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This software lifecycle support statement describes the support timeline for Cisco Virtualized Infrastructure Manager (VIM) software products.
Cisco VIM software follows a continuous delivery Release model that delivers features and maintenance releases. This approach enables Cisco to introduce stable and feature rich software releases in a reliable and frequent manner that aligns with OpenStack releases.
● Cisco Virtualized Infrastructure Manager is built using Red Hat OpenStack, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, and Red Hat Ceph components.
● Cisco Virtualized Infrastructure Manager follows a fix forward model that requires Release upgrades to fix issues. Release patches are not necessary with this model.
Cisco VIM Software Release Delivery
The Cisco Virtualized Infrastructure Manager Software model has three types of software releases. Each release type has its own content and scope. All the releases follow a Major release, Minor releases, Maintenance release versioning convention.
| Cisco VIM Software Release Type |
Description |
| Major Release |
Represents the GA release of a new OpenStack version. Cisco VIM major releases will be based on long lived Red Hat OSP releases. For example, Cisco VIM 3.x.x is Queens release of OpenStack and Cisco VIM 4.x.x is a Train release of OpenStack. These major releases will also add features along with the new version of OpenStack. Customers can upgrade from prior major releases to latest major release. This upgrade capability will be available either in the first major release or in a subsequent minor release. |
| Minor Release |
Occur after the General Availability (GA) of a major release. For example, 3.4.x on a Cisco VIM major release Cisco VIM 3.0.0. Minor releases will contain both new features as well as fixes and security updates. Minor releases may also include new versions of Redhat Enterprise Linux, Red Hat Ceph to align with the Red Hat lifecycle support and bring in bug and security fixes. The minor releases will continue on a given major release until the General Availability of next major release. Cisco VIM will provide supported update paths to update between minor versions within a major release. |
| Maintenance Release |
Incremental updates to either a major or minor release to address critical bug fixes or security updates. For example, 3.4.5 on a Cisco VIM minor release Cisco VIM 3.4. These releases sometimes could include new features or functionality. Maintenance releases will be made on a given major or minor release until the GA of next Major or Minor release. |
End-of-Life Guideline Definition
All Cisco VIM software releases adhere to the guidelines presented here.
● Cisco Virtualized Infrastructure Manager release lifecycle has dependency on lifecycle of Red Hat components Red Hat OpenStack, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, and Red Hat Ceph. Cisco VIM Major release aligns with long lived Red Hat OpenStack release.
● Customers are encouraged to upgrade to the most recent Cisco VIM software release as soon as it becomes available. Newer versions of software consistently enable the delivery of relevant data driven insights, leading you to critical software innovations that reduce infrastructure and business risk, and deliver a better software experience.
● Cisco VIM customers with an active Subscription or active Cisco Support contract that includes upgrades are eligible to download the latest software release from https://software.cisco.com/.
● Customers with active subscription contracts will continue to receive support from the Cisco Technical Assistance Center (TAC) for the latest Cisco VIM Releases as per the terms of the contract and the guidelines defined in this document.
● EOL announcements for Major, Minor or Maintenance releases are not applicable due to the subscription nature of Cisco Virtualized Infrastructure Manager. No release specific EoL notices will be issued.
Table 1. Cisco Virtualized Infrastructure Manager software major release End-of-Life milestones for Cisco VIM 4.x and higher
| Milestone |
Definition |
Timing |
| First Customer Ship (FCS) Date |
The date at which the affected Cisco VIM software release is made available to Cisco customers. |
Begins affected Cisco VIM software release lifetime |
| End of Life (EoL) Date |
The date the End-of-Life milestones for the affected Cisco VIM software release are defined. |
At FCS |
| End of SW Maintenance (EoSM) Date |
The last date that Cisco engineering may release a software maintenance release or scheduled software remedy for critical bug fixes in an affected Cisco VIM software release. After this date, maintenance rebuilds, and software-fix support will be provided only through subsequent major Cisco VIM software releases. |
Up to 24 months from FCS |
| End of Vulnerability and Security Support (EoVS) (PSIRT fixes) Date |
The last date that Cisco engineering may release a software maintenance release or scheduled software remedy for a security vulnerability concern. |
Up to 24 months from FCS |
| Last Date of Support (LDoS) |
The last date to receive service and support for the product software release. After this date, all support services for the product are unavailable, and the product software release becomes obsolete. |
Thirty Months (30) months after FCS |
Software Release Support Timelines
Cisco VIM software maintenance and support
Customers with an active Subscription will continue to receive support from the Cisco Technical Assistance Center (TAC) for a product till Last Day of Support. -. After the Last Date of Support, all support services for the product software release are unavailable, and the product software release becomes obsolete.
