Progress
Installation and Configuration Guide
Version 9
for UNIX
Product Life Cycle
Progress Software Corporation has developed a Product Life Cycle designed to help communicate the product development and technical support resources available during a product’s life span. This section outlines the different product stages starting from the first commercial shipment (FCS) of the product to eventual product retirement, as well as the life cycle status for each Progress Software product. This information will help you develop your product plans with the knowledge and understanding of Progress Software product life cycle plans. To assist you with migration and transition strategies, Progress Software offers a wide variety of education courses and consulting services. This section does not address Progress Software’s future product plans. Please be advised that this information is subject to change by Progress Software without notice. For further information, please visit our Web site at
www.progress.com or
contact your Progress Software representative.The term “product” is used in a general sense; it refers to a combination of a particular products and versions running on a particular hardware platform and/or operating system. For example, Progress ProVision Version 9.1 for Windows refers to a particular product on a particular platform, and Progress Version 8.3 for HP-UX platforms refers to several products on HP-UX platforms.
All currently shipping products are classified in various phases of the Product Life Cycle. The Product Life Cycle definitions include specific R&D efforts, technical support services, inventory policies, and certification policies. New operating environments that will be considered for certifications include new platforms, operating systems, third-party databases, browsers, Web servers, and JVMs. Our goal is to place each product in the appropriate phase of its life cycle so that you know the level of support provided for each product. There are some situations where the placement of products in the product life cycle differs from the general policy.
Table 1–6 summarizes the Product Life Cycle phases.
The four phases in the Product Life Cycle are:
- Active — Active Phase products are fully supported and receive new features and enhancements. Progress Software recommends that customers begin all new projects with Active Phase products and migrate existing applications to Active Phase products as soon as possible. If product problems are found, Progress Software Technical Support will work with customers licensed under a BasicService maintenance contract towards an appropriate resolution. Progress Software will evaluate Active Phase products for certifications on new operating environments.
- Functionally Stable — Functionally Stable Phase products are fully supported but do not receive new features. If problems are found in Functionally Stable Phase products, Progress Software Technical Support will work with customers licensed under a BasicService maintenance contract towards an appropriate resolution where possible. Progress Software will evaluate Functionally Stable Phase products for certifications on new operating environments.
- Mature — Mature Phase products do not receive new features and support services are limited. You can continue to deploy existing applications built on Mature Phase products. However, Progress Software strongly recommends that customers use newer versions to build next-generation products. Mature Phase products will not be evaluated for certifications on new operating environments.
Due to the advanced age of Mature Phase products, only Limited BasicService is available. With the knowledge and skills available, Progress Software Technical Support will provide its best efforts to resolve customer issues and answer customer questions on Mature Phase products licensed under a Limited BasicService maintenance contract. However, the knowledge and skills required to resolve issues on products supported by Limited BasicService are not guaranteed.
Due to the terms of Limited BasicService, Progress Software strongly recommends that customers migrate to fully supported Progress Software products as soon as possible in order to maintain the highest level of support for their applications and systems.
- Retired — Products placed in the Retired Phase are not available for sale except for the purchase of additional user counts for existing licenses, which do not require the delivery of media or documentation. You should not continue to develop and deploy applications with licensed Retired Phase products. Progress Software Corporation will not evaluate Retired Phase products for certifications on new operating environments.
Progress Software suggests possible migration paths to similar products for Retired Phase products and platforms. Since different versions of Progress Software products have varying system requirements, it is important to consider operating system and hardware requirements when evaluating your migration options.
With the knowledge and skills available, Progress Software Technical Support will provide its best efforts to resolve customer issues and answer customer questions on Retired Phase products licensed under a Limited BasicService maintenance contract. However, the knowledge and skills required to resolve issues on products supported by Limited BasicService are not guaranteed.
Due to the terms of Limited BasicService, Progress Software strongly recommends that customers migrate to fully supported Progress Software products as soon as possible in order to maintain the highest level of support for their applications and systems.
Progress Software provides Limited BasicService support for a specified time period after the product’s retirement date. Progress Software reserves the right to adjust the cost of Limited BasicService, which will be applied upon contract renewal. Due to the terms of Limited BasicService, Progress Software strongly recommends that customers migrate to fully supported Progress Software products as soon as possible in order to maintain the highest level of support for their applications and systems.
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