General Support | Extended Support | Extended Support | Extended Support Core | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Applies to | All Service Pack, but last | Latest Service Pack | Overlapped Service Packs after General Support (6 month) | Only for the final service pack of a version after General Support | Only for the final service pack of a version after LTSS phase | |
Covered by | Long Term Service Pack Support & Extended Service Pack Overlap Support | Long Term Service Pack Support & Long Term Service Pack Support Extended Security | Long Term Service Pack Core | |||
Months of Support | 18 months (6 months after next SP launch) | 36 ( after General Support ) | 36 ( after General Support ) | 36 ( after General LTSS ) | ||
Maintenance Patches | 1. LTSS2 | 1. LTSS2 | ||||
Technical Support | 3. LTSS4 | 1. LTSS2 | ||||
Security Patches CVSS 7+ and Higher | LTSS5 | LTSS5 | ||||
Security Patches CVSS 4+ and Higher | LTSS Extended Secruity8 | |||||
Secuirty Patches | ||||||
Defect Resolution | 6 | LTSS7 | LTSS7 | |||
Live Patching | ||||||
Modules Support | Yes9 | Yes9 | ||||
Service Packs | ||||||
Hardware Enablement and Software Enhancements |
Product Lifecycle Support Policies
Choose a product from the list below to read more about its unique support policies.
Rancher Support Matrix
View supported Kubernetes platforms for Rancher including downstream cluster support and applications.
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
SUSE provides a thirteen year product lifecycle for most products in SUSE Linux Enterprise 12 and SUSE Linux Enterprise 15 releases.
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing
As with SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 has modular packaging.
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications
SUSE supports all SLES for SAP Applications 12 and higher offerings during the General Availability (GA) of a version for 4.5 years.
SUSE Multi-Linux Manager
SUSE supports the current release (N) and the previous release (N-1). SUSE releases a new version of SUSE Manager roughly every 12 months.
SUSE Enterprise Storage
SUSE supports the current release (N) and the previous release (N-1).
SUSE on the Public Cloud
Moving to the Public Cloud, take SUSE with you. SUSE support policies are dependent on whether you use SUSE on demand or you "bring your own service.
Long Term Service Support
Long Term Service Pack Support provides up to 3 years of access to technical support, maintenance and security patches for selected products.
SUSE Liberty Linux
Zero migration; complete compatibility. SUSE Liberty Linux is a technology that lets you get uninterrupted support and security patches for CentOS and RHEL.
Long Term Service Support
Support conditions:
- Support shall be provided only for existing systems or replacements on identical hardware (in case of system recovery)
- Changes to the virtualization platform are considered hardware changes and are not supported
- Systems running on public cloud frameworks may acquire LTSS using either as “Bring Your Own Subscription” or “Pay as you Go” deployments
- Issues must occur during the active time of the subscription and not before the order is booked at SUSE
The following items are excluded from LTSS Core and are not supported:
- All Java related components
- All databases
- All web browsers and email clients
- All 3rd party binaries such as fonts, sounds, artwork and branding
Summary table - Long Term Service Support
Topic | General Support / Overlap | LTSS (ESPOS) | LTSS Reactive | LTSS Extreme |
---|---|---|---|---|
Technical Support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Access to Patches and Fixes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Access to Documentation and Knowledge Base | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Support for Existing Stacks and Workloads | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Support for New Deployments | Yes | No | No | No |
Service Packs | All | All | Only for the final service pack of a version 5 | Only for the final service pack of a version 6 |
Modules Support | Yes7 | No | No | No |
Additional Cryptography Functionality | Yes | No | No | No |
Critical Security Updates¹ | Yes | SUSE CVSS level³ 7 + | SUSE CVSS level³ 7 + | SUSE CVSS level³ 7 + |
Defect resolution¹ | Yes | Severity Level² 1 + 2 | Severity Level² 1 + 2 | Severity Level² 1 |
Style | Proactive | Proactive | Proactive | Proactive |
1 SUSE makes all economically reasonable effort to resolve a bug or a CVE Request. If SUSE does not believe it is necessary to resolve a CVE Request or if SUSE does not believe it is feasible to fix a bug, SUSE shall not be required to resolve the error and shall provide the customer with a reasonably detailed response setting out SUSE's position.
