The terms and abbreviations that describe the lifecycle of a product can vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. However, there are some industry-standard terms that are generally accepted. These include „End of Sale (EoS)“ and „End of Life (EoL).“
End of Sale (EoS): This is the point at which a product is no longer offered for sale, although support and spare parts may still be available for a certain period.
End of Life (EoL): This is the point at which a product is no longer supported. After this point, there are generally no more updates, patches, or spare parts available for the product.
Fortinet suggests that customers familiarize themselves with the Fortinet Product Life Cycle Policy. Particularly important to Fortinet customers are the three product life cycle milestones that each Fortinet product passes through before reaching the end of its life cycle.
Fortinet, a company specialized in network security, uses its own terms:
End of Order Date (EOO)
This corresponds to the general term „End of Sale.“ The end of order date is the last date on which a hardware or software product may be ordered, after this date the product is no longer available for sale. Fortinet will provide a minimum of ninety days advance notice of the affected product’s EOO date by publishing an EOL notification.
Last Service Extension Date (LSED)
The last date at which an order will be accepted, for a product that is no longer available for purchase, for an extension of an existing contract for support or security subscription services. No service contracts may be extended past the EOS date. The last service extension date is 12 months before the EOS date for the relevant product.
End of Support Date (EOS)
This corresponds to the general term „End of Life.“ The final milestone in the product lifecycle is the End of Support date. After this date which Fortinet, will not sell, manufacture or improve the product and is under no obligation to provide support services. In general, the EOS for hardware takes place 60 months after the End of Order Date.
Software Support Policy
This Software Support Policy applies to any and all software produced and / or sold by Fortinet, covering firmware for appliances and applications („Software“) installed on customer owned systems.
Fortinet will provide Engineering Software support for thirty six (36) months from the GA release date of the major or minor release. Fortinet will also provide „Must Fix“ support for an additional eighteen (18) months from the End of Engineering Support date for software which was supported on or released after August 1, 2015. „Software Releases“ constitute either major or minor version increments and support is provided on the latest patch release of each version.