Akamai occasionally releases updates to secure and upgrade ETP Client. These updates include:

Software upgrades. Offers new ETP Client features or enhancements. For more information, see Software upgrades.
Security patches. Addresses security vulnerabilities and resolves major issues in ETP Client. Usually, a patch is available in response to an operating system upgrade that occurred on the system where ETP Client is installed. For more information, see Security patches.

Depending on the options you choose in SIA, you can apply these updates automatically or allow end users to apply the updates.

Software upgrades

A software upgrade includes major or minor updates to ETP Client. A major upgrade contains significant changes to ETP Client, such as new features, enhancements, or changes to the architecture. A minor update includes some changes to ETP Client, but it does not introduce new features or significantly alter existing ETP Client behavior.

A major software upgrade to the desktop client is usually released in SIA with a beta tag to indicate that it's still in beta. This allows administrators to test the new version of the client and review it before it's generally available for deployment across an enterprise.

To learn how a major or minor update is specified in the ETP Client version number, see ETP Client version number convention.

After downloading and testing a new version of the desktop client and approving it, an SIA administrator can choose from an option that forces an upgrade on end-user machines or an On Demand option that allows end users to select whether they want to immediately install the upgrade or be reminded at a later time. This setting applies to all future upgrades. After the desktop client is deployed on end-user machines, future software upgrades occur automatically based on administrator approval and the selected upgrade settings in SIA.

An SIA administrator can also view the status of an upgrade or ETP Client version. You can download a CSV report with detailed information to determine which clients failed to upgrade and why. For more information, see Download ETP Client CSV report.

Security patches

SIA may need to upgrade ETP Client with a new patch to fix a security vulnerability, support an operating system update, or fix major ETP Client issues. In the Configuration Settings for ETP Client, you can choose to enable the Automatic Upgrade for Critical Patches option to automatically apply security patches to desktop clients across your network. If you choose to disable this setting, an SIA administrator can instead download, test, and approve the patch like any other software upgrade.

After you approve the client, you can then choose to force an upgrade or select an On Demand option. The On Demand option allows end users to install the update within 1, 3, or 7 days. .

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Akamai recommends that you select the option to automatically upgrade ETP Client with critical patches.