Managing HiveMQ Releases and Support: What You Need to Know

Software is constantly evolving. To maintain system availability and performance, it's important to upgrade at the right cadence and to the most appropriate version. Staying informed about HiveMQ releases and planning maintenance windows accordingly is essential. However, it can be difficult—and sometimes unnecessary or even inadvisable—to always upgrade to the latest version.

An effective way to improve security, performance and reliability of the core HiveMQ MQTT messaging platform is to keep your HiveMQ instances and clusters updated with the current or recent versions. To this end, HiveMQ offers distinct release tracks and clear support policies to help you manage your deployments effectively. For more background on why we introduced flexible upgrades starting with HiveMQ 4.9 LTS, read our blog Introducing Flexible MQTT Platform Upgrades with HiveMQ. This article outlines the most important considerations about HiveMQ releases. With this information, you can better plan your upgrade and maintenance strategies.

In this article, we’ll discuss the two main release offerings—long-term support (LTS) and monthly—as well as the associated considerations around support, maintenance, and upgrades. HiveMQ support and the engineering teams behind support are here to help you get the most out of your investment in HiveMQ’s solutions. Whenever you have questions about HiveMQ products and solutions, reach out to your customer success representative or the HiveMQ support team. 

Why You Should Upgrade Your HiveMQ Deployment

Why Upgrade?

There is an old adage: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. However, when it comes to software, this adage does not always apply. It is valuable to keep current with software updates when you can. 

Upgrading your HiveMQ deployment has distinct, big benefits: newest, fastest versions, latest improvements, latest security patches. Upgrading also comes with things you need to consider—time to plan, test, and perform upgrade, and some system/application risks. Fortunately with HiveMQ, upgrades are flexible, highly reliable, and generally easy to perform. That said, you cannot skip planning and testing. 

Benefits of Keeping HiveMQ and Its Dependencies Updated

The Importance of Keeping Software and Infrastructure Updated

As software ages, bugs and vulnerabilities tend to be found. Software typically doesn’t run in isolation. Additionally, software typically runs on other operating systems and depends on various other pieces of software, libraries, and modules that get updated, changed, and introduce new features. Combined, these changes sometimes “break” existing software.

Regular updates to your HiveMQ Platform software give you:

• Access to New Features and Enhancements: Monthly releases, and eventually LTS versions, incorporate new functionalities, performance improvements, and better integrations (e.g., with platforms like Kafka, databases, and cloud services).

• Enhanced Security: Software updates routinely include patches for security vulnerabilities. Running the latest versions helps protect your MQTT infrastructure from known threats.

• Improved Performance and Stability: HiveMQ continuously works on optimizing the broker's performance and reliability. Upgrades can lead to more efficient resource utilization and a more stable system.

• Full Support: Staying on a supported version ensures you have access to HiveMQ's technical support and can receive assistance, including hotfixes if necessary (typically for customers with professional support).

• Compatibility: As the technological landscape evolves (e.g., new Java versions, security protocols), newer HiveMQ versions ensure compatibility and leverage these advancements. For example, newer versions align with updated TLS protocol defaults for enhanced security.

What Happens When You Run an Outdated Version of HiveMQ?

Like any software, older versions can present challenges. Operating an older version of HiveMQ Platform can lead to several challenges, specifically:

• No More Updates or Fixes: 

  • Once a version is deprecated or reaches its end-of-life, HiveMQ will no longer provide maintenance releases, bug fixes, or security patches for it.

• Security Risks: 

  • Unpatched CVEs and other vulnerabilities in an older version can be exploited, putting your systems and data at risk.

• Operational Issues: 

  • Your operating system or container orchestration system may continue to get patched, updated. 

  • Newer client libraries, operating systems, or integrated systems can introduce potential compatibility problems. 

• Difficulty to Support: 

  • If you encounter issues with an unsupported version, HiveMQ support services may be limited or unavailable, requiring you to upgrade before receiving assistance.

• Missed Innovations: 

  • You won’t get the latest features, performance improvements, and scalability enhancements available in newer releases.

• Complex Upgrades: 

  • The longer you wait to upgrade, the larger the gap becomes between your current version and the latest supported version. 

  • Beyond the 18-month window, the upgrade process can become more complex, potentially requiring multiple steps or significant configuration changes. 

  • You may need to do multi-step upgrades if you wait too long to upgrade. For example, to upgrade from an older Long Term Support (LTS) version, such as 4.9, to a newer version like 4.40 (which is beyond the current 4.28 LTS), you must first upgrade to the intermediate 4.28 LTS. This means you have to upgrade each HiveMQ instance or cluster twice. Not only is this process lengthy, but it may also complicate your overall systems operations during the two-step upgrade process. 

How Often Should You Upgrade HiveMQ?

You should upgrade when you need to—based on needed features, patches, or at a regular cadence. HiveMQ has two (2) tracks: monthly release and long-term support (LTS) release.

• Long-term Support (LTS): We recommend upgrading every 18 months with LTS release.

• Monthly releases: We recommend upgrading at least once per year. Twice per year is better. For certain bug fixes, you may have to upgrade more often.

Monthly releases carry a month-to-month support window with an effective upgradability window of 18 months whereas LTS releases have a 24-month maintenance period. LTS releases have a total 42 months (2 LTS versions * 24 months - 6 overlapping months) supported period for one single LTS version! 

