Cisco IOS XE Software Support Timeline for Cisco IOS XE Software Release Starting with 16.x.x
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This product bulletin describes the support timeline and End-of-Life (EoL) guidelines for Cisco IOS XE Software. The guidelines are applicable for SDWAN releases which also follow the same timeline as IOS XE release.
Note: IOS XE based SDWAN release started from 16.9 release timeline.
Cisco IOS XE/IOS XE SDWAN Software release model
The Cisco IOS XE 16.x.x Software releases are time-based, each with a fixed release date. The schedule specifies 3 individual software releases per year at 4 month intervals.
Cisco IOS XE Software release versioning
Each Cisco IOS XE software release is classified as either a Standard-Support release or an Extended-Support release.
● Standard-Support Release Details
◦ A sustaining support lifetime of 12 months from First Customer Shipment (FCS) with scheduled rebuilds.
● Extended-Support release Details
◦ A sustaining support lifetime of 36 months from First Customer Shipment (FCS) with scheduled rebuilds.
Cisco makes no commitment to introduce software fixes to the affected IOS XE Software release after the final planned rebuild release.
Software problems found after the final scheduled rebuild release will be fixed in a subsequent major Cisco IOS XE Software release. 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 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-Vulnerability and Security (EoVS) milestone.
After EoVS, Cisco Technical Assistance Center (TAC) will provide customer support on the affected Cisco IOS XE Software release, within the guidelines set by existing Cisco’s EoL policies, at the End-of-Software Maintenance milestone.
Cisco IOS XE Software release schedule
Cisco IOS XE Software Release 16.9 is the first Extended-Support release under the new support timeline. Every subsequent third release (for example, Cisco IOS XE Software releases 16.9, 16.12 etc.) will also be an Extended Maintenance release. Table 1 below defines the support models used by each of the Cisco IOS XE Software releases.
Table 1. Cisco IOS XE Software release support
| Support Model |
Cisco IOS XE Software Release |
| Standard-Support |
16.1, 16.2, 16.4, 16.5, 16.7, 17.1, 17.2 etc. |
| Extended-Support |
16.9, 16.12, 17.3, 17.6 etc. |
End-of-Sale and End-of-Life guideline definition
The Cisco IOS XE Software End-of-Sale (EoS) and End-of-Life (EoL) guidelines have preset time intervals for each of the EoL milestones. These time intervals are based on the support model of the affected Cisco IOS XE Software version. Table 2 below summarizes the End-of-Sale (EoS) and End-of-Life (EoL) milestones for Cisco IOS XE Software releases.
Table 2. Cisco IOS XE Software End-of-Sale and End-of-Life milestones by release
| Milestone |
Definition |
Timing |
| First Customer Shipment (FCS) |
The date at which the affected Cisco IOS XE Software release is made available to Cisco customers. |
Begins affected Cisco IOS XE Software release lifetime |
| End-of-Life (EoL) Announcement Date |
The date the document that announces the end-of-sale and end-of-life of a product is distributed to the general public. |
3 months after FCS for Standard-Support releases |
| 12 months after FCS for Extended-Support releases |
||
| End-of-Sale (EoS) Date |
The last date to order the product through Cisco point-of-sale mechanisms. The product is no longer for sale after this date. |
3 months from end-of-life announcement date |
| 6 months from end-of-life announcement date |
||
| End-of-Software Maintenance Release Date |
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 (EoVS) date of the affected release. |
6 months after end-of-sale date for Standard-Support releases |
| 6 months after end-of-sale date for Extended-Support releases |
||
| End-of-Vulnerability and Security Support (EoVS) Date |
The last date that Cisco engineering may release a planned maintenance release or scheduled software remedy for a security vulnerability concern. |
6 months after end-of-sale date for Standard-Support releases |
| 18 months after end-of-sale date 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 |
Customers are encouraged to migrate to one of the Extended Maintenance releases (Cisco IOS XE Software Release 16.6, 16.9 etc.) when the release becomes available with appropriate features for the applications.
