Choosing the Right Release Branch

NVIDIA AI Enterprise offers four release branch types to support different use cases, industry requirements, and application lifecycles. This guide helps you select the appropriate branch for your needs.

How NVIDIA AI Enterprise Selects Upstream Software

NVIDIA AI Enterprise curates software from upstream open-source projects (such as PyTorch, RAPIDS, and TensorRT) and NVIDIA products. Not every upstream release is included in every branch type — NVIDIA selects versions based on the branch’s support commitments:

• Production Branch (PB) and Long-Term Support Branch (LTSB) include only upstream releases built from long-lived or LTS upstream branches. These are branches that upstream maintainers actively backport security patches and critical fixes to for an extended period. This ensures NVIDIA can deliver monthly (PB) or quarterly (LTSB) security updates for the full 9-month or 3-year support window.

• Feature Branch (FB) picks up the latest upstream releases, including those from short-lived development branches. This provides the newest features and optimizations, but the upstream branch may not receive backported fixes — which is why FB support is limited to one month before the next release supersedes it.

Important

Because PB and LTSB require long-lived upstream branches, the version numbers in a PB or LTSB release may not be the absolute latest available. They are the versions that can be maintained and patched for the full support lifecycle. If you need the latest version of a specific component, use the Feature Branch.

Quick Decision Guide

Use this flowchart to quickly determine which release branch is right for you:

Do you need the latest features and optimizations?

→ Yes: Use Feature Branch (FB)

Is your application mission-critical and requires API stability?

→ Yes: Continue to next question → No: Use Feature Branch (FB)

Do you work in a highly regulated industry requiring extended support?

→ Yes: Use Long-Term Support Branch (LTSB) → No: Use Production Branch (PB)

Are you deploying infrastructure components (GPU drivers, operators)?

→ Yes: Use Infrastructure Branch

Comparison of Branch Release Types

The following table compares support duration, update frequency, release cadence, and key characteristics across NVIDIA AI Enterprise branch types and the lifecycle models:

Table 1 Comparison of Branch Release Types and Lifecycle Models

	NVIDIA AI Enterprise Feature Branch (FB)	NVIDIA AI Enterprise Production Branch (PB)	NVIDIA AI Enterprise Long-Term Support Branch (LTSB)	NVIDIA AI Enterprise Infrastructure Branch
Lifecycle model	Branch-based	Branch-based	Branch-based	Branch-based
Platform layer	Application Layer	Application Layer	Application Layer	Infrastructure Layer
Target use case	Development, testing, proof-of-concept, research	Production deployments, mission-critical applications	Highly regulated industries (healthcare, finance, government)	GPU drivers, Kubernetes operators, container runtime
Length of support	1 month [1]	9 months	3 years	1 year — can be designated as an LTSB Infrastructure Release, which is supported for 3 years
Major release cadence [2]	Every month	Every 6 months	Every 2.5 years (timed to coincide with new hardware architecture)	Every 6 months
Security update cadence	Included in next monthly release	Monthly security patches	Quarterly security patches	Minor releases every 3 months
API stability	APIs may change between releases	APIs stable for the 9-month support window	APIs stable for the 3-year support window	Driver ABI stable within a branch
LTSB available	N/A — FB is a separate branch type	N/A — PB is a separate branch type	Yes	Yes — LTSB Infrastructure releases supported for 3 years
Free access (Developer Program)	No — NVIDIA AI Enterprise license required	No — NVIDIA AI Enterprise license required	No — NVIDIA AI Enterprise license required	No — NVIDIA AI Enterprise license required
Enterprise support	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Government Ready containers	No	Yes (x86, STIG + FIPS)	Yes	No

Footnotes

[1]

Most FB is supported for one month but can follow a different release, depending on the software product.

[2]

General guidance only. The actual release cadence can change at NVIDIA’s discretion.

