Release Stages

Understand how a VeloDB Cloud feature is released, so you can decide whether it fits your use case.

VeloDB Cloud rolls out features in stages before they become generally available. Each stage carries different commitments for who can use the feature, how stable its interfaces are, how complete its documentation is, and what support it receives.

Stages at a glance

VeloDB Cloud uses three release stages:

Private Preview  →  Public Preview  →  GA

The stages differ across several dimensions. The table below summarizes the key differences.

Stage	Who can use it	Default state	API stability	Documentation	Production use	Support
Private Preview	By request only; contact VeloDB to enable it for your account	Off; request access to turn on	Not stable; interfaces can change	Brief guide; may lack complete public docs	Not recommended	Earliest stage; direct, best-effort support from the engineering team
Public Preview	All customers, enabled in one of two ways: Open (self-serve, the default) or On Request (contact your account team)	Open or On Request, depending on the feature	Stable	Full official docs, with known limitations noted	Evaluate against your own scenario	Standard support, at lower priority than GA
GA	All customers	On by default	Stable	Full official docs	Yes; treated as production-ready	Standard support priority

What each dimension means:

• Default state is whether the feature is visible and usable in the console by default, and how you turn it on.
• Production use is whether the feature is intended for production workloads. Only GA features are production-ready; treat any production use of a preview feature as your own evaluation.
• Support is the level and priority of help you receive. Preview features are handled at lower priority than GA.

Private Preview

Private Preview serves a small set of seed customers who validate core functionality in real scenarios and provide feedback.

• Who can use it: Off by default. VeloDB enables it for a specific account by invitation or request.
• Stability: Early stage. Interfaces can change often, and known defects may exist.
• Production use: No. Do not use it for production workloads or production data.
• Support: The engineering team works with you directly on a best-effort basis. Handled at the lowest priority.
• Documentation: May be limited to a brief guide for seed customers, without complete public documentation.

To request a Private Preview feature, contact your VeloDB account team.

Public Preview

Public Preview is open to all customers for at-scale validation and performance testing. It is the last stage before GA.

• Who can use it: Open to all customers, enabled in one of two ways. Most features are self-serve in the console. A few features that are capacity-constrained or need a controlled rollout pace are On Request: contact your account team to enable them. As a feature matures, it usually moves from On Request to self-serve.
• API stability: The public API, SQL syntax, and configuration options are stable, with no breaking changes when the feature reaches GA. If a change is unavoidable, VeloDB notifies affected users in advance through a formal process.
• Production use: This stage is mainly for evaluation and testing. Availability and edge-case handling may not yet be complete. Decide whether to use it in production based on your own scenario.
• Security: A security review is completed before a feature enters this stage. Features that touch the data plane undergo penetration testing.
• Support: Standard technical support, at lower priority than GA features.
• Documentation: Full official documentation, with known limitations noted.

VeloDB separates rollout control from the release stage. A single Public Preview feature can start as On Request to reach a small audience, then switch to Open for everyone as confidence grows, without adding a new release stage. This is why two features both labeled "Public Preview" can differ: one requires a request, the other works out of the box. The common path is On Request, then Open, then GA.

GA

GA (general availability) means a feature is fully ready and offered to all customers.

• Who can use it: Available to all customers by default.
• Production use: Yes. The feature is treated as production-ready.
• API stability: Interfaces are stable and follow version-compatibility commitments.
• Support: Standard technical support priority.

To reach GA, a feature must meet every Public Preview requirement and also pass availability, disaster-recovery, and monitoring-readiness reviews, with billing and quotas finalized.

Stages, support, and production readiness

A feature's release stage determines the support priority it receives and whether it is intended for production:

• Only GA features are production-ready and receive standard support priority. Preview features are not intended for production workloads.
• Preview features (Private Preview and Public Preview) are handled at lower support priority. Issues with these features are not treated as production-incident response.
• When troubleshooting, VeloDB may ask you to disable a related preview feature first.

Full support-response terms are defined in the VeloDB Cloud support policy.

FAQ

Can I use a preview feature in production?

Preview stages (Private Preview, Public Preview) are mainly for evaluation and testing, and they are not production-ready. Only GA features are treated as production-ready. Whether to use a preview feature in production is your decision, based on your own scenario.

Will my integration break when a Public Preview feature reaches GA?

No. Interfaces stay stable from Public Preview onward, with no breaking changes at GA.

How do I request a Private Preview feature?

Contact your VeloDB account team to request access.