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Lifecycle for operating systems and add-ons

Lifecycle for operating systems and add-ons

In the lifecycle of a product, end of support (EOS) is the last date that IBM Cloud® delivers standard support for a version or release of a product. The end of support date is aligned to the vendor and community support dates. The EOS date is also the effective date that the product ceases to exist (is deprecated) and can no longer be ordered or purchased. See the following sections for operating system and add-on EOS dates for the Classic infrastructure.

Boot disk sizes vary by operating system: Linux OS supports 25 GB and 100 GB. Windows supports only 100 GB.

Operating system lifecycles

Ciena vRouter (Vyatta)

Ciena vRouter is updated regularly with the previous release deprecating when a new version is released. For more information, see About the VRA.

Table 1. Lifecycle for vRouter operating systems
Operating system End of support
2208 (available only on bare metal servers) 18 February 2025
2204 (available only on bare metal servers) 04 April 2025
2110 (available only on bare metal servers) 19 April 2024
2012 (available only on bare metal servers) 14 June 2024
1912 (available only on bare metal servers) 31 December 2022
1908 (available only on bare metal servers) 31 December 2022

CentOS

The following table describes the end of support date for CentOS operating systems. This guest OS is a free operating system. For more information, see CentOS Linux.

Table 2. Lifecycle for CentOS operating systems
Operating system End of support
Stream 9 End of RHEL 9 full support phase.
Stream 8 (available only on bare metal servers) 31 May 2024
CentOS 8.x 31 December 2021
CentOS 7.9 30 June 2024
CentOS 6 30 November 2020

CentOS 8 doesn't support "Add on" software configurations. CentOS 8 also doesn't support the Provision script and User data selections for server configuration options. If you're migrating from a server that has "Add on" software configurations, you can choose to migrate to an earlier version.

Citrix XenServer

The following table describes the end of support date for Citrix XenServer operating systems. This guest OS is a free operating system. For more information, see Citrix product matrix.

Table 3. Lifecycle for Citrix XenServer operating systems
Operating system End of support
8.2 LTSR (available only on bare metal servers) 30 June 2025

Debian

The following table describes the end of support date for Debian operating systems. This guest OS is a free operating system. For more information, see Debian community.

Table 4. Lifecycle for Debian operating systems
Operating system End of support
Debian 12 30 June 2028
Debian 11 30 June 2026
Debian 10 30 June 2024
Debian 9 30 June 2022

Debian 10 doesn't support "Add on" software configurations. Debian 10 also doesn't support the Provision script and User data selections for server configuration options. If you're migrating from a server that has "Add on" software configurations, you can choose to migrate to an earlier version.

OSNEXUS (QuantaStor)

The following table describes the end of support date for OSNEXUS QuantaStor operating systems. For more information, see OSNEXUS product notifications.

Table 5. Lifecycle for OSNEXUS QuantaStor operating systems
Operating system End of support
6.2 (available only on bare metal servers) 30 April 2025
5.x (available only on bare metal servers) 30 April 2023

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)

The following table describes the end of support date for RHEL operating systems. This guest OS is a paid operating system. For more information, see Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

Table 6. Lifecycle for RHEL operating systems
Operating system End of support
RHEL 9.2 31 May 2025
RHEL 9.0 31 May 2024
RHEL 8.8 31 May 2025
RHEL 8.6 31 May 2024
RHEL 8.4 31 May 2023
RHEL 8.3 30 April 2021
RHEL 8.2 30 April 2022
RHEL 8.1 30 November 2021
RHEL 7.9 30 June 2024
RHEL 6 30 November 2020

RHEL 8 and 9 don't support "Add on" software configurations. RHEL 8 and 9 also don't support the Provision script and User data selections for server configuration options. If you're migrating from a server that has "Add on" software configurations, you can choose to migrate to an earlier version.

Rocky Linux

Rocky Linux is updated regularly, with the previous release deprecating when a new version is released. This guest OS is a free operating system. For more information, see Rocky Linux.

Table 7. Lifecycle for Rocky Linux operating systems
Operating system End of support
Rocky Linux 8.x 31 May 2029
Rocky Linux 9.x 31 May 2032

Ubuntu LTS

The following table describes the end of support date for Ubuntu LTS operating systems. This guest OS is a free operating system. For more information, see Ubuntu.

Table 8. Lifecycle for Ubuntu LTS operating systems
Operating system End of support
Ubuntu 22.04 minimal 30 April 2027
Ubuntu 20.04 minimal 30 April 2025
Ubuntu 18.04 minimal 31 May 2023
Ubuntu 16.04 minimal 01 April 2021

VMware

The following table describes the end of support date for VMware operating systems. This guest OS is a free operating system. For more information, see VMware lifecycle matrix.

Table 9. Lifecycle for VMware operating systems
Operating system End of support
7 all versions (available only on bare metal servers) 02 April 2025
6.7 all versions (available only on bare metal servers) 15 October 2022
6.5 all versions (available only on bare metal servers) 15 October 2022

Windows Server

The following table describes the end of support date for Windows Server operating systems. This guest OS is a paid operating system. For more information, see Microsoft Windows Server.

Table 10. Lifecycle for Windows Server operating systems
Operating system End of support
Windows Server 2022 14 October 2031
Windows Server 2019 core 09 January 2029
Windows Server 2019 full standard 09 January 2029
Windows Server 2016 core 11 January 2027
Windows Server 2016 full standard 11 January 2027
Windows Server 2012 full standard 10 October 2023
Windows Server 2012 R2 full standard 10 October 2023

Add-on software and hypervisor lifecycles

The following table describes the end of support date for product add-ons and hypervisors.