Table 2. End-of-Life milestones for all Cisco VIM 4.x software releases
| Milestone |
Definition |
Dates |
| First Customer Ship (FCS) Date |
The date at which the Cisco VIM 4.x software release was first made available to Cisco customers. |
15-Jan-2021 |
| End of Life (EoL) Date |
The date the End-of-Life milestones for the affected Cisco VIM software release are defined. |
15-Jan-2021 |
| End of SW Maintenance (EoSM) Date |
The last date that Cisco engineering may release a software maintenance release or scheduled software remedy for critical bug fixes in an affected Cisco VIM software release. After this date, maintenance rebuilds, and software-fix support will be provided only through subsequent major Cisco VIM software releases. |
30-Apr-2024 |
| End of Vulnerability and Security Support (EoVS)(PSIRT fixes) Date |
The last date that Cisco engineering may release a software maintenance release or scheduled software remedy for a security vulnerability concern. |
30-Apr-2024 |
| Last Date of Support (LDoS) |
The last date to receive service and technical support for the product software release. After this date, all support services for the product are unavailable, and the product software release becomes obsolete. |
30-Apr-2025 |
Prior years’ End-of-Life milestones
Cisco VIM software releases shipped prior to the initial publishing of this bulletin will have an effective EoL milestone dates as defined in the tables below:
Table 3. End-of-Life milestones for all Cisco VIM 3.x software release
| Milestone |
Definition |
Dates |
| First Customer Ship (FCS) Date |
The date at which the Cisco VIM 3.0 software release was first made available to Cisco customers. |
31-Jan-2019 |
| End of Life (EoL) Date |
The date the End-of-Life milestones for the affected Cisco VIM software release are defined. |
28-Feb-2022 |
| End of SW Maintenance (EoSM) Date |
The last date that Cisco engineering may release a software maintenance release or scheduled software remedy for critical bug fixes in an affected Cisco VIM software release. After this date, maintenance rebuilds, and software-fix support will be provided only through subsequent major Cisco VIM software releases. |
30-Jun-2022 |
| End of Vulnerability and Security Support (EoVS)(PSIRT fixes) Date |
The last date that Cisco engineering may release a software maintenance release or scheduled software remedy for a security vulnerability concern. |
30-Jun-2022 |
| Last Date of Support (LDoS) |
The last date to receive service and support for the product software release. After this date, all support services for the product are unavailable, and the product software release becomes obsolete. |
31-Dec-2022 |
Note: All prior releases to Cisco VIM 3.x are no longer supported (end-of-life)
Customers are encouraged to upgrade to the most recent Cisco VIM software release as soon as it becomes available. Newer versions of software consistently enable the delivery of relevant data driven insights, leading you to critical software innovations that reduce infrastructure and business risk, and deliver a better software experience.
Cisco VIM customers with an active Subscription or active Cisco Support contract that includes upgrades are eligible to download the latest software release from https://software.cisco.com/.
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: https://www.cisco.com/go/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: https://www.cisco.com/go/services.
For more information about the Cisco VIM product line visit the following page: https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/cloud-systems-management/virtualized-infrastructure-manager/ or contact your local Cisco account manager.
For information about Cisco service and support programs and benefits, visit: https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/services/technical/software-support.html.
For information about the Cisco End-of-Life Policy visit: https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/eos-eol-policy.html.