Refining the Release Strategy of a Custom Linux Distro

As with many stages of the software development lifecycle, the release process needs to be constantly improved, iteration by iteration. This way, the software product gets delivered faster and more reliably to customers. This paper focuses on different techniques that have shortened the release cycle of the Kuiper Linux distribution. The new release process involves creating a stabilization branch from main which is dedicated to the new release. Previously, the software components were built and installed during the image creation. Now they are released independently as Debian packages which are uploaded on Analog Devices' Linux Package Repository. This is an easy, user-friendly method that facilitates the distribution and installation of ADI software packages. Each software component has its own release cycle so that one component's bugs won't affect the other components' release. The software components are tested both separately and integrated into the Kuiper image. The latter required creating a Kuiper Docker image. This ensures that each software component is compatible with the target system as early as possible in the development process.