Xenserver updates no longer available??

[Rud Schoble]

When attempting to update our Xenserver 7.1 servers we see a notice informing us that:

 

"XenServer 7.1 Cumulative Update 1 and its subsequent hotfixes are available only to customers on the Customer Success Services program.

Citrix will continue to provide security updates to the base XenServer 7.1 product for a period of three months from the release date of the XenServer 7.1 Cumulative Update 1 (until December 11, 2017). After this three month period elapses, any new hotfixes released will only support XenServer 7.1 with CU1 applied."

 

We have no idea what "Customer Success Services" are and our attempts find out more about them lead to glossy promotions proclaiming "award winning service" and US based numbers we should call to find out more. After reading the promotions we're left wondering how on Earth we've managed to maintain our Xenservers (all the way back to 5.6) without "Customer Success Services"

 

Can someone explain what "Customer Success Services" are and perhaps more to the point how much they cost?

 

Thanks,

Daniel

 

[Alan Lantz]

The way I see it is two choices, stay up to date on the latest release when running free or go 7.1 LTSR 

with support for the long term. I hate to suggest other options on a Citrix forum, but XCP-Ng has 

the benefit of being community driven.

 

--Alan--

 

[Tobias Kreidl]

Take a look please at https://www.citrix.com/blogs/2017/09/15/xenserver-releases-something-for-everyone/

 and https://xenserver.org/blog/entry/changes-to-hotfixes-and-maintenance-for-xenserver-releases.html

 

CSS is just a new term for customer support, which is a new way of dealing with licensing+support. You'd have to contact Citrix to see about pricing and how that will change as the transition takes place.

 

-=Tobias

[Alan Lantz]

The way I'm reading it, well from the Citrix perspective, is its a push more people into licensing their product. And honestly if you're running production servers you should. So the plan is offer people with purchased support a higher/better level of access to hotfixes. The way I understand it is only customers will have access to the cumulative update download. Starting next year hotfixes will pretty much end for XenServer 7.1 unless you have purchased support.

 

--Alan--

[Tobias Kreidl]

That pretty much sums it up. If you want to continue running a free version of XenServer, you'll have to move to XS 7.2 and re-install the roughly quarterly updates in order to be able to continue to access hotfixes (which unless you're licensed, will only be available for the current release).

 

Note that XenDesktop/XenApp licensed users will continue to be able to get XenServer for free along with all of its updates, the same as if you licensed XenServer as a separate product.

 

-=Tobias

[Rud Schoble]

Thanks for your replies guys, and for the links Tobias.

 

I think they clear things up a little. One of the lines that stood out in the article was:

"There will still be a free version of XenServer and the only change at this point will be that on-demand hotfixes for a given CR will no longer be available "

Given the short timing of this announcement "at this point" could mean until next week, next month or the next sales review. That does not fill us with confidence, so I guess we had better start investing our options.

 

If an "annual support contract" is the same as "Customer Success Services" it looks to be around $450/socket, which probably sounds reasonable to me. But given we already pay Microsoft Volume licensing I can already hear some of the MS fanboys at work spruiking Hyper-V.

 

Thanks,

Daniel

[Tobias Kreidl]

The cut-over dates are indicated in the articles references above. Also, the statement

 

"There will still be a free version of XenServer and the only change at this point will be that on-demand hotfixes for a given CR will no longer be available"

 

is a bit misleading since any hotfixes released during the current CR will be available on-demand for no charge for teh free version. Only after the next CR is released will on-demand hotfixes for the free version become no longer available.

 

-=Tobias

[roger james1709161319]

Seems like quite the lockin scam pulled here...too bad.