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Trying to figure out support dates for WAS on RHEL

  • 1.  Trying to figure out support dates for WAS on RHEL

    Posted Wed September 21, 2022 05:24 PM

    I'm being asked to provide information on when WAS 8.5.5 & 9.0 will stop being supported on RHEL 6, 7, and 8 for the purpose of sorting out internal support agreements between different groups in my company.  I'm not having much luck finding a straight answer on the topic.  I've found lots of vague references and broken links, but nothing that comes right out and says "WAS is supported on X version until Y date."  Even a "we haven't decided yet" would be enough, but I can't even find that much.  I think I might have found some confirmation that RHEL 7 isn't supported anymore (which would knock 6 out, as well), but that was only implied in a citation that didn't lead to any actual statement.

    Does anybody have any idea what the actual support dates are or what I need to do in order to figure them out?

    Thanks in advance.



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    Joshua Stinnett
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  • 2.  RE: Trying to figure out support dates for WAS on RHEL

    Posted Thu September 22, 2022 07:49 AM
    Hi, in general IBM will support products on a specific OS until the OS is EOS or there is a note that support has ended for a product on the OS.  For example tWAS v8.5.5.22 now only supports RHEL 7 and 8, according to the requirements matrix.  This does not mean you will not get support, but if there is an underlying issue with the OS that is causing an issue with tWAS, then it will be up to the individual orgs to fix the issue or upgrade to a supported OS.  Have a look at the requirements matrix tool.

    Brian

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    Brian S Paskin
    Sr. Cloud Engineer
    IBM Cloud Engineering
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  • 3.  RE: Trying to figure out support dates for WAS on RHEL

    IBM Champion
    Posted Thu September 22, 2022 08:21 AM
    In addition to what Brian said, here is the official redhat page for supported OS.

    https://access.redhat.com/support/policy/updates/errata

    I encourage you to aim for a migration to the latest OS version, as by experience migrating Websphere between OS levels tend to be smooth (i've performed even cross-platform migration rhel to aix, rhel to z linux …)

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    Largou walid
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  • 4.  RE: Trying to figure out support dates for WAS on RHEL

    Posted Thu September 22, 2022 09:33 AM
    While I appreciate the sentiment, you guys are proving my point.  "In general.....or....." and "I encourage" are NOT straight answers.  I already looked at the requirements matrix before I made my initial post and there's nothing concrete there, either.  It only tells what's supported right now, and even that isn't 100%.  What i need to find is an official statement from IBM that WAS 8.5.5 and/or 9.0 stop being supported on specific versions on specific dates, that EOS will occur once certain criteria have been met, that no decision has been made on the topic, etc....

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    Joshua Stinnett
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  • 5.  RE: Trying to figure out support dates for WAS on RHEL

    Posted Thu September 22, 2022 09:47 AM

    We have this externally in both https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/single-stream-continuous-delivery-sscd-software-support-lifecycle-policy-websphere-liberty and https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/869800 with minor differences:

     

     

    If WebSphere Application Server traditional is being run on an operating system release that is no longer within publicly documented production support by the vendor, or with a co-requisite or prerequisite product that is no longer supported, IBM technical support may be limited to defects that can be replicated on currently supported environments. In this situation, the  existing 'other configurations' policy continues to apply , and IBM will apply reasonable effort to support your configuration. WebSphere Application Server traditional will not be tested with co-requisite or prerequisite products that are no longer supported.



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    Sam Wong
    samw@ca.ibm.com
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  • 6.  RE: Trying to figure out support dates for WAS on RHEL

    Posted Fri September 23, 2022 12:13 PM
    Thanks again, but this is still the same stuff I was already talking about not being able to use.  One of those links is for Liberty, not ND, and the excerpt makes a point not to actually commit to the course of action it describes.  On top of that, RHEL, like most other enterprise-level software, goes through multiple stages of support over the course of its lifecycle that each cover less than the stage(s) before them.  "Publicly documented production support" could be interpreted to mean all potential levels of support, but it could just as easily be interpreted to mean a specific level of support.

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    Joshua Stinnett
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  • 7.  RE: Trying to figure out support dates for WAS on RHEL

    Posted Thu September 22, 2022 12:55 PM

    Hi Joshua,
    The first place to go to answer any questions about support dates is the IBM Support Lifecycle page 
    https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/lifecycle/search/?q=WebSphere%20application%20server
    Currently you will see no specific dates listed for 8.5.x or 9.0.x because the dates have not been set yet, but if you click on the entry for either product it will direct you to the following announcement that explains the current position on WebSphere Application Server Support.
    https://www.ibm.com/common/ssi/cgi-bin/ssialias?subtype=ca&infotype=an&supplier=897&letternum=ENUS220-128
    Hope that helps!

    James



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    James Snooks
    Technical Account Manager
    IBM
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  • 8.  RE: Trying to figure out support dates for WAS on RHEL

    Posted Fri September 23, 2022 12:35 PM
    The lifecycle page is interesting, but it didn't give me anything I didn't already have.  I'd already read the announcement before I made my original post, and while it is specific on pretty much everything else, even a couple of other operating systems that WAS ND won't be supported on anymore, it does not provide an actual position on operating systems it will be supported on.  Like I said before, even a "we haven't made a decision yet" would be enough, because it would actual be A position, and one that IBM is clearly willing to take, given the stance on 2030.  Even something to the tune of "we will support an OS until it reaches X stage of its lifecycle (End-of-Maintenance, End-of-Support, etc)" would be enough, which I would think shouldn't be too hard for RHEL, being that IBM owns it.

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    Joshua Stinnett
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  • 9.  RE: Trying to figure out support dates for WAS on RHEL

    Posted Fri September 23, 2022 02:25 PM

    Have you viewed the detailed system requirements page?
    https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/websphere-application-server-detailed-system-requirements
    This will direct you to the IBM Software Product Compatibility Reports, which is what I think perhaps you have been looking for all along?
    https://www.ibm.com/software/reports/compatibility/clarity/index.html
    From here you can run a variety of reports to answer questions like yours, I would suggest running the "Operating Systems for a specific product" report.
    https://www.ibm.com/software/reports/compatibility/clarity/osForProduct.html
    This will show the operating systems that are supported and were supported (see the notes column). 

    Running the report for WAS ND 8.5.5 will tell you that the RHEL 7 operating system is no longer in service as it went out of full support in 2019
    And it then refers you to IBM's policy on unsupported operating systems: https://www.ibm.com/support/customercare/sas/f/handbook/policies.html#unsupported

    RHEL 6 went out of support in 2016 so it no longer shows as a supported OS at all.

    The only notes shown against later versions of RHEL are for minimum Java levels. This means they are currently still supported in line with IBM's support policy.
    According to the Red Hat Product Life Cycle page though, RHEL 8 will go out of full support from May 31, 2024, so after that date IBM's policy on unsupported operating systems should come into effect from the WAS perspective.
    If you still have questions about specific operating systems being supported or becoming unsupported with WAS at some point in the future, I would suggest asking them directly to IBM Support via a case and they should be able to give you an answer.



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    James Snooks
    Technical Account Manager
    IBM
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