SU2: Minimum Recommended ONTAP releases on the NetApp Support Site

Summary

• The software download pages on the NetApp Support site for the NetApp^® ONTAP^® operating system have been updated to guide users towards recent versions where it is expected that customers will experience a more stable and supportable experience, however, customers are free to choose and deploy any available release.
• The information in this article is provided to encourage users to adopt newer and more stable ONTAP releases through which they can benefit from important fixes in the release codeline.
• This information will help enable users to experience demonstrably better reliability and availability.

Description

• NetApp introduces and supports ONTAP major release families and Service Updates as described in the ONTAP Release Model.
• Users can choose a release from several actively supported major release families that best fits their requirements.
• Although NetApp recognizes that users might choose a specific level of Service Update within a major release family for operational reasons, it is often the case that a more up-to-date Service Update provides a richer, more stable, and more supportable experience.

Solution

• To provide the best experience with each actively maintained ONTAP major release family, NetApp has put in place a "Minimum Recommended Release" process to help guide users who are looking to upgrade ONTAP to at least a minimum Service Update release that is best positioned to provide a more positive experience.
• This guidance is not intended to preclude the use of later available Service Updates but serves to provide a baseline below which NetApp would not actively recommend deployment without additional scrutiny.
• These minimum recommendations are made based on field uptake, system runtime, and system stability metrics, and also consider the applicability of included fix content for the majority of users on that major release family, and as such these minimum release recommendations will change periodically over time.
• Where there is no specific minimum recommendation listed for a new ONTAP major release family, the recommendation is to use the latest available version of ONTAP for that major release family.

Additional Information

As of April 22, 2024, the published minimum recommended ONTAP releases on the NetApp Support Site for releases still in full support are as follows:

• For ONTAP 9.14x, the minimum recommended version is 9.14.1P2.
• For ONTAP 9.13x, the minimum recommended version is 9.13.1P8.
• For ONTAP 9.12x, the minimum recommended version is 9.12.1P10.
• For ONTAP 9.11x, the minimum recommended version is 9.11.1P13.
• For ONTAP 9.10x, the minimum recommended version is 9.10.1P16.
• For ONTAP 9.9x, the minimum recommended version is 9.9.1P18.

Note: These minimum recommendations are not intended to preclude the use of later available Service Updates, but serve to provide a baseline below which NetApp would not actively recommend deployment without additional scrutiny.

Releases still in Full Support as of last update (April 22, 2024)

For ONTAP 9.14x, the minimum recommended release is 9.14.1P2.

• Published March 27, 2024, ONTAP 9.14.1P2 is currently the minimum recommended release for the 9.14x release family.
• This minimum recommendation will be updated as subsequent Service Updates are published based on uptake, run time, stability, and the applicability of the fixes in them to a wide range of users.
• Full Support for ONTAP 9.14x ends on January 31, 2027.

For ONTAP 9.13x, the minimum recommended release is 9.13.1P8.

• Published March 13, 2024, ONTAP 9.13.1P8 is currently the minimum recommended release for the 9.13x release family.
• This minimum recommendation will be updated as subsequent Service Updates are published based on uptake, run time, stability, and the applicability of the fixes in them to a wide range of users.
• Full Support for ONTAP 9.13x ends on June 30, 2026.

For ONTAP 9.12x, the minimum recommended release is 9.12.1P10.

• Published December 22, 2023, ONTAP 9.12.1P10 is currently the minimum recommended release for the 9.12x release family.
• This minimum recommendation will be updated as subsequent Service Updates are published based on uptake, run time, stability, and the applicability of the fixes in them to a wide range of users.
• Full Support for ONTAP 9.12x ends on February 28, 2026.

For ONTAP 9.11x, the minimum recommended release is 9.11.1P13.

• Published December 14, 2023, ONTAP 9.11.1P13 is currently the minimum recommended release for the 9.11x release family.
• This minimum recommendation will be updated as subsequent Service Updates are published based on uptake, run time, stability, and the applicability of the fixes in them to a wide range of users.
• Full Support for ONTAP 9.11x ends on July 31, 2025.

For ONTAP 9.10x, the minimum recommended release is 9.10.1P16.

• Published December 15, 2023, ONTAP 9.10.1P16 is currently the minimum recommended release for the 9.9.10x release family.
• This minimum recommendation will be updated as subsequent Service Updates are published based on uptake, run time, stability, and the applicability of the fixes in them to a wide range of users.
• Full Support for ONTAP 9.9.10x ends on January 31, 2025.

For ONTAP 9.9x, the minimum recommended release is 9.9.1P18.

• Published November 30, 2023, ONTAP 9.9.1P18 is currently the minimum recommended release for the 9.9x release family.
• This minimum recommendation will be updated as subsequent Service Updates are published based on uptake, run time, stability, and the applicability of the fixes in them to a wide range of users.
• Full Support for ONTAP 9.9x ends on June 30, 2024.

Releases still in Limited or Self-Service Support as of last update (April 22, 2024)

For ONTAP 9.8x, the last published release is 9.8P21. Customers are advised to upgrade to a release that is still in Full Support (see above list).

