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Why does the latest software release not support my hardware or platform?

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Applies to

  • NetApp Hardware
  • FAS/AFF Systems

Answer

This answer references NetApp ONTAP systems such as FAS/AFF but provides guidance that can be applied to other hardware types.

NetApp ONTAP software is delivered in the form of either Feature Releases such as 9.14.1 or 9.15.1 or Service Updates such as 9.15.1P1 and 9.15.1P2.

These release types are described in the ONTAP release model.

The End of Availability Policy (applicable to all NetApp hardware) defines two periods that start after the End of Availability (EOA) date of a specific product, the durations of these periods may slightly vary by product family:

  • Feature Release Period:  2 years after EOA date for ONTAP hardware.  During this period you can expect new Feature Releases to support your hardware or platform.
  • Patch/Fix Release Period:  3 years following the 2 year Feature Release period for ONTAP hardware.  During this period you can expect new Service Updates for existing Feature Releases that already support your hardware or platform.  This period ends at the End of Support (EOS) date, typically 5 years after the EOA date.

Here is an example of how this timeline works using existing systems:

Platform or Component EOA Date Feature Release Period End Patch/Fix Release Period End (EOS)
AFF- A700s 15 Nov 2021 30 Nov 2023 31 Dec 2026
IOM6 6 Dec 2019 31 Dec 2021 31 Jan 2025

EOA and EOS dates for determining relevant timelines can be found in Hardware Universe.

Notes about the table above:

  • ONTAP Feature Release 9.14.1RC1 was made available on 21-Nov-2023 and supports the AFF-A700s.
    • 9.14.1 remains in Full Engineering Support status through 31-Jan-2027.   This means customers can continue to receive Service Updates (P) releases up to the A700s EOS date.
  • ONTAP Feature Release 9.15.1RC1 was made available on 16-May-2024.   It does not support the AFF-A700s, in line with the published End of Availability policy guidelines.
  • ONTAP Feature Release 9.10.1RC1 was made available on 4-Nov-2021 and if it was the final release to support IOM6, it would have been fully aligned to published End of Availability policy guidelines.   In this instance, support was removed well past the end of Feature Release period with ONTAP Feature Release 9.16.1RC1.
  • While hardware and or platforms may sometimes be supported in Feature Releases that come after a platform/hardware's Feature Release period expiration, for various reasons such as short-term migration use cases, it is a best practice to plan your upgrade and refresh timings in alignment with the published End of Availability policy guidelines.

Additional Information

The Software Changelog can be used to identify Feature Release - Release Candidate posting dates.

The Software Version Support policy shows how NetApp ensures systems  have at least one engineering supported feature release available until their EOS milestone, although it is unlikely to be the latest feature release.

 

NetApp provides no representations or warranties regarding the accuracy or reliability or serviceability of any information or recommendations provided in this publication or with respect to any results that may be obtained by the use of the information or observance of any recommendations provided herein. The information in this document is distributed AS IS and the use of this information or the implementation of any recommendations or techniques herein is a customer's responsibility and depends on the customer's ability to evaluate and integrate them into the customer's operational environment. This document and the information contained herein may be used solely in connection with the NetApp products discussed in this document.