Update: This product bulletin describes the support timeline for Cisco IOS® XE releases up to and including Cisco IOS XE Software Release 3.9S. Starting with Cisco IOS XE Software Release 3.10S, Cisco IOS XE releases will follow a new support timeline for both standard and extended releases.
Revised: December, 2012
Introduction
This product bulletin describes the support timeline and end-of-life guidelines for Cisco IOS® XE Software on the Cisco® ASR 1000 Series Aggregation Services Router.
The Cisco IOS XE Software releases are time-based, each with a fixed release date, as opposed to a variable release date. Consequently, these end-of-sale and end-of-life guidelines of the Cisco IOS XE Software differ from the guidelines of other traditional Cisco IOS Software releases. This product bulletin outlines these differences and describes the standard end-of-sale and end-of-life milestones.
Cisco IOS XE Software Release
The architecture of the Cisco ASR 1000 Series Aggregation Services Router is designed with In-Service Software Upgrade (ISSU) capabilities. End users can usually perform hitless software upgrades while the system is in service.
The Cisco IOS XE Software releases are time-based, each with a fixed release date, as opposed to feature-based releases, with a variable release date. The schedule specifies three individual software releases at 4-month intervals within a 12-month cycle.
Cisco IOS XE Software Support
Each Cisco IOS XE Software release is classified as either a Standard-Support or Extended-Support release. A Standard-Support release has a sustaining support lifetime of 1 year from first customer shipment (FCS) with two scheduled rebuilds. These rebuilds are typically released at an 8-week and a 10-week interval after FCS of the affected Cisco IOS XE Software release.
The Extended-Support release provides a sustaining support lifetime of 2 years from FCS with four scheduled rebuilds. The first two of these rebuilds are released at an 8-week and a 10-week interval after FCS of the subject Cisco IOS XE Software release, whereas the second two rebuilds are released at 16-week intervals thereafter.
Cisco makes no commitment to introduce software fixes to the affected Cisco IOS XE Software release after the final planned rebuild release.
Software problems found after the final rebuild release will be fixed in subsequent major Cisco IOS XE Software releases until the end-of-software maintenance support milestone. An exception may arise to address mission-critical, high-severity software fixes and security vulnerabilities, possibly resulting in an additional rebuild release after the final scheduled rebuild date (but before the end-of-software maintenance support milestone) on an as-needed basis at the discretion of Cisco. No software fixes will be introduced to the affected Cisco IOS XE Software release after the end-of-software maintenance milestone.
After the end-of-software maintenance milestone, the Cisco Technical Assistance Center (TAC) will provide customer support on the affected Cisco IOS XE Software release within the guidelines set by existing Cisco end-of-life policies at the end-of-software maintenance milestone.
Cisco IOS XE Software Release Schedule
Cisco IOS XE Software Releases 2.1 through 2.3 are Standard-Support releases. Release 2.4 is the first Extended-Support release. After Release 2.4, every third Cisco IOS XE Software release will be an Extended-Support release. Table 1 defines the support models used by each of the Cisco IOS XE Software releases.
The Cisco IOS XE Software end-of-sale and end-of-life guidelines have preset time intervals for each of the end-of-life milestones. These time intervals are based on the support model of the affected Cisco IOS XE Software version. Table 2 summarizes the end-of-sale and end-of-life milestones for Cisco IOS XE Software releases. The timing denoted in Table 2 is applicable to all releases up to Cisco IOS XE Software Release 3.9S with the exception of Cisco IOS XE Software Releases 3.4S and 3.7S.
Table 2. Cisco IOS XE Software End-of-Sale and End-of-Life Milestones by Release
Milestone
Definition
Timing (Except for Cisco IOS XE Software Releases 3.4S and 3.7S)
FCS
The date at which the affected Cisco IOS XE Software release is made available to Cisco customers.
The last date that Cisco Engineering may release a software maintenance release in an affected Cisco IOS XE Software release. After this date, maintenance rebuilds and software-fix support will be provided only through subsequent major Cisco IOS XE Software releases until the end-of-software engineering maintenance support date of the affected release.
Eighteen weeks after FCS for Standard-Support releases.
Fifty weeks after FCS for Extended-Support releases.
End-of-vulnerability and security support date
The last date that Cisco Engineering may release a planned maintenance release or scheduled software remedy for a security vulnerability concern.
One year after FCS for Standard-Support releases.
Two years after FCS for Extended-Support releases.
Last date of support
The last date to receive service and support for the product. After this date, all support services for the product are unavailable, and the product becomes obsolete.
Five years after End-of-Sale date for either Standard-Support or Extended-Support releases.
1An additional rebuild release may be released after the final rebuild date to address mission-critical, high-severity software fixes and security vulnerabilities (before the end-of-software maintenance support date) on an as-needed basis at the discretion of Cisco Systems, Inc.
The Cisco IOS XE Software end-of-sale and end-of-software maintenance support timeline for Standard-Support releases is shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1. Cisco ASR 1000 Series Router Standard-Support Software End-of-Life Timeline
The Cisco IOS XE Software end-of-sale and end-of-software maintenance support timeline for Extended-Support releases is shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2. Cisco ASR 1000 Series Router Extended-Support Software End-of-Life Timeline (excluding Cisco IOS XE Software Releases 3.4S and 3.7S)
Please note: The dates indicated in the timeline for Figures 1 and 2 are target dates.
New for Cisco IOS XE Software Release 3.4S Only
Cisco IOS XE Software Release 3.4S will be supported for 3 years with six rebuilds. The timing of the rebuilds will be as follows: 2 months, 2.5 months, 4 months, 4 months, 6 months, and 6 months. This schedule consists of 24 months of active bug fixes and 12 months of Cisco Product Security Incident Response Team (PSIRT). Figure 3 shows the Cisco IOS XE Software Release 3.4S end-of-life timeline.
Cisco IOS XE Software Release 3.7S will be supported for 4 years with six rebuilds. This schedule replaces the current extended-release schedule of 2 years with four rebuilds. The timing of the rebuilds will be as follows: 2 months, 2.5 months, 4 months, 4 months, 6 months, and 6 months. This schedule consists of 24 months of active bug fixes and 24 months of PSIRT. Figure 4 shows the Cisco IOS XE Software Release 3.7S end-of-life timeline.
Customers are encouraged to migrate to one of the Extended-Support releases (Cisco IOS XE Software Release 2.4, 3.1S, 3.4S, etc.) when the release becomes available with appropriate features for the applications.
Customer Notifications
Cisco will issue individual end-of-life bulletins for each software release affected by an end-of-life plan. Standard-Support releases will have an end-of-life announcement published at FCS. Extended-Support releases will have an end-of-life announcement published 6 months after FCS.
Cisco Services
Cisco offers a wide range of services programs to accelerate customer success. These innovative services programs are delivered through a unique combination of resources, processes, tools, and partners, resulting in high levels of customer satisfaction. Cisco services help you protect your network investment, optimize network operations, and prepare your network for new applications to extend network intelligence and the power of your business. For more information about Cisco Services, refer to Cisco Technical Support Services at: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/svcs/ps3034/serv_category_home.html or Cisco Advanced Services at: http://www.cisco.com/go/services.
