Product version obsolescence - end of support guidelines 2.3

  • KM00940873
  • 21-May-2014
  • 01-Oct-2014

Summary

Product version obsolescence - end of support guidelines 2.3

Reference

NOTE: Obsolescence policy v2.3 was used for this product obsolescence program. Current obsolescence programs are governed by the latest version of the obsolescence policy.


 
HP OpenView customers who have purchased support plans deserve timely communication of our plans to obsolete previous versions of our products, providing you the time required to plan the appropriate updates to your HP OpenView solutions. With that in mind, we encourage our customers to review the following End of Support guidelines for HP OpenView products.

Terminology

 

Current Product Support


Current Product Support is the reactive engagement of regional support resources (Support Center) and division support resources (Lab), in accordance with your purchased support plan, for the resolution of product defects, plus product enhancements for a specific product version. This includes investigation of newly reported defects and if appropriate, development of defect fixes and making these available for customers via patches. The HP OpenView product teams (Lab) will review and either approve or deny requests for defect fixes and enhancements (including additional support for newly-released operating system versions). While HP OpenView investigates all problems and issues raised for products covered under Current Product Support, customers may be required to install the most current version or patches as part of the troubleshooting process. Current Product Support includes Self-Help Support.

Version Maturity may apply to specific versions of HP OpenView software products. Version Maturity means that, for a specific product version, no further enhancements or changes to functionality are planned, nor are any further platform refreshes planned in order to update that product version to support current or future operating systems, operating system versions or hardware platforms.

Extended Life Support


Extended Life Support is the reactive engagement of regional support resources (Support Center), in accordance with your purchased Extended Life Support Plan, for assistance with questions or problems regarding the use of a specific product version. Extended Life Support is offered on select HP Software outside of the standard current support offerings (after the End of Current Product Support Date). Support is limited to product parameters/requirements at time of release. Support will not include product updates or fixes associated with operating systems, interoperability, or issues associated with functionality. Support options may vary depending on product, and may include any or all of the following: Self-Help Support, Telephone Support, and Product Updates (upgrades).

End of Current Product Support Date(1)


Official last day to receive Current Product Support for a specific product/product version.

End of Extended Life Support Date(1)


Official last day to receive Extended Life Support if offered for a specific product/product version.

Self-Help Support


Self-Help Support is an integral component of all HP OpenView Support Contracts. Self-Help Support consists of Web-based access to the online support Knowledge Base, which contains technical information for HP OpenView products including white papers, existing patches and known problems for a specific product version.

Obsolescence Guidelines

 
  1. In most cases, HP OpenView provides Current Product Support for the most recently released and immediately preceding version of its products. However, there are exceptions to this policy as described here. One exception is HP OpenView Performance Agent and HP OpenView GlancePlus. In the case of HP OpenView Performance Agent and HP OpenView GlancePlus Current Product Support is available for the most recently released product only. Furthermore, some older HP OpenView "grandfathered" products may still qualify for Current Product Support; However, these products are being transitioned to meet the current and immediately preceding version policy stated earlier.

  2. As new product versions are released, support for older product versions prior to the most recently released and immediately preceding versions will terminate. Some products may offer HP Extended Life Support resulting in a transition from Current Product Support through HP Extended Life Support to no support. Customers with active support agreements will be notified in advance of the End of Current Product Support Date to allow time for planning, testing and deployment of newer product versions. Should a customer choose to remain on said product/product version after the official End of Current Product Support Date, all needed additional licenses, media and/or hardcopy manuals must be ordered before the End of Current Product Support Date. While the primary communication method will be through HP's Software Support Online (https://softwaresupport.hp.com), HP will also endeavor to notify the appropriate customer contacts in writing or through electronic means.

  3. Current Product Support for a specific product/product version will be provided until the published official End of Current Product Support Date. As always, HP investigates all problems and issues reported for current product versions (last, and in most cases, immediately preceding releases). However, customers may be required to install the most recent software, fixes, patches, and/or service packs as part of the troubleshooting/issue resolution process. In all cases, the HP OpenView Product Team (Lab) will review and either approve; deny; deny as fixed in a more current release; or postpone a fix until a future release; all requests for defect fixes, product enhancements, support for newly-released operating systems, and/or other adjacent/integrated application(s) or version(s).

    Note: In some instances support for specific HP OpenView product(s) and/or version(s) may run longer than the support for underlying operating system(s), adjacent/integrated application(s) or version(s). In this event, it is HP's intent to communicate with affected HP OpenView product/product versions customers in a timely manner. However, there are cases where HP does not receive notification of the End of Support for these products (operating system(s) or adjacent/integrated application(s), or version(s)) in advance of the general public. In any case, should the underlying operating system(s), adjacent/integrated application(s) or version(s) become unsupported by its developer, support for the affected HP OpenView product/product versions will immediately be limited to Self-Help Support and Telephone Support associated with questions concerning a product's/product version's functionality and/or interoperability in line with the said product's/product version's original parameters/requirements at the time of release. Any product updates and/or fixes will be limited to those already available. No additional updates, patches or fixes will be engineered. Should said product/product version operate or integrate with other still supported, underlying operating system(s), adjacent/integrated application(s) or version(s), support for said product/product version on any remaining supported platform(s), supported adjacent/integrated application(s), or supported version(s) will continue unaffected, or through the planned End Of Current Product Support Date if one has been announced.

  4. HP Extended Life Support may be provided on select HP OpenView Products as communicated in the customer communications relating to the specific product. Should an HP Extended Life Support Offering(s) be offered for a specific product/product version, upon conclusion of the offering period, all product/product version support will terminate.
Customers are encouraged to contact their local HP OpenView Sales Representative or their HP software business partner for any questions regarding this policy.


(1) Some customers may be familiar with the term "End of Support (EOS) Date", which was formerly used in descriptions of HP OpenView's obsolescence policy. That term itself is now obsolete having been replaced by two more specific terms, "End of Current Product Support Date" and " End of Extended Life Support Date".