There are two predominant models for software updates: the package management approach, which resolves new sets of compatible software to install together and respects dependency declarations, and the "update channel" approach, where an installed software component subscribes itself to updates via a stream of external metadata (i.e. Google Chrome's update model).

The Operator Lifecycle Manager for Kubernetes combines both approaches: software packagers can provide valid update graphs for their components in addition to dependency information, and the on-line solver considers both when selecting and installing packages.