Purchasing can no longer order this firewall model, and the vendor will keep publishing security fixes for it through next June. Which life-cycle description is accurate today?
Select an answer to reveal the explanation.
Short Explanation
End-of-life and end-of-support are two different dates on the same calendar. You cannot buy another one, so the product is at end-of-life, and you can still get a security fix, so support has not ended. Treat the June date as the moment the safety net actually goes away, not as a reason to call the firewall unsupported today.
Full Explanation
End-of-life means the vendor has stopped offering the product for new sale. End-of-support means the vendor has stopped the support commitment, including security fixes. This firewall can no longer be ordered, and fixes are still promised through next June, so it is end-of-life and still inside the support window. Calling it end-of-support today contradicts the vendor's promise of further fixes. That is the trap, because both dates are life-cycle dates and only one of them has arrived. Decommissioning is the organization's process of retiring a specific unit: wiping it, pulling it from inventory, and removing it from service. A life-cycle announcement does not by itself power off every installed firewall. Ongoing security fixes also do not mean the model is still for sale. General availability ends at end-of-life, while fixes can continue until the support date. Exam caveat: some vendors publish separate dates for end of sale, end of software maintenance, and end of support. Read which date stops security fixes before you tell a customer the device is unsupported. Operational check: record the June end-of-support date against each installed serial number and schedule the replacement so the new firewall is in production before fixes stop.