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Geode cuts support branches for new minor releases on a time-based schedule (Monday on or after Feb 1, May 1, Aug 1, Nov 1).  About a week before, send a [DISCUSS] email to dev@geode.apache.org informing developers that a new support branch is about to be created.  Remind the community that only critical fixes will be allowed once the support branch is created, so it is helpful to have develop as stable as possible before branching.

Confirm that the Geode LICENSE and NOTICE files accurately reflect what is on develop (ask for help on the dev list if you are not sure how to confirm this).

Note: patch release(s) are made only by proposal on the dev list (not on a time-based schedule), from existing support branch(es).

Review LICENSE and NOTICE files

Confirm that the Geode LICENSE and NOTICE files on develop are accurate (ask for help on the dev list if needed).  This is best done before cutting the branch, otherwise be sure to backport any changes to the support branch as well.

1. use dev-tools/release/license_review.sh -v HEAD -p 1.12.0 (replace 1.12.0 with the version of the previous release) to check the LICENSE files for missing dependencies or outdated versions and compare dependencies against a previous release.  If any dependencies were removed, manually check for stale references in LICENSE or NOTICE files that can be removed.  If new dependencies were added that have Apache 2.0 License, add them to the license_review script 's isApache2 function.

Branching for release

Create the support branches (minor only)

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