Dell EqualLogic

Release and Support

Guidelines

Version 2.5 July 2016

 1 Support Guidelines

Dell offers software and hardware product support for up to seven (7) years from invoice date of the EqualLogic hardware
platforms (PS Series arrays and FS Series NAS appliances), with the exception of certain PS Series arrays with SATA or NL-
SAS hard drives, hybrid arrays with mixed SSD and SATA/NL-SAS hard drives, specifically the PS4000E, PS6000E,
PS6010E and the older generation arrays (PS50 through PS3000 series, PS5000 and PS5500).

For arrays with SATA or NL-SAS hard drives, and hybrid arrays with mixed SSD and SATA/NL-SAS hard drives, Dell
offers support for up to seven (7) years from invoice date of the EqualLogic array1.

For older generation EqualLogic arrays (PS5000 and PS5500), Dell offers support for up to the period listed in the Hardware
End of Life Matrix below. Pre-Dell models (PS50 through PS3000 series) have reached end of life and are no longer
supported.

All arrays within a group (and replication partner group) need to be under active warranty or maintenance contract in order
for the group (and the replication partner group) to be eligible for support.

1.1 Continued Software Support

Software updates are available to customers having EqualLogic hardware platforms that are covered under warranty or a
valid maintenance agreement. Customers with platforms that are not under warranty or maintenance agreement will need to
purchase a new maintenance agreement in order to receive software updates. Major, Minor, Maintenance, Patch and Hotfix
software releases for the EqualLogic hardware platform will continue to be available until the End of Life (“EOL") 2 for the
hardware platform. Please note that hardware limitations in older systems may preclude customers from being able to use all
of the features and functionality in new software releases.

1.2 Offering of Maintenance Agreements

Customers covered by a valid warranty or maintenance agreement can purchase maintenance contract renewals for a period
ending no later than the End of Life (“EOL”)1 of the EqualLogic hardware platform. Any array that does not have a current
maintenance contract may be reinstated under a new contract, provided that the array is still in the possession of the customer
that originally purchased it. Reinstatement may require payment of a reinstatement fee along with cost of the new
maintenance contract.

1
Year 6 & 7 year extension only available for an additional fee
2
End of Life (EOL): The last date a product will be supported
 2 Firmware Release Guidelines

Each EqualLogic PS Series array runs a core operating system in firmware that provides all of the PS series features and
functionality. Firmware will be updated from time to time as new features are added or for general maintenance
improvements. The firmware version is defined using a version number. The firmware version number takes the following
form: “X.Y.Z.”.

Note: The timeline targeted for the firmware releases listed in this section of the document is intended for guidance only.
Dell reserves the right to make changes without notice to the timelines mentioned herein. The content provided is as is and
without express or implied warranties of any kind.

Dell is committed to timely firmware releases with a focus on providing the best possible enterprise storage experience for
our customers. If there is an issue that we believe to be critical to the integrity of availability of an organization’s data, then
we may deliver an unscheduled release and notify impacted customers. Customers should be on a supported release stream
(as detailed below), and plan to update their systems to a recommended release on a maintenance schedule that considers the
needs of their business and the need to keep their critical IT equipment updated.

2.1 Definition of Terms

Definition of Releases

Release type Definition

Major Release A major release introduces new features, functionality and/or architecture
improvements. A major release cannot be downgraded to an older release. A
major release is identified by a change to the first digit of the firmware version
number (X.Y.Z.)
Major releases are targeted for release approximately once per year.
Minor Release A minor release introduces new features and functionality and/or new
hardware enablement. A minor release can be downgraded to the previous
minor release. A minor release is identified by a change to the second digit of
the firmware version number (X.Y.Z).
Minor releases are targeted for release approximately every 6 months.
Maintenance Release A maintenance release carries bug fixes for enhanced stability and performance
of EqualLogic platform. A maintenance release is identified by a change to the
third digit of the firmware version number (X.Y.Z).
Maintenance releases are targeted for release approximately every 3 months.
Customers should review maintenance release documentation to determine the
priority of taking a maintenance release for their specific environments and
generally update their systems 1-2 times per year, within the bounds of their
business practices.
Patch Release A patch release addresses customer-specific issues, i.e. issues experienced in
the environment of a specific customer. A patch release does not require an
array restart after installation. A patch release is identified by the tag “L”
following the firmware version number. For example, 6.0.4-L1.
A patch release is provided to specific customers experiencing a given issue by
the Dell Support team.
Hotfix Release A hotfix release addresses customer-specific issues, i.e. issues experienced in
the environment of a specific customer. Hotfixes differ from Patches in that
they require an array restart after installation. A hotfix release is identified by
the tag “H” following the firmware version number. For example, 6.0.4-H1.
A hotfix release is provided to specific customers experiencing a given issue
by the Dell Support team.
 Definition of Release Lines

A release line refers to all maintenance, patch and hotfix releases that are associated with the specific major or minor
release. For example, the maintenance, patch and hotfix releases 6.0.2, 6.0.5, 6.0.3-H1 and 6.0.3-L1 belong to the
release line 6.0.

2.2 Recommended Firmware Releases

After the General Availability (GA) of a new major or minor release, Dell recommends that release to customers who require
the new features and functionality delivered by that firmware release, such as support for a new hardware platform. Dell
recommends the previous major release line to all other customers at that time.

Approximately three (3) or more months after its General Availability (GA), the new major release will become a
recommended firmware release for all customers.

After the General Availability (GA) of a new minor or maintenance release, Dell recommends the new minor or maintenance
release to all customers.

