Purpose
This article explains how Riva delivers software updates using release channels and canary release practices, and how customers should interpret related maintenance notifications. It defines the environments involved and explains what to expect in terms of testing, impact, and timing.
This information applies to Riva Sync, Riva Web, and Riva Insight, with notes where release models differ between services.
Summary
Riva uses a canary release model to deliver updates safely and incrementally
Release channels define where a customer sits within that rollout
All release channels operate within production infrastructure
Pre-release channels are not sandbox environments
Maintenance notifications reference release channels to clearly identify impact
This approach ensures clarity, sets appropriate expectations, and aligns communication across both shared and dedicated tenants.
Key Concepts and Definitions
All customer-facing Riva services operate within production infrastructure.
Production is not a single, static state. Instead, it supports multiple release channels, which allow Riva to introduce changes in a controlled and incremental manner.
Important clarification:
A workload can be production and still be on a pre-release channel
Production does not automatically mean “latest stable release”
Canary Release Model and Release Channels
Canary Release Model
Riva follows a canary release model, meaning updates are rolled out gradually rather than deployed to all customers at once.
A typical canary release follows this pattern:
Initial rollout to a limited subset of customers
Progressive expansion over time
Final promotion to all customers
This approach allows Riva to:
Detect issues early
Reduce overall risk and impact
Validate changes under real production usage
As a result, earlier stages of a release may still serve active customer workloads.
Release Channels
To support the canary release model, Riva uses release channels.
A release channel represents the maturity level of a software version within the production environment and determines when customers receive updates.
Common release channel concepts include:
Release Candidate – Early production rollout used for early access customer acceptance of new features and enhancements.
Pre-Release – Near-final version preparing for broad adoption
Release – Fully released and widely available
Different Riva services apply these concepts using different mechanisms.
For Riva Sync, release channels are implemented using staged release pods. The mapping below illustrates the typical progression:
Release Candidate: z-pods
Early production rollout used for initial validationPre-release: y-pods
Near-final version undergoing broader production validationRelease: x and main pods
Fully released and generally available versions
For Riva Web and Riva Insight, release channels are implemented using Preview and Live environments rather than pod-based staging. The mapping below illustrates the typical progression:
Pre-Release: Preview (Insight)/Beta (Web)
Early production rollout used for validation and customer testingRelease: Live
Fully released and generally available version
As with Riva Sync, these environments operate within production infrastructure and may support active customer workloads.
Regardless of naming or implementation, the intent is consistent. Each release channel represents a step in the progression toward full production release.
Customer UAT in Riva
Customer UAT (User Acceptance Testing) takes place within Riva’s production environment.
When a customer wants to test a new release, their designated UAT account remains fully operational and can be moved to an upcoming release channel. This allows customers to validate new functionality ahead of broader release while continuing normal operations.
UAT environments are managed with the same operational standards, monitoring, and reliability expectations as other production environments.
How Maintenance Notifications Should Be Interpreted
Maintenance notifications may reference a specific release channel rather than a generic environment name.
For example:
“Maintenance on the Pre-Release channel”
“Upgrade of the Release Candidate channel”
This means:
The software version associated with that release channel is being updated
Customers assigned to that channel may experience brief service impact
Customers on later channels will receive the update at a later stage
Using release-channel terminology allows Riva to clearly communicate what is changing, who is affected, and when.
How to Identify or Change Your Release Channel
Riva Sync
To identify your current release channel for Riva Sync:
Log in to Riva Cloud.
In the left-hand navigation, select My Account → Account Summary.
In the top-right corner, locate Data Residency Region / Configuration Pod.
You can reference the Release Channels section of this article to determine which release channel corresponds to your configuration pod.
Riva Insight
To identify your current release channel for Riva Insight:
Open Riva Insight.
Select the menu (hamburger) icon in the top-right corner.
Choose About Riva Insight.
The dialog displays:
The current URL path (
/previewor/live), which indicates your release channelThe current application version
Changing Your Release Channel
If you would like to confirm or request a change to your release channel, please contact Riva Technical Support or your Account Manager. Availability may vary by product and configuration.
How Riva Validates Releases
Riva performs validation and testing across multiple stages before a release reaches customer-facing release channels, including:
Internal testing environments used for development and quality assurance
Pre-production validation performed by Riva engineering and operations teams
Gradual rollout through early release channels using the canary release model
Additional Information
- For detailed release process and timelines for our shared tenants, please see the Riva Release Process for Shared Tenants.
- For detailed release process and timelines for our dedicated tenants, please see the Riva Release & Maintenance Process for Dedicated Tenants.