Understanding Hardware End of Service Life.

T-Blog Editor/ March 21, 2020/ Data Center Hardware, Data Centre Servers, Infrastructure in the Data Centre, Tech Definitions, Tekmart Enterprise Hardware Tips

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An end-of-service-life announcement can spell trouble for IT managers.

Understanding a piece of hardware equipment’s End of Service Life can be confusing as it varies per OEM. We have narrowed it down to four key phases that you should know about as you plan out your data center maintenance and support.

General Availability (GA)::

This is when the piece of hardware is brought to market and available for purchase. Hardware and software support is available.

End of Life (EOL) or End of Sale (EOS)::

When hardware equipment reaches its End of Life (EOL) or End of Sale (EOS), it means that the OEM is no longer producing or selling the particular piece of equipment. When an OEM announces the EOL or EOS, this generally starts a 5 year phase-out of the equipment. Hardware and software support can still be available at this time.

End of Development (EOD)::

This happens when the OEM ceases development and production of that device’s operating system. Software updates and firmware patches are no longer rolled out. Around this time, contract and support renewals may no longer be available.

The End of Support Life, or End of Service Life (EOSL::

This is the final phase in the data center equipment’s lifecycle. At this point, the OEM no longer sells, provides operating system updates for, or renews support agreements on the hardware.