• Published December 6, 2023, ONTAP 9.8P21 is the terminal Service Update for the 9.8x release family.
• Full Support for ONTAP 9.8x ended on December 31, 2023.
• Limited support for ONTAP 9.8x ends on December 31, 2025.
• Self-Service support for ONTAP 9.8x ends on December 31, 2028.

For ONTAP 9.7x, the last published release is 9.7P23. Customers are advised to upgrade to a release that is still in Full Support (see above list).

• Published July 25, 2023, ONTAP 9.7P23 is the terminal Service Update for the 9.7x release family.
• Full Support for ONTAP 9.7x ended on July 31, 2023.
• Limited support for ONTAP 9.7x ends on July 31, 2025.
• Self-Service support for ONTAP 9.7x ends on July 31, 2028.

For ONTAP 9.6x, the last published release is 9.6P18. Customers are advised to upgrade to a release that is still in Full Support (see above list).

• Published April 19, 2021, ONTAP 9.6P18 is the terminal Service Update for the 9.6x release family.
• Full Support for ONTAP 9.6x ended on June 30, 2022.
• Limited support for ONTAP 9.6x ends on June 30, 2024.
• Self-Service support for ONTAP 9.6x ends on June 30, 2027.

For ONTAP 9.5x, the the last published release is 9.5P19. Customers are advised to upgrade to a release that is still in Full Support (see above list).

• Published December 9, 2021, ONTAP 9.5P19 is the terminal Service Update for the 9.5x release family.
• Full Support for ONTAP 9.5x ended on January 31, 2022.
• Limited support for ONTAP 9.5x ends on January 31, 2024.
• Self-Service support for ONTAP 9.5x ends on January 31, 2027.

For ONTAP 9.3x, the last published release is 9.3P21. Customers are advised to upgrade to a release that is still in Full Support (see above list).

• Published January 28, 2021, ONTAP 9.3P21 is the terminal Service Update for the 9.3x release family
• Full Support for ONTAP 9.3x ended on January 31, 2021.
• Limited support for ONTAP 9.3x ended on January 31, 2023.
• Self-Service support for ONTAP 9.3x ends on January 31, 2026.

For Data ONTAP 8.2.x, the last published release is 8.2.5P5for 8.2.x systems operating in 7-Mode. Customers are advised to transition to a release that is still in Full Support (see above list).

• Published January 14, 2021, Data ONTAP 8.2.5P5 is the terminal Service Update for 8.2.x systems operating in 7-Mode.
• Full Support for 8.2.x systems operating in 7-Mode ended on December 31, 2020.
• Limited Support for 8.2.x systems operating in 7-Mode ended on December 31, 2022.
• Self-Service support for 8.2.x systems operating in 7-Mode ends on December 31, 2025.

For ONTAP 9.1x, the last published release is 9.1P20. Customers are advised to upgrade or migrate to a release that is still in Full Support (see above list).

• Published December 17, 2019, ONTAP 9.1P20 is the terminal Service Update for the 9.1x release family.
• Full Support for ONTAP 9.1x ended on January 31, 2020.
• Limited support for ONTAP 9.1x ended on January 31, 2022.
• Self-Service support for ONTAP 9.1x ends on January 31, 2025.

End of Engineering Support/End of Full Support announcements:

• End of Engineering Support of Data ONTAP 7.3.x
• End of Engineering Support of Data ONTAP 8.0.x
• End of Engineering Support of Data ONTAP 8.1.x
• End of Engineering Support for clustered Data ONTAP 8.2.x
• End of Engineering Support for clustered Data ONTAP 8.3.x
• ONTAP 9.0 Transitioning to Limited Support in January 2018
• ONTAP 9.1 Transitioning to Limited Support in February 2020
• ONTAP 9.2 Transitioning to Limited Support in August 2018
• ONTAP 9.3 Will Transition to Limited Support in February 2021
• ONTAP 9.4 Will Transition to Limited Support in July 2019
• ONTAP 9.5 Will Transition to Limited Support in February 2022
• ONTAP 9.6 Will Transition to Limited Support in July 2022
• ONTAP 9.7 Will Transition to Limited Support in August 2023
• ONTAP 9.8 Has Transitioned to Limited Support (January 1, 2024)
• Software Version Support Policy

Customers looking to upgrade ONTAP to a later release family should check the following resources for additional upgrade considerations.

• https://www.netapp.com/data-management/ontap-upgrade/
• https://docs.netapp.com/us-en/ontap/upgrade/concept_upgrade_paths.html

A complete list of ONTAP releases including service updates and release dates can be found using the software download page change log tool on the NetApp Support Site.

• https://mysupport.netapp.com/site/downloads/software-changelog

Note: The version of ONTAP that you can upgrade to varies based on your hardware platform and the version of ONTAP currently running on your nodes. See the NetApp Hardware Universe site to verify that your platform is supported for the target upgrade release.

• https://hwu.netapp.com/Home/Index

Note: This Knowledgebase article does not constitute a formal Software Version Support policy: for that policy see: Software Version Support Policy

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