Cisco Tidal Enterprise Scheduler End of Life
Note that this document lists specific dates and details for version 6.2 of Cisco Tidal Enterprise Scheduler End of Life. These will be different for other versions (which you should have moved off of by now).
TES V 6.2 EOL Dates:
- 02-15-2017 End-of-Life Announcement Date
- 08-16-2017 End-of-Sale Date
- 11-14-2017 Last Ship Date
- 08-16-2018 End of SW Maintenance Releases Date
- 08-16-2018 End of New Service Attachment Date
- 11-12-2019 End of Service Contract Renewal Date
- 08-31-2020 Last Date of Support
The End or a New Beginning?
If you are an administrator of Tidal Enterprise Scheduler it is likely your job to know when the end of life for your version is coming up. This will happen eventually so don’t be surprised if it approaches sooner than you thought. It is scheduled in advance by Cisco so if you take note of when this is to happen you can make sure that you are prepared. You will need to plan and decide what you want to do once Tidal becomes obsolete and you can no longer get support. Do you upgrade to the newest version? Do you migrate to another project? You have different options available but choose wisely. You will be stuck with whichever choice you make. Choosing to just upgrade isn’t necessarily the path of least resistance. A new version may mean just as many new changes as switching to a new platform. A newer version may very well introduce all sorts of bugs and issues the would be considered a deal breaker. For example, look what happened when migrating from TES version 5 to TES version 6. The best advice would be to test both a newer version of Tidal alongside other competing products. Start testing well ahead of time and make sure you compare each in detail. Pay attention to stability and to which product makes you more productive. Make sure all of your requirements are met with expected levels of stability.
End-of-Life Announcement Date
This will occur on February 15, 2017. This is the date that it is announced to the public that the end of sale and the end of life are imminent. More specifically this is that date that the document announcing these things is published and that the general public may read it. This is basically just the distribution date of the document that announces the EOS and EOL.
Tidal End-of-Sale Date
This date is set for August 16, 2017. This is your last chance to buy TES version 6.2. If you want to buy it, you are going to have to make sure that you buy it before this date ( or just get a later version…. If there IS a later version ….. ). More precisely, this is the last possible time that you will have the option to buy this exact product through a Cisco point-of-sale. You won’t be able to order it through this mechanism anymore. It just plain won’t be for sale.
Last Ship Date for TES
Now this date is set for November 14, 2017. This is the latest date that it will be possible for the product to be shipped. This holds true for Cisco but also for resellers. What this actually means is anyone’s guess since Tidal is a piece of software and software doesn’t really get shipped anymore. Many years ago we might guess that the software would actually be mailed out on physical media. Today this isn’t how it is done, especially not with this SW. It is downloaded from Cisco’s website and a licence is obtained. Maybe what this actually refers to is the last day that it can be downloaded but we can’t be sure. This is just our best guess based on the official documents. A representative or reseller should be able to tell you, if you trust them.
End of SW Maintenance Releases Date
This date is set to occur on August 16, 2018. After this date, Cisco will no longer release maintenance releases. This version of the software will be left as is. No further updates wil be made to this major version of the product. This includes but is not limited to bug fixes and repairs. TES will not be tested or maintained as development will have ceased. If you are still suffering from bugs, issues, or lack of features at this point, you will need to upgrade to a newer version of the software, assuming a newer version exists at that time.
End of New Service Attachment Date
The next notable date is August 16, 2018. This is significant because it is the last date that software or equipment can be added to a support contract. If you don’t have a support contract already and you want to have one, you will need to get it setup before this time. This holds true even if you are just adding software to an existing contract. You still need to have it done before this time. Afterwards you will be out of luck. Obviously, this only actually refers to software, not equipment. Cisco just likes to keep their documentation generic and reusable.
End of Service Contract Renewal Date
Another date of interest is November 12, 2019. After this date, you won’t be able to renew a service contract for this version of TES. You also won’t be able to extend a contract. This means that if you want to extend or renew, you will need to do it before this date. If you have waited this long, good luck.
Last Date of Support for Tidal Enterprise Scheduler
The last date to mention is August 31, 2020. After this, you won’t be able to get any support at all. That means that if something goes wrong for any reason, you won’t be able to get help. The product will be completely unsupported and will not have any expectations of working at all. After this, TES 6.2 is considered obsolete. Support contracts and warranty terms will not be in effect and will not help after this point. If you have waited this long, you are on your own.
For official Tidal Documentation on EOL issues look:
HERE
And HERE