2.3 Supported Firmware Releases

Our Firmware support goal is to support the latest two (2) release lines, e.g. if 6.0 is the latest major release line, and 5.2 is
the previous minor release in the 5.0 major release line, then the supported release lines will be 6.0 and 5.2. Maintenance,
patch and hotfix releases will be made available only for the supported release lines. Dell strongly recommends that
customers running older releases upgrade to one of the two supported release lines. Customers running older releases may be
asked by support to update their arrays to one of the two supported release lines in order to resolve technical issues.

Note: The service warranty of your EqualLogic array does not extend past the identified “End of Life” of the array with the
purchase of a controller conversion kit.
 3 Hardware End of Life Matrix

Definition of Terms

Term Definition

End of Sales (EOS) The last date a product order will be accepted,
End of Life (EOL) The last date a product will be supported,

The following tables enumerate the End of Sales and End of Life dates for the Dell EqualLogic PS Series and FS Series
hardware platforms.

Dell EqualLogic PS Series End of Sales (EOS) End of Life (EOL)

PS50-PS3000 Series
PS-50E 18-Apr-08 18-Apr-13
PS-70E 18-Apr-08 18-Apr-13
PS-8xE 18-Apr-08 18-Apr-13
PS-1x0E 18-Apr-08 18-Apr-13
PS-200E 18-Apr-08 18-Apr-13
PS-300E 18-Apr-08 18-Apr-13
PS-400E 18-Apr-08 18-Apr-13
PS-800E 18-Apr-08 18-Apr-13
PS-1200E 18-Apr-08 18-Apr-13
PS-1600E 18-Apr-08 18-Apr-13
PS-2400E 18-Apr-08 18-Apr-13
PS3xxx Series 18-Apr-08 18-Apr-13
PS4000
PS4000E 18-Oct-11 5 years from product invoice date
PS4000X 18-Oct-11 7 years from product invoice date
PS4000XV 18-Oct-11 7 years from product invoice date
PS4100
PS4100E TBD 7 years from product invoice date*
PS4100X TBD 7 years from product invoice date
PS4100XV TBD 7 years from product invoice date
PS4100XV 3.5” TBD 7 years from product invoice date
PS4110
PS4110E 27-Mar-15 7 years from product invoice date*
PS4110X 27-Mar-15 7 years from product invoice date
PS4110XV 27-Mar-15 7 years from product invoice date
PS4110XV 3.5” 27-Mar-15 7 years from product invoice date
PS4210
PS4210E TBD 7 years from product invoice date*
PS4210X TBD 7 years from product invoice date
PS4210XV TBD 7 years from product invoice date
PS4210XV 3.5” TBD 7 years from product invoice date
PS4210XS TBD 7 years from product invoice date

Dell EqualLogic PS Series End of Sales (EOS) End of Life (EOL)

PS-M4110
PS-M4110E TBD 7 years from product invoice date*
PS-M4110X TBD 7 years from product invoice date
PS-M4110XV TBD 7 years from product invoice date
PS-M4110XS TBD 7 years from product invoice date
PS5000
PS5000E 19-Aug-09 19-Aug-14
PS5000X 19-Aug-09 19-Aug-14
PS5000XV 19-Aug-09 19-Aug-14
PS5500E 19-Aug-09 19-Aug-14
PS6000
PS6000E 18-Nov-11 5 years from product invoice date
PS6000X 18-Nov-11 7 years from product invoice date
PS6000XV 18-Nov-11 7 years from product invoice date
PS6000S 18-Nov-11 7 years from product invoice date
PS6000XVS 18-Nov-11 7 years from product invoice date
PS6010
PS6010E 26-Jun-12 5 years from product invoice date
PS6010X 26-Jun-12 7 years from product invoice date
PS6010XV 26-Jun-12 7 years from product invoice date
PS6010S 26-Jun-12 7 years from product invoice date
PS6010XVS 26-Jun-12 7 years from product invoice date
PS6100
PS6100E TBD 7 years from product invoice date*
PS6100X TBD 7 years from product invoice date
PS6100XV TBD 7 years from product invoice date
PS6100XV 3.5” TBD 7 years from product invoice date
PS6100S TBD 7 years from product invoice date
PS6100XS TBD 7 years from product invoice date
PS6110
PS6110E 04-Sept-14 7 years from product invoice date*
PS6110X 04-Sept-14 7 years from product invoice date
PS6110XV 04-Sept-14 7 years from product invoice date
PS6110XV 3.5” 04-Sept-14 7 years from product invoice date
PS6110S 04-Sept-14 7 years from product invoice date
PS6110XS 04-Sept-14 7 years from product invoice date
 Dell EqualLogic PS Series End of Sales (EOS) End of Life (EOL)
PS6210
PS6210E TBD 7 years from product invoice date*
PS6210X TBD 7 years from product invoice date
PS6210XV TBD 7 years from product invoice date
PS6210XV 3.5” TBD 7 years from product invoice date
PS6210XS TBD 7 years from product invoice date
PS6210S TBD 7 years from product invoice date
PS6500
PS6500E TBD 7 years from product invoice date*
PS6500X TBD 7 years from product invoice date
PS6500ES TBD 7 years from product invoice date*
PS6510
PS6510E TBD 7 years from product invoice date*
PS6510X TBD 7 years from product invoice date
PS6510ES TBD 7 years from product invoice date*
PS6610
PS6610E TBD 7 years from product invoice date*
PS6610X TBD 7 years from product invoice date
PS6610ES TBD 7 years from product invoice date*
*Year 6 & 7 year extension only available for an additional fee

Dell EqualLogic FS Series End of Sales (EOS) End of Life (EOL)

FS7500 1-Feb-13 7 years from product invoice date
FS7600 31-Oct-16 31-Dec-20
FS7610 31-Dec-17 31-Dec-20