IBM Software Support Lifecycle policy supplement
This document serves to supplement the information on the Software lifecycle website.
Review the sections below for more details.
- Lifecycle overview
- Continuing support for selected products
- Support Extensions
- IBM middleware support on unsupported operating systems
Overview
The IBM Software Support Lifecycle policy specifies the length of time support will be available for IBM software from when the product is available for purchase to the time the product is no longer supported. IBM software customers can track how long their version and release of a particular IBM software product will be supported and will be able to effectively plan their software investment, without any breaks in support.
Most system z software products have a three year support period and provide advance notice of withdrawal from support via an announcement letter. Discontinuance of program service for the last release in a version of a software product is an indication of IBM's expectation that customers will not experience a high level of trouble due to program defects. When service is discontinued, corrections to known problems remain available, but the development team is redirected to other work, and no new, tested corrections will be generated for general use. Known problems may be reviewed and ordered via electronic vehicles such as the internet (e.g, http://support.ibm.com) however support provided by the IBM Client Support representatives, will be discontinued. At discontinuance of program service, associated services terminate as well, e.g. IBM Support Line and SoftwareXcel. The IBM Customer Agreement (ICA) for monthly license charge products (mainframe) provides information on notification requirements for discontinuance of program services.
For distributed software products (IBM software that is licensed under the International Program License Agreement, IPLA): Starting in February 2008 the majority of Lotus, Information Management, Rational, Tivoli and WebSphere branded IPLA products have been announced with an Enhanced Support Lifecycle which provides support for a minimum of five years, beginning at the date the product is available for purchase (general availability date).
- Display information for bundled software, showing that all components of a product bundle are supported for the same period of time.
- Provide notice of End of Support (EOS) at least twelve months before product support is withdrawn, giving you a reasonable period of time to use the software before migrating to a new version or release.
- Establish effective dates for withdrawal of product support in either April or September. Display all information on lifecycle dates in one location, enabling you to effectively plan your migration.
Products with a Standard Support Lifecycle policy provide support for all products for a minimum of three years, beginning at the date the product is available for purchase (general availability date). When service is discontinued, corrections to known problems remain available, but the development team is redirected to other work, and no new, tested corrections will be generated for general use. Known problems may be reviewed and ordered via electronic vehicles such as the internet (e.g., http://www.ibm.com/support) however support provided by the IBM Client Support representatives, will be discontinued.
Note: Some IBM products may not adhere to these enhanced or standard policies. Products not adhering to these policies include but are not limited to IBM Software that is sold "as is", products recently acquired by IBM, which may still adhere to legacy lifecycle agreements, and some operating system software (example AIX VXX on pSeries servers) which have their own policy. The AIX Best Practices for system maintenance have been consolidated into a single PDF document for your convenience. You can reference the AIX Service Strategy Details and Best practices document from the Service and support best practices website.
To obtain the most accurate lifecycle information for your product, subscribe to RSS updates and view the lifecycle dates under the product lifecycle A-Z list visit:
IBM may modify this policy at any time, and will communicate the modification and any exceptions via a product announcement letter, or in a general policy announcement.
Continuing support
Continuing Support extends support for your software beyond its End of Service (EOS) date. When your software versions reach their EOS date and support is no longer available through standard Software S&S, you now may have the option for Continuing Support and no longer need to tackle support issues on your own.
For selected Program versions or releases, as listed in the IBM Lifecycle Page, after Support has been withdrawn for such versions or releases and while the client has current Software Subscription and Support coverage in effect for such Programs, IBM will provide support for:
- routine, short duration installation and usage (how-to) questions
- code-related questions (however, in such cases, IBM will only provide existing code patches and fixes and will not develop or provide new patches or fixes for those versions or releases)
Support Extensions
Support Extensions are accommodations for clients who are unable to migrate to a supported software product release within the time provided. IBM will offer Support Extensions for the distributed platform middleware products with an Enhanced Support Lifecycle policy for a minimum period of 3 years following the product's end of support date. Support Extensions for the distributed platform middleware products and zSeries platform IPLA products with Standard Support Lifecycle policy for a minimum period of 2 years following the product's end of support date. Support Extensions for the operating system (Systems i, p, and z) products will continue to be handled on an individual product basis.
To request support extension please contact your IBM Sales Representative.
Unsupported Operating Systems
IBM Software Support will provide support for IBM middleware, assuming that middleware is still within its support period. That support will continue normally until such time that the back-level operating system is identified as a probable cause of the problem or a contributing factor, at which time you may be asked to recreate the problem on a supported level of the operating system.