At the end of 2011, EMC has scheduled the EMC CLARiiON CX Series
for End of Service Life. Many EMC customers with active CLARiiON CX
arrays are likely wondering what the EOSL date means for them, as it’s
easy to confuse all of the acronyms that govern the storage product
life-cycle.
So, what does “EOSL” really mean, and what should you do when your hardware reaches that point?
End of Service Life (EOSL): After the EOSL, the manufacturer will no longer provide support services or technical support. Those who require manufacturer support after the EOSL date will be charged a premium price for the service and support.
End of Life (EOL): The End of Life refers to the time when the item has reached the "end of its useful life." After this deadline, the manufacturer will no longer be marketing, selling or sustaining the product. End of Life differentiated from End of Manufacturing Life / End of Production, where the manufacturer will no longer produce the product. In the storage business, many companies and large enterprises keep their storage systems in production environments well after End of Life (EOL).
End of Sale (EOS): The End of Sale date is the last day you will be able to purchase the product through the manufacturer’s traditional channels. After this point, the product may still available through other vendors as a new or used product, but the manufacturer will no longer offer it for purchase.
For example, the EMC CLARiiON CX300, CX500, and CX700 will be categorized End of Service Life after December 31, 2011. The hardware will no longer be supported by EMC Corporation, but many end users don’t feel that an upgrade is necessary for their environment.
So, what do you plan to do when your array reaches End of Life?
Enterprise can choose to:
Third party maintenance providers offer personalized service by providing rapid service, flexible contracts, and expert support engineers that are qualified to service a variety of hardware brands. Third party maintenance providers can tailor a service contract to fit your needs at a price you can afford. Third party maintenance can also beat the 4-hour response time of most manufacturer SLAs by providing On-Site Spare Kits, which can help you reduce downtime to as little as 15 minutes.
So, what does “EOSL” really mean, and what should you do when your hardware reaches that point?
End of Service Life (EOSL): After the EOSL, the manufacturer will no longer provide support services or technical support. Those who require manufacturer support after the EOSL date will be charged a premium price for the service and support.
End of Life (EOL): The End of Life refers to the time when the item has reached the "end of its useful life." After this deadline, the manufacturer will no longer be marketing, selling or sustaining the product. End of Life differentiated from End of Manufacturing Life / End of Production, where the manufacturer will no longer produce the product. In the storage business, many companies and large enterprises keep their storage systems in production environments well after End of Life (EOL).
End of Sale (EOS): The End of Sale date is the last day you will be able to purchase the product through the manufacturer’s traditional channels. After this point, the product may still available through other vendors as a new or used product, but the manufacturer will no longer offer it for purchase.
For example, the EMC CLARiiON CX300, CX500, and CX700 will be categorized End of Service Life after December 31, 2011. The hardware will no longer be supported by EMC Corporation, but many end users don’t feel that an upgrade is necessary for their environment.
So, what do you plan to do when your array reaches End of Life?
Enterprise can choose to:
- Purchase Extended Support from the manufacturer at astronomical prices (if it’s even available for your hardware). Extended support for some EMC products can be provided in 6 month increments, for a maximum of 2 years.
- Purchase a new storage array from the original equipment manufacturer. When licensing and new maintenance contracts are included, this option is outside most enterprise IT budgets.
- Employ third party maintenance providers to support and maintain their EOL storage arrays at an affordable price.
Third party maintenance providers offer personalized service by providing rapid service, flexible contracts, and expert support engineers that are qualified to service a variety of hardware brands. Third party maintenance providers can tailor a service contract to fit your needs at a price you can afford. Third party maintenance can also beat the 4-hour response time of most manufacturer SLAs by providing On-Site Spare Kits, which can help you reduce downtime to as little as 15 minutes.
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