Forum Discussion

ahle's avatar
ahle
Icon for Nimbostratus rankNimbostratus
Jun 17, 2026

Hardware BIG-IP appliance reach EOSS, but the software version running on it not yet?

We have a BIG-IP i4600 hardware appliance, running with BIG-IP software v17.5.x

 

i4600 is reaching End of Software Support (EOSS) by 2027/1/1

https://my.f5.com/manage/s/article/K000133583

 

By definition of EOSS of hardware, it seems there will be no more software patch released for it after EOSS date:

https://my.f5.com/manage/s/article/K5903

https://my.f5.com/manage/s/article/K8986

 

But software v17.5.x 's End of Software Development (EOSD) is 2 years later = 2029/1/1

https://my.f5.com/manage/s/article/K5903

That should mean there will still be new minor version releases for v17.5.x for 2 more years.

 

So what's the impact of reaching 2027/1/1 for our case (i4600+v17.5)?

 

bigip
endofsupport
eoss
support

3 Replies

  • Enes_Afsin_Al's avatar
    Enes_Afsin_Al
    Icon for MVP rankMVP
    Jun 23, 2026

    Hi ahle,

    Starting January 1, 2027, the new 17.5.x maintenance versions will not be supported on iSeries devices. For example: Let’s assume that the 17.5.2.x maintenance version was released before January 1, and the 17.5.3.x version was released after January 1. The compatibility matrix will not include 17.5.3. Technically, you can install 17.5.3.x versions on iSeries devices, but they will not be supported.

    The F5 hardware/software compatibility matrix

    https://my.f5.com/manage/s/article/K9476

     

    In other words, the device will be supported for all point releases of the latest 17.5.x maintenance version released before January 1.

     

    Definitions for parts of the version number for BIG-IP:

    <major release>.<minor release>.<maintenance release>.<point release>

    • ahle's avatar
      ahle
      Icon for Nimbostratus rankNimbostratus
      Jun 29, 2026

      Thanks for answering.

      Sorry for me not responding earlier. I have been unable to login F5 DevCentral last week. Error occurred during login. Don't know why. The error message just told me to try again later.

       

      Your explanation is the same as my understanding. By "not supported", I guess it means there is no guarantee on stability or compatibility after installation, and if any problem occurs, F5 support team will not offer help, right?

       

      I wonder if there is any more official reference, document, etc. of F5 explaining this issue as specific as your explanation. e.g. if there is a F5 webpage/document clearly saying v17.5.2 and later versions will not be supported on i4600, and what is meant by "not supported", it will greatly help me to put an end to the debates happening among my teams.