Microsoft Support Lifecycle Policy

Microsoft Support Lifecycle Policy

The Microsoft Support Lifecycle policy took effect in October 2002, and applies to most products currently available through retail purchase or volume licensing and most future release products. Through the policy, Microsoft will offer a minimum of:

• 10 years of support (5 years Mainstream Support and 5 years Extended Support) at the supported service pack level for Business and Developer products
• 5 years Mainstream Support at the supported service pack level for Consumer/Hardware/Multimedia products
• 3 years of Mainstream Support for products that are annually released (for example, Money, Encarta, Picture It!, and Streets & Trips)

Phases of the Support Lifecycle

Mainstream Support

Mainstream Support is the first phase of the product support lifecycle.
At the supported service pack level, Mainstream Support includes:

• Incident support (no-charge incident support, paid incident support, support charged on an hourly basis, support for warranty claims)
• Security update support
• The ability to request non-security hotfixes

Extended Support

The Extended Support phase follows Mainstream Support for Business and Developer products.
At the supported service pack level, Extended Support includes:

• Paid support
• Security update support at no additional cost
• Non-security related hotfix support requires a separate Extended Hotfix Support Agreement to be purchased (per-fix fees also apply)

Please note:

• Microsoft will not accept requests for warranty support, design changes, or new features during the Extended Support phase
• Extended Support is not available for Consumer, Hardware, or Multimedia products

Self-Help Online Support

Self-Help Online Support is available throughout a product's lifecycle and for a minimum of 12 months after the product reaches the end of its support. Microsoft online Knowledge Base articles, FAQs, troubleshooting tools, and other resources, are provided to help customers resolve common issues.

Service Pack Support

As part of the effort to continually improve Microsoft software, updates and fixes are created and released for recognized issues. Many of these fixes are regularly combined into a single package (called a service pack) that is made available for installation. Both the Mainstream Support and Extended Support phases require the product’s supported service pack be installed to continue to receive support (including security updates). Service packs are cumulative, meaning that each new service pack contains all the fixes that are included with previous service packs and the new fixes. This is done so that you do not have to install an earlier version of a service pack before you install the latest version. A Security Rollup Package (SRP) provides a cumulative rollup of security updates that have been offered since the last SRP.

Visit the Lifecycle Supported Service Packs page to find the support timelines for your particular product’s service pack.

Service Pack Support Policy

• When a new service pack is released, Microsoft will provide either 12 or 24 months of support for the previous service pack
• Support for the previous service packs is either 12 or 24 months, varying according to the product family (for example, Windows, Office, Servers, or Developer tools)
• Support timelines for service packs will remain consistent within the product family
• Microsoft will publish specific support timelines for a previous service pack when the new service pack is released
• When support for a product ends, support of the service packs for that product will also end. The product’s support lifecycle supersedes the service pack support policy

A matrix of the Microsoft product families and the duration of service pack support for each product family is as follows:

Product Family	12 Months	24 Months
Windows		Yes
Microsoft Dynamics SL, Microsoft Dynamics GP, Microsoft Dynamics NAV, Microsoft Dynamics CRM, and Microsoft Dynamics AX		Yes
Office	Yes
Servers	Yes
Developer Tools	Yes
Business Solutions	Yes
Consumer, Hardware, Multimedia, Games	Yes

This support policy permits customers to receive existing hotfixes or to request new hotfixes for the supported service packs during the Mainstream Support phase.

Service packs are not automatically modified to include hotfixes developed after the service pack’s initial release date. An older service pack can be modified to include hotfixes developed after the service pack has released. Contact Microsoft and request the modification.

Security updates released with bulletins from the Microsoft Security Response Center will be reviewed and built for the supported service packs only.

Microsoft strongly recommends that customers evaluate and install current service packs in a timely manner to make sure that systems are up-to-date with the most recent security software. Service packs are available on the Service Packs for Microsoft Products Web site.

Security Updates

Microsoft is committed to providing products with improved security. Our long-term goal is to remove security vulnerabilities from all our products before they are released. To realize the dream of Trustworthy Computing is a key element of our vision. Although we strive to remove vulnerabilities during development, software vulnerabilities remain a fact today and we must be prepared to respond when they are discovered.

Security Update Policy

Microsoft will provide security update support for a minimum of 10 years (through the Extended Support phase) for Business and Developer products. The security updates will apply only to the supported service pack level for these products.

Microsoft will provide security update support through the Mainstream Support phase for Consumer, Hardware, Multimedia products. The security updates will apply only to the supported service pack level for these products.

• Both the Mainstream Support and the Extended Support phases require that the product’s supported service pack level be installed to continue to receive and install security updates.
• Security updates will be available from Windows Update during the Mainstream Support phase, and the Extended Support phase (if available). Note that technical limitations in Microsoft Office 2000 require that it remain an exception to this process. Updates will be provided only through the Microsoft Download Center for the duration of its Support Lifecycle.
• Microsoft advises customers to install the latest product releases, security updates, and service packs to remain as secure as possible. Older products, such as Microsoft Windows NT 4.0, may not meet today’s more demanding security requirements. Microsoft may be unable to provide security updates for older products.