2 Severity levels are defined in the SUSE Support Handbook pages. In certain cases and at SUSE’s discretion, SUSE may choose to do a version upgrade instead of a backport of a patch resp. do backports from more recent releases.
3 SUSE CVSS is available here https://www.suse.com/security/cve/ and may differ from the NVD score.
4 By request only through a support case
5 Offer available only for the final service pack of a version. LTSS Extended Security is currently available for SLES 12 SP5
6 Offer available only for the final service pack of a version after the LTSS phase.
7 Modules General Support phase and duration may differ from the base
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
SUSE provides a thirteen year product lifecycle for most products in SUSE Linux Enterprise 12 and SUSE Linux Enterprise 15 releases. Please check our Product Support Lifecycle table for information about your specific product lifecycle. Technical Support is provided as illustrated in the table below.
This applies to SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications, SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension (Starting with SUSE Linux Enterprise Server v15, GEO Clustering is included with High Availability), SUSE Linux Enterprise for High Performance Computing and SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop
1. Access to previously released patches with an active subscription with LTSS.
2. Access to patches for earlier product versions possible with optional Long Term Service Pack Support (LTSS).
3. Limited migration and configuration assistance provided with standard or priority subscription.
4. More comprehensive migration, configuration and break fix technical support available with optional LTSS.
5. Only available with LTSS and LTSS Extended Security.
6. Limited to severity level 1 and 2 defects.
7. Only available with LTSS. Limited to severity level 1 and 2 defects.
8. Only available with LTSS Extended Security.
9. Modules General Support phase and duration may differ from the base
SLES 12 SP5 LTSS support:
The following SUSE Linux Enterprise products will be covered by LTSS for 12 SP5 (when deployed with the valid product subscription):
- SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
- SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications
- SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability and GEO extension
- SUSE Linux Enterprise Live Patching extension (please check details about duration of LP support here: https://www.suse.com/products/live-patching/current-patches/)
For SUSE Linux Enterprise 12 SP5 LTSS, only the base system for each supported product is covered; all additional modules are excluded from the service.
SLES 12 SP5 LTSS Extended Security Support:
The following SUSE Linux Enterprise products will be covered by LTSS Extended Security for 12 SP5 (when deployed with the valid product subscription):
- SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
For SUSE Linux Enterprise LTSS Extended Security only the base system of the product is covered; all additional modules are excluded from the service.
It is possible to combine SLES 12-SP5 LTSS Extended Security offer with following SLES 12 SP5 LTSS offers
- SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications
- SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability and GEO extension
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 Modules
As with SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 has modular packaging. The modules are distinct sets of packages grouped into their own maintenance channel and updated independently of service pack life cycles. This allows you to get timely and easy access to the latest technology in areas where innovation is occurring at a rapid pace, like cloud.
Refer to https://www.suse.com/releasenotes
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 GA is supported throughout the life cycle of SLE 15 GA. Any release package is fully maintained and supported until the availability of the next release. As with SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing includes 6 months of overlap support for each service pack.
Because of the complexity of HPC environments, SUSE recommends that you consider purchasing your subscription with either LTSS, which provides up to 3 years continued general support, or ESPOS, which provides an additional year of support (a total of 18 months). These options give you significantly more time to upgrade and/or skip a service pack completely.
Unlike SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing Level 1 and Level 2 technical support is generally provided by the IHV that sells the subscription; while Level 3 support is provided by the SUSE Technical Support Team.
Here is an example of the support timeline for SLES HPC:
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications
SUSE supports all SLES for SAP Applications 12 and higher offerings during the General Availability (GA) of a version for 4.5 years. This includes 1.5 years of General Support plus 3 years of Extended Service Pack Overlap Support (ESPOS) for each service pack. This eliminates the need for customers to purchase LTSS (Long Term Service Pack Support) until the final service pack of a release.
Here is an example of the SLES for SAP Applications timeline:
SUSE Multi-Linux Manager
SUSE supports the current release (N) and the previous release (N-1). SUSE releases a new version of SUSE Multi-Linux Manager roughly every 12 months.
