The 2016.11 release is currently in final preparation and is targeted at Debian 9 Stretch. We've tried to get the documentation and support up to a point where users of Stretch have a usable platform before later upgrading via stretch-backports.
I expect to get 2016.11 into jessie-backports about 5 days after that release.
A few reminders on how the Debian release process (which starts in January 2017) will affect things, most of which are the same as during the jessie release process. More details will be given on this list as the Debian release process continues.
0: New lava-server and lava-dispatcher uploads to Debian won't migrate into Stretch once the freeze starts. This means that these will not be available in jessie-backports either as the presence of the same version of the package in Stretch is required for an upload to jessie-backports. I expect to get 2016.11 and 2016.12 into jessie-backports.
1: Once Stretch is released, stretch-backports will be opened and uploads to jessie-backports can resume. Debian makes the release when the release is ready, so there are only estimates of when Stretch will actually be released. The key information is that the freeze to prepare the release starts in January 2017.
2: I expect to keep jessie-backports updated at least for the first few releases. This list will carry more information about when there may have to be changes in this area. Essentially it depends on movement within Debian after the Stretch release.
3: During this period, uploads will remain available on images.validation.linaro.org built for jessie - lava-dispatcher will only be available for amd64 from those repositories. If you are using armhf or arm64 for the dispatcher, please let us know. Use the production-repo to get updates of lava-server and lava-dispatcher during the Stretch release process until jessie-backports is open again.
4: At some point after the release, the production-repo will start to be built on and for Stretch. stretch-backports and jessie-backports will need to be open before this change is made. More details of that will appear on this list before it happens.
5: Once Stretch becomes Debian stable, Jessie becomes Debian oldstable. Debian testing gains a new name: Buster. Get used to the names.
6: It is worth checking *now* that all your apt sources on all your machines (including VMs) specify jessie and not stable. Otherwise, as soon as you do an apt upgrade after the Stretch release, your machine will start the upgrade from jessie to stretch. Make sure you are ready for that upgrade and that it doesn't happen until you are ready for it. Also check the images you use in test jobs and the build tools you use to prepare those images.
7: We have been building images based on Stretch ahead of the release for test jobs using QEMU and similar. We have also updated the documentation in the next release to use stretch images.
8: At some point after the Stretch release, there will come a point where support for jessie is dropped and uploads to jessie-backports will cease. The upgrade to stretch will be required at some point to continue getting updates to LAVA. Prepare for it ahead of time and everything will go more smoothly. Further details of the timing will be announced on this list.
9: The LAVA software team have been testing with stretch for some time and will continue to do so. We do not expect any issues with LAVA packages when upgrading from jessie to stretch. Nonetheless, all admins are recommended to prepare for the new Debian release and to perform the upgrade under their own control. Make sure your other services will work after those machines upgrade to Debian 9 Stretch.
More information: https://release.debian.org/stretch/freeze_policy.html