Best HDP version to upgrade

[#1]

We are Currently having HDP version 2.5.3. We have 2.6.0, 2.6.1 and 2.6.2 in front of us. Which is the best version to upgrade?

The following points are important to us:

1. Configuration and Data should be unchanged to a large extent

2. New version must be less buggy. We had a tough time with Zeppelin on 2.5.3.

Looking out for some experience from people who already done it.

[#2]

Latest update release on any HDP release will buy you the most mileage, so HDP 2.6.2 would be your best bet. Data would not be changed, however metadata potentially might get impacted as it gets upgraded. As with any HDP upgrade you should backup your metadata. Also look at the HDP-2.6.2 release notes for more details on the changes.