Cisco will issue individual EoL bulletins for each software release affected by an EoL plan. Standard Maintenance releases will have an EoS announcement published 3 months after FCS. Extended-Support releases will have an EoS announcement published 12 months after FCS.
Cisco offers a wide range of services programs to support and 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 protect network investment, optimize network operations, and prepare the network for new applications to extend network intelligence and the power of business.
Cisco Viptela SDWAN Software release model
The Cisco Viptela Software releases are time-based, each with a fixed release date. The schedule specifies 3 individual software releases per year at 4 month intervals. The Cisco Viptela Software release follows the same timeline as that of Cisco IOS XE release.
Cisco Viptela Software release versioning
Cisco Viptela SDWAN Software Support
Each Cisco Viptela software release is classified as either a Standard-Support release or an Extended-Support release.
● Standard-Support Release Details
◦ A sustaining support lifetime of 12 months from First Customer Shipment (FCS) with scheduled rebuilds.
● Extended-Support release Details
◦ A sustaining support lifetime of 36 months from First Customer Shipment (FCS) with scheduled rebuilds.
Cisco makes no commitment to introduce software fixes to the affected Software release after the final planned rebuild release.
Software problems found after the final scheduled rebuild release will be fixed in a subsequent major Software release. 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 milestone), on an as-needed basis at the discretion of Cisco. No software fixes will be introduced to the affected Software release after the End-of-Vulnerability and Security (EoVS) milestone.
After EoVS, Cisco Technical Assistance Center (TAC) will provide customer support on the affected Cisco Software release, within the guidelines set by existing Cisco’s EoL policies, at the End-of-Software Maintenance milestone.
Cisco Viptela SDWAN Software release schedule
Cisco Viptela SDWAN Software Release 19.2 is an Extended-Support release. Every subsequent third release (for example, Cisco Viptela Software releases 19.2, 20.2 etc.) will also be an Extended Maintenance release. Table below defines the support models used by each of the Cisco Viptela SDWAN Software releases.
Table 3. Cisco Viptela SDWAN Software release support
| Support Model |
Cisco Viptela Software Release |
| Standard-Support |
19.1, 19.3, 20.1, 20.3 etc. |
| Extended-Support |
19.2, 20.2, etc. |
End-of-Sale and End-of-Life guideline definition
The Cisco Viptela SDWAN Software End-of-Sale (EoS) and End-of-Life (EoL) guidelines have preset time intervals for each of the EoL milestones. These time intervals are based on the support model of the affected Cisco Viptela SDWAN Software version. Table 3 below summarizes the End-of-Sale (EoS) and End-of-Life (EoL) milestones.
Table 4. Cisco Viptela SDWAN Software End-of-Sale and End-of-Life milestones by release
| Milestone |
Definition |
Timing |
| First Customer Shipment (FCS) |
The date at which the affected Cisco Viptela SDWAN Software release is made available to Cisco customers. |
Begins affected Cisco Viptela SDWAN Software release lifetime |
| End-of-Life (EoL) Announcement Date |
The date the document that announces the end-of-sale and end-of-life of a product is distributed to the general public. |
3 months after FCS for Standard-Support releases |
| 12 months after FCS for Extended-Support releases |
||
| End-of-Sale (EoS) Date |
The last date to order the product through Cisco point-of-sale mechanisms. The product is no longer for sale after this date. |
3 months from end-of-life announcement date for Standard-Support releases |
| 6 months from end-of-life announcement date for Extended-Support releases |
||
| End-of-Software Maintenance Release Date |
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 (EoVS) date of the affected release. |
6 months after end-of-sale date for Standard-Support releases |
| 6 months after end-of-sale date for Extended-Support releases |
||
| End-of-Vulnerability and Security Support (EoVS) Date |
The last date that Cisco engineering may release a planned maintenance release or scheduled software remedy for a security vulnerability concern. |
6 months after end-of-sale date for Standard-Support releases |
| 18 months after end-of-sale date 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 |
For more information about Cisco Services, refer to: https://www.cisco.com/go/services