forward

[bpavlov]

Oracle is now making major releases every six months. The current version (Java 10) is considered a short-term release whereas the next version release (Java 11) in September 2018 will be a long-term release. Long term releases get 3 year support (maybe longer) according to Oracle. The reason I bring this up is because I'm wondering what Jamf is going to support going forward and what their recommendations are going to be.

[bpavlov]

Just a small bump to see if someone from Jamf can respond.

[karld305]

+1

[howie_isaacks]

I want to know how Jamf will respond too.

[bpavlov]

There's another component that maybe my original post doesn't touch on and perhaps that's why this hasn't had as much activity. Apparently in this move to faster and newer updates, Oracle will also stop publishing public updates to Java for commercial use once its support cycle has ended. Short Term Support releases lose support six months after its released while Long Term Support gets 3 years of support. For example, Java 8 will stop getting updates in Sept 2018 while Java 9 (released in Oct 2017 I believe) has stopped getting updates as of March 2018 since that was a short term release that was superseded by Java 10. However in Sept 2018, Java 11 will presumably be made available (Java 10 will lose support) and that will be the next long-term support release which will have public updates for 3 years.

But if you buy support, you can possibly continue to get critical updates to Java 8 or Java 11 beyond their support cycle dates. Basically Oracle is encouraging their customers to be on the latest version of Java. Obviously this isn't realistic in all scenarios which is why the LTS releases exist. But what it does mean is that Jamf really needs to be clear about what versions of Java they will want us running Jamf Pro on.

Anyways, hopefully this clears up why this is important as September 2018 will come and by that point Java 8 won't be supported anymore which means I hope that Jamf is at least engaging Oracle and beta testing Java 11 (assuming they have beta releases for developers to test against). Some clarity would be appreciated on this.

[bpavlov]

Another bump. Anyone at Jamf have anything to say on this?

[ryan_yohnk]

Our current plan is to support Java 11 shortly after it's released. We’re still working through the details on how we can best support customers running the LTS version as well as ones who would like to be running the most recent release. So stay tuned for details on that. But at a minimum our intent would be to support the most recent LTS version.

[bpavlov]

@ryan.yohnk Thanks for confirming. I think that seems like quite a sensible support plan. Honestly, we'd personally just be most concerned with just getting a version of Java that's getting at least the latest security updates. In our environment we wouldn't necessarily care about STS releases, but I appreciate that other environments might. Either way thanks for the confirmation.

[H3144-IT]

ORACLE NOW REQUIRES A SUBSCRIPTION TO USE JAVA SE

[H3144-IT]

Oracle Java SE Subscription FAQ

[taugust04]

Just wanted to bump this (again). I could be misinterpreting what I'm reading, but it looks like there's been another change to Oracle's Java support policy (in late June). Am I misunderstanding the situation, or will no downloads or support be available for the JDK after Java 10 goes EOL in September?

http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/eol-135779.html

It looks like there are no longer any plans to release a Java 11 JDK for free download? This seems to have implications for both our JSS servers, and to a lesser degree, how we support end users with Java on their systems. Oracle seems to have made things rather confusing with their classifications of Java users and how they will receive support going forward.

Is there a possibility that JAMF will begin bundling the version of Java they want us to use with the JSS installer, instead of it being a manual install like it currently is?

~Ted

[georgecm12]

Just wanted to bump this (again). I could be misinterpreting what I'm reading, but it looks like there's been another change to Oracle's Java support policy (in late June). Am I misunderstanding the situation, or will no downloads or support be available for the JDK after Java 10 goes EOL in September?

Well, they reference the "OpenJDK" being available, but note that it won't have "commercial support or enterprise management tools." For many Jamf Pro users neither would be particularly relevant, since they'd be seeking support from Jamf, not Oracle. However, I imagine larger clients with more complex server infrastructures would want to ensure they have support available from both Jamf and Oracle.

It'd be nice to have a further update from Jamf on this issue.

[taugust04]

Bump. Will JAMF be supporting OpenJDK 11 for running the JSS, or providing the Oracle JDK 11 embedded in the application installs? Or both? Or none of the above? T-minus 2 months until the end of JDK 8 support for customers that aren't paying Oracle...

[H3144-IT]

http://docs.jamf.com/10.9.0/jamf-pro/release-notes/What's_Changed.html

[...]
Upcoming Support for Java 11
An upcoming release of Jamf Pro will provide support for Java 11. OpenJDK will also be supported and become the recommended Java version.
[...]

So Oracle has released JDK 11.0.2 on January 15th 2019 - let's hope that JAMF 11.0 is not going to take long...

[H3144-IT]

Wouldn't it be nice to get JDK Support via JAMF if you are on a JAMFnow PLUS Plan for a slightly higher Fee OR for an Add-on Fee?

While for JAMFpro Users there should be a similar Option?

[msg4karth]

our organization have stated a project to replace all licensed Oracle Java with any of the open source JAVA tools.
Do JAMF provide the license adoption going forward or will have replacement solutions?