Table 11. Lifecycle for add-ons
Add-on or hypervisor End of support
Citrix Hypervisor 8.x 25 June 2030
Citrix XenServer 7.x 15 August 2022
cPanel 11.x No EOS date announced
Microsoft SQL Server 2022 11 January 2033
Microsoft SQL Server 2019 8 January 2030
Microsoft SQL Server 2017 12 October 2027
Microsoft SQL Server 2014 9 July 2024
Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Web 12 July 2022
Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Standard 12 July 2022
Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Enterprise 12 July 2022
MongoDB Community Edition 1.0 20 November 2023
MySQL 5.7 on IBM Cloud Bare Metal 20 November 2023
Plesk Obsidian (Windows, Linux) No EOS date announced
R1Soft Server Backup Manager 6.x Enterprise No EOS date announced
Veeam Backup (Windows) 12.x 28 February 2026
Veeam Backup (Windows) 11.x 29 February 2024
Veeam Backup (Windows) 9.x 31 January 2022

End of Support (EOS) announcements

End of Support (EOS) is the last date that IBM Cloud® delivers standard support for a version or release of a product. The end of support date is aligned to the vendor and community support dates. The EOS date is also the effective date that the product ceases to exist (is deprecated) and can no longer be ordered or purchased.

MongoDB Community Edition 1.0 EOS

MongoDB Community Edition 1.0 is a free software that is available as an add-on to IBM Bare Metal Servers. Support for this software discontinues on 20 November 2023.

This deprecation has no impact on IBM Cloud Databases for MongoDB.

Review the following details for this deprecation:

  • After 20 November 2023, MongoDB Community Edition 1.0 is no longer supported. Which includes updates, bug fixes, and technical support for the product. After deprecation, clients can't download the software.
  • If you are using MongoDB Community Edition 1.0, the software will continue to run after the EOS date. However, after this date, IBM will not provide support, including bug fixes or security updates.
  • If you don't upgrade to the latest version, you do so at your own risk. The lack of support and updates can expose your systems and apps to security vulnerabilities and compatibility issues. See the following details about upgrading to the latest version.

For existing customers, upgrade to the latest version.

  • To continue using MongoDB on IBM Cloud Bare Metal Servers, it is recommended that you upgrade to the latest supported version of MongoDB. By doing so, you can take advantage of new features, performance improvements, and security patches.
  • To upgrade to the latest version of MongoDB, you can use either the open source version of MongoDB or bring your licensed copies to IBM Cloud Bare Metal servers. Alternatively, you can choose to migrate your databases to the IBM Cloud Databases for MongoDB service. By using IBM Cloud Databases, you can make sure that your database service remains supported and secure.
  • For more information, see the following resources:
  • IBM partners can provide migration support to help you smoothly transition to the latest version of MongoDB. However, this migration support does come with a cost.

MySQL 5.7 on IBM Cloud Bare Metal EOS

MySQL 5.7 on IBM Bare Metal Classic is free software available as an add-on to IBM Bare Metal Servers. Support for this software discontinues on 20 November 2023. The service will be removed from the IBM Cloud catalog on 21 September 2023.

This deprecation has no impact on IBM Cloud Databases for MySQL.

Review the following details for this deprecation.

  • After 20 November 2023, MySQL 5.7 on IBM Bare Metal Servers is no longer supported. Which includes updates, bug fixes, and technical support for the product. After this date, clients can't download the software.
  • If you are using MySQL 5.7, the software will continue to run after the end-of-support date. However, after this date, IBM will not provide support, including bug fixes or security updates.
  • If you don't upgrade to the latest version of MySQL and continue using MySQL 5.7, you do so at your own risk. The lack of support and updates can expose your systems and apps to security vulnerabilities and compatibility issues. See the following details about upgrading to the latest version.

For existing customers, upgrade to the latest version.

  • To continue using MySQL, it is recommended that you upgrade to the latest supported version of MySQL, Version 8.0. By doing so, you can take advantage of new features, performance improvements, and security patches.
  • To upgrade to the latest version of MySQL, you can use either the open source version of MySQL or bring your licensed copies to IBM Cloud Bare Metal. Alternatively, you can choose to migrate your databases to the IBM Cloud Databases for MySQL service. By using IBM Cloud Databases, you can make sure that your database service remains supported and secure.
  • For more information, see the following resources:
  • IBM partners can provide migration support to help you smoothly transition to the latest version of MySQL. However, this migration support does come with a cost.

Microsoft SQL Server 2014 EOS

Microsoft SQL Server 2014 is a database software that is available as an add-on to IBM Bare Metal Servers. Support for this software ends on 9 July 2024. Which includes updates, bug fixes, and technical support for the product. After this date, clients can't download the software.

Review the following details for this deprecation:

  • If you are using MS SQL Server 2014, the software will continue to run after the EOS date. However, after this date, IBM will not provide support, including bug fixes or security updates.
  • If you don't upgrade to the latest version of Microsoft SQL Server 2022, the lack of support and updates can expose your systems and apps to security vulnerabilities and compatibility issues.

For existing customers, upgrade to the latest version.

  • To continue using MS SQL Server on IBM Cloud Bare Metal and VSI Servers, it is recommended that you upgrade to the latest supported version of MS SQL Server 2022. By doing so, you can take advantage of new features, performance improvements, and security patches.
  • IBM partners can provide migration support to help you smoothly transition to the latest version of Microsoft SQL Server 2014. However, this migration support does come with a cost.