An exception is in place for SUSE Multi-Linux Manager version 4.3 (formerly named SUSE Manager 4.3), which has an offer of LTS for an additional year beyond the regular life cycle.
SUSE Enterprise Storage
SUSE supports the current release (N) and the previous release (N-1). SUSE releases a new version of SUSE Enterprise Storage every 12 months. When the new release (N+1) comes out, we will continue to support the N-1 version for 3 months so that you have time to upgrade to the latest version of SUSE Enterprise Storage.
This means each release is supported for a minimum of 27 months after it is first shipped (FCS). We provide general support for the entire 27 months, including patches, fixes and maintenance.
The SUSE Enterprise Storage is based on the upstream Ceph project.
SUSE Images on the Public Cloud
Regardless of the public cloud you use, SUSE has you covered with world-class support. Support is dependent on whether you “bring your own subscription" (BYOS) or you use SUSE on demand or "pay-as-you-go" (PAYG).
All images follow a refresh cycle up until 6 months prior to the end of life (EOL) of the solution/product in the image. Six months prior to EOL the image enters the deprecated state and will no longer be refreshed. . The refresh cycle follows a 'rolling' three month time frame. What this means:
- Images in an active state are refreshed every three months. Replaced images are moved to the deprecated state.
- If a critical security vulnerability occurs, images in the active and inactive state are updated as soon as possible once the fix for the affected code is available. Once the critical fix is released in a new image the three month timer restarts. SUSE is committed to address all security vulnerabilities disclosed through the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures process (CVE) and a score of 9.0 or greater in the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS). For more information about the effects and rating of CVEs, refer to the SUSE CVE database.
Active images are fully supported and refreshed at least every three months. The duration lasts until the image is replaced by a newer image version. Products in active images will receive updates to enable new instance types as long as the required changes to enable new instance types do not conflict with other conditions of the products scope. For example, a new instance type could not be supported if it required a change to the Application Binary Interface (ABI) of the Linux Kernel to enable a new instance type.
Inactive images are supported following the rules of LTSS or ESPOS. Images get refreshed at least every three months. The duration term is defined by the product. For more information, refer to specific product lifecycles above. No new workloads should be deployed on instances created from images in the inactive state. Products in inactive images generraly do not get enabled for new instance types.
Deprecated images may no longer be supported. The status of support depends on the support status of the product in the image. Deprecated images are not made available in regions added after an image has been set to deprecated and images do no longer get refreshed. At the end of the six month deprecation period, images are subject to deletion. It is strongly discouraged to use deprecated images to create new instances.
Deleted images are no longer supported or available for instance creation.
SLES PAYG
SLES for SAP PAYG
SLES BYOS
SUSE Multi-Linux Support, (previously known as SUSE Liberty Linux)
SUSE Multi-Linux General Support
General Support means full proactive support. Products in the General Support lifecycle phase receive updates for all packages that are available in the latest minor release, in exactly that version, except the excluded packages1.
Supported versions are Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, 8 and 9, as well as CentOS 7, and SUSE Liberty Linux equivalents.
A major release normally introduces substantial changes to the software, e.g. new or different features. A minor release on the other hand may introduce more minor changes to the software's functionality or minor changes in features or performance. Whereas a major release is referenced by a version number with a higher digit to the left of the decimal point (e.g. from version 1.1 to version 2.1), a minor release is indicated by a version number with a higher digit to the right of the decimal point (e.g. from version 1.1 to version 1.2).
For each major release, only the latest minor release is fully supported.
Previous minor releases have limited support:
- SUSE support will, to a commercially reasonable extent2, analyze the case and provide a solution, if needed.
- The solution might require an update to the latest minor release, or installing a package version available only in the latest minor release.
- Any potential fixes will be released only for the latest minor release.
SUSE Multi-Linux offers no migration path from a previous major version to the successor. Instead a new system installation with the new major version has to be performed and then the workload can be migrated to the new system. We are happy to help with the migration process. Please reach out to our services team at the relevant contact point for your region:
- Aritra Banerjee - APJ - aritra.banerjee@suse.com
- Hayley Theobald - EMEA - hayley.theobald@suse.com
- David Warden - NA & LATAM - david.warden@suse.com
SUSE Multi-Linux Support Long Term Service Support (LTSS)
Extends support and access to patches for Linux maintained under the SUSE Multi-Linux Support service beyond the General Support phase over the extended support phase.