Branch Type Recommendations by Use Case

Table 2 Branch Type Recommendations

	Feature Branch (FB)	Production Branch (PB)	Long-Term Support Branch (LTSB)	Infrastructure Branch
Focus	Latest Innovation	Balanced Stability	Extended Stability	Platform Foundation
Best for	Development and testing Proof-of-concept projects Research and experimentation Newest features Frequent update cycles	Production deployments Mission-critical applications API stability required Quarterly update windows Standard enterprise environments	Highly regulated industries Multi-year certification cycles Strict change control Extended support required Annual or less frequent updates	GPU driver deployments Kubernetes orchestration Container runtime management vGPU environments Base infrastructure components
Not recommended for	Production requiring long-term stability Regulated industries with strict change control Extended certification processes	Regulated industries requiring 3-year support Organizations unable to update within 9 months Environments requiring absolute latest features	Development environments Applications requiring frequent feature updates Non-regulated production environments	AI frameworks and applications (use FB, PB, or LTSB) Software development (use appropriate software branch)
Support duration	1 month (most products)	9 months	3 years	1 year (3 years for LTSB Infrastructure releases)
Update frequency	Monthly releases	Every 6 months; monthly security updates	Every 30 months; quarterly security updates	Major every 6 months; minor every 3 months

Industry-Specific Recommendations

Table 3 Branch Recommendations by Industry

Industry	Recommended Branch	Reasoning	Alternative
Healthcare and Life Sciences	LTSB	FDA approval and certification processes can take years. LTSB provides the 3-year stability needed for regulatory compliance and long certification cycles.	PB for faster approval cycles
Financial Services	LTSB or PB	Financial institutions require stability and security but may have faster update cycles than healthcare. LTSB for core trading systems, PB for risk analytics and fraud detection.
Government and Defense	LTSB with Government Ready containers	Government applications require FedRAMP compliance, STIG hardening, and FIPS 140-3 cryptography. LTSB provides extended support for long approval cycles.
Retail and E-Commerce	PB or FB	Retail applications benefit from newer features (recommendation engines, computer vision) but require production stability. PB for customer-facing systems, FB for internal analytics.
Manufacturing and Automotive	LTSB or PB	Manufacturing equipment and automotive systems have long lifecycles and safety certifications. LTSB for embedded systems, PB for quality control and predictive maintenance.

Migration Strategies

Table 4 Moving Between Branches

Migration Path	Scenario	When to Migrate
FB → PB	Organizations often start with FB for development, then migrate to PB for production.	Application reaches production readiness API stability is required Extended support is needed
PB → LTSB	Consider migrating when regulatory or certification demands exceed the PB support window.	Regulatory requirements change Certification cycles extend beyond 9 months Change management becomes more restrictive
LTSB → PB	Migrate when constraints loosen and faster innovation becomes the priority.	Regulatory requirements relax Faster innovation is prioritized Update cycles shorten

Once you’ve selected a branch, use the following guidance to stay current with updates and security patches within that branch.

Table 5 Staying Current Within a Branch

Branch	Update Guidance
Feature Branch (FB)	Update monthly to receive latest features and security patches
Production Branch (PB)	Apply monthly security updates; plan for major updates every 6 months
Long-Term Support Branch (LTSB)	Apply quarterly security updates; evaluate new LTSB every 30 months
Infrastructure Branch	Apply minor releases every 3 months; major releases every 6 months

Support and Security Considerations

NVIDIA periodically releases security updates to address software vulnerabilities discovered in NVIDIA AI Enterprise release branches. All branches receive security updates for high and critical vulnerabilities. Plan migrations before branches reach end-of-life.

Table 6 Security Updates and End of Life by Branch

Branch	Security Update Cadence	End of Life Timeline
Feature Branch (FB)	Included in next monthly release	1 month (next release supersedes current)
Production Branch (PB)	Monthly security updates during 9-month support period	9 months from first release to EOL
Long-Term Support Branch (LTSB)	Quarterly security updates during 3-year support period	3 years from first release to EOL
Infrastructure Branch	Regular updates during 1-year support period (3 years for LTSB Infra)	1 year from first release to EOL (3 years for LTSB Infra)

For PB and LTSB releases of some components that depend on open-source software, NVIDIA analyzes how known vulnerabilities in this open-source software might affect the container images for these components. The analysis can be accessed through the NGC Container Scanning UI and is downloadable as a Vulnerability Exploitability eXchange (VEX) file in CyclonDX format.

For current EOL notices, refer to End of Life Notices.