Before we delve into more details around the LTS and monthly release options, let’s take a look at customer support at HiveMQ.

Understanding HiveMQ Support

At HiveMQ, we're committed to helping our customers get the most out of their HiveMQ products, including the HiveMQ MQTT Broker, HiveMQ Edge, HiveMQ Data Hub, and HiveMQ Enterprise Extensions. Our Support team provides valuable services like troubleshooting, triage, and expert advice and guidance. Know that the Support team is here to help you every step of the way. We'll assist with questions, debugging, troubleshooting, and configuring your HiveMQ Broker and related software to ensure it runs optimally.

To make the most of these discussions, let’s first clarify exactly what we mean by each of the common terms related to releases and upgrades. For the most part, these are familiar terms widely used within the software industry, yet it’s important to understand them in the HiveMQ context and to know the distinction between support and maintenance.

Key Definitions: HiveMQ Support, Maintenance, and Enhancements

To understand HiveMQ release and support policies, here are key term definitions: 

• Enhancements – is the release of new functionality in software. 

• Maintenance – is the release of functionality patches, hot-fixes, security patches, and other changes to software related to a specific version of the HiveMQ software. 

• Maintenance Window – the period of time HiveMQ software will receive updates, patches, fixes, and/or other enhancements. 

• Supported – when your HiveMQ product version is Supported, it means our engineers deliver patches and security updates for the specific version. 

• End of Support (EOS) – when your HiveMQ product version reaches End of Support (EOS), our ability to provide assistance becomes very limited. We strongly encourage you to upgrade to the latest supported version. This helps ensure you're running the most stable software and can often automatically resolve issues you might be experiencing.  

Note: It is important to know that any fixes for issues will only be available in newer, supported releases. 

• Support Window – the Support Window refers to the entire period during which a specific software version is supported, starting from its release date and ending when it reaches End of Support.

HiveMQ Support Timeframes and Windows

Support for HiveMQ versions is tied to their release track:

• LTS Releases: Typically, there is an overlap period when a new LTS version is released, during which the previous LTS version continues to be supported. For example, HiveMQ announced that with the release of HiveMQ 4.33, maintenance for the previous LTS version 4.9 (released in September 2022) would sunset. Customers are generally notified by Customer Success teams about the deprecation timeline for an LTS version. A common overlap is around six months.

• Monthly Feature Releases: These releases have a shorter support window. When a bug or fix is discovered in a monthly release, that fix is issued in the next monthly release. For example, a bug discovered in 4.40.0 would be fixed in the next monthly release, say 4.41.0. Since each monthly release is compatible with the next 18 monthly releases, this effectively provides an 18-month window to upgrade to a newer monthly release or transition to the next LTS version.

Version Information

HiveMQ uses semantic versioning. The format of version numbers is:

major.minor.patch

So, breaking that down, in the recent version of HiveMQ 4.28.14, 4 is the major version; 28 is the minor version, and 14 is the patch number.

HiveMQ Release Tracks: Long-Term Support vs. Monthly Feature Releases

As mentioned above, HiveMQ provides two main release tracks with associated cadences to meet different operational needs:

• Long-Term Support (LTS) Releases: These versions are offered approximately every 18 months. LTS releases focus on stability and are supported for an extended period, making them suitable for production environments where minimizing change is a priority. Each LTS version receives maintenance releases (patch versions) throughout its lifecycle.

• Monthly Feature Releases: For users who want access to the newest features and improvements more rapidly, HiveMQ issues monthly releases. These releases incorporate a mix of major and minor new functionalities alongside bug fixes. Each monthly release is compatible with the next 18 monthly releases, which includes compatibility with the subsequent LTS release.

Comparing HiveMQ Release Tracks

Note: * - 4.47.x LTS is not yet released. It is expected to release in December 2025 in the 18-month cadence of LTS releases. 

Current and Upcoming HiveMQ Release Plans 

You can find the current LTS and Monthly releases on the support portal. The next version of HiveMQ Long-Term-Support (LTS) is anticipated to be released in November 2025. Please read this article for further details on LTS releases and how upgrades work between current and future LTS releases. 

When to Use LTS Versus Monthly Feature Releases?

The following table summarizes the main considerations when choosing between LTS and monthly releases. 

Summary

At HiveMQ, we understand that you have specific needs around your technical features and how frequently you update your HiveMQ Platform software. Accordingly, we offer you flexibility in the form of monthly releases or long-term releases. Within any 18-month window you can flexibly move from LTS release to a monthly feature release if you need to make use of specific, new features. Or, you can move from a monthly feature release up to the next Long-Term Support. 

Whichever track you choose, it is important for you to consider your specific needs and ability to upgrade. In this way, you can develop a strategy and plan to keep your HiveMQ software updated for the best performance, reliability, security, and feature set. If you’re an active customer, reach out to your Customer Success TAM or CSM to learn more. If you’re new to HiveMQ, please contact us for more information and a technical discussion. 

Resources

1. HiveMQ Upgrade Guides

2. HiveMQ Support

3. HiveMQ Moves to a New Release Cadence

4. Introducing Flexible MQTT Platform Upgrades with HiveMQ

5. HiveMQ Customer Support Portal