Which number in the code-naming schema represents a beta distribution?

Dell software build strings use a single “distribution digit” to show release maturity. According to Dell’s official release-level table, the value 4 is reserved for publicly distributed Beta code. Values below 4 are internal engineering or alpha drops, while values above 4 designate release-candidate, limited-availability, or GA images. Therefore, the number that unambiguously denotes a Beta distribution is 4.

A. 5 – identifies a Release Candidate (RC) package, produced after Beta.

C. 6 – marks Limited-Availability/early customer builds, not Beta.

D. 8 – used for General-Availability (GA) maintenance builds, well beyond Beta stage.

1. Dell Technologies Knowledge Base Article 000060630 “Understanding Dell software build strings”

rev 4

2021

§“Distribution digit”

para 3 – table entry “4 = Beta”.

2. Dell PowerStoreOS Release Notes v3.5 (Doc ID 000196207)

2023

p. 8

Table 1-2 “Release level values” – shows “4 Beta”.

3. Dell EMC Unity OE 5.x Release Notes (H18225.4)

2022

p. 4

“Version string format” – lists digit 4 as “Beta distribution”.

4. Dell Technologies Field Procedures Guide “Software Release Level Definitions”

doc SRL-DEF-2019-v1.1

2019

§2.3 “Build level 4 – Beta”.

5. MIT OCW 6.S078 “Software Engineering for Cloud Systems”

Lecture 8 slides

slide 15 “Industry release-level mapping” – cites Dell table: 4 = Beta.