Support conditions:
- Support shall be provided only for existing systems or replacements on identical hardware (in case of system recovery)
- Changes to the virtualization platform are considered hardware changes and are not supported
- Systems running on public cloud frameworks not using “Bring Your Own Subscription” are not supported
- Issues must occur during the active time of the subscription and not before the order is booked at SUSE
SUSE Multi-Linux Support LTSS Reactive
LTSS Reactive can be subscribed per system using subscriptions for 1-2 sockets, or as tiered offering for multiple systems. Tiered offerings are counted per code stream and per architecture.
LTSS Reactive allows customers to continue using the versions of SUSE Liberty Linux identified in this Addendum beyond the end of that version’s base life cycle in accordance with the description provided herein. SUSE will provide access to support engineers for any Critical Incident raised by Customer. During the extended lifecycle under these terms, no maintenance updates will be released. “Critical Incident” means an incident that prevents a major functionality of the product to work as it was designed and/or affects system stability and/or has an important impact for the Customer's business.
LTSS Reactive can be contracted from SUSE in increments of one year, up to a total of maximum 3 years after the end of regular LTSS.
SUSE Multi-Linux Support LTSS Extreme
LTSS Extreme is available per code stream and per architecture, as a subscription with unlimited systems to cover.
LTSS Extreme allows customers to continue getting support for the versions of SUSE Liberty Linux and other Linux maintained under the SUSE Multi-Linux Support service identified in this addendum beyond the end of that version’s base life cycle in accordance with the description provided herein. SUSE will provide access to support engineers for any Critical Incident raised by Customer. During the extended lifecycle under these terms, no maintenance updates will be released. “Critical Incident” means an incident that prevents a major functionality of the product to work as it was designed and/or affects system stability and/or has an important impact for the Customer's business.
LTSS Extreme can be contracted from SUSE in increments of one year, up to a total maximum of 3 years after the end of other LTSS offerings.
The following items are excluded from SUSE Multi-Linux Support LTSS Reactive and SUSE Multi-Linux Support LTSS Extreme, and are not supported1:
- All Java related components (e.g. IBM Java, openJDK)
- All databases (e.g. MySQL, PostgreSQL)
- All web browsers and email clients (e.g. Thunderbird)
- All 3rd party binaries such as fonts, sounds, artwork and branding
- Packages without public available source
- Packages with non-Open Source license
- Packages with different Open-Source license to what SUSE is shipping as part of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (e.g. Common Development and Distribution License (CDDL))
- General LTSS limits apply as outlined above
Topic | General Support | LTSS | LTSS Reactive | LTSS Extreme |
Technical Support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Access to Patches and Fixes | Yes | Yes | No6 | No6 |
Access to Documentation | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Support for Existing Stacks and Workloads | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Support for New Deployments | Yes | No | No | No |
Enhancement Requests | Yes | No | No | No |
Additional Cryptography Functionality | Yes | No | No | No |
Hardware Enablement / Optimization | Yes | No | No | No |
Critical Security Updates3 | Yes | SUSE CVSS5 level 7+ | SUSE CVSS5 level 7+ | SUSE CVSS5 level 7+ |
Defect resolution3 | Yes | Severity Level4 1 + 2 | Severity Level4 1 + 2 | Severity Level4 1 |
Style | Proactive | Proactive | Reactive | Reactive |
1 SUSE makes all economically reasonable efforts to resolve a bug or a CVE Request. If SUSE does not believe it is necessary to resolve a CVE Request or if SUSE does not believe it is feasible to fix a bug, SUSE shall not be required to resolve the error and shall provide the customer with a reasonably detailed response setting out SUSE's position.
2 Severity levels are defined in the SUSE Support Handbook pages. In certain cases and at SUSE’s discretion, SUSE may choose to do a version upgrade instead of a backport of a patch resp. do backports from more recent releases.
3 SUSE CVSS is available here https://www.suse.com/security/cve/ and may differ from the NVD score.
4 By request only through a support case.