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Forward Enterprise End-of-Life Policy

On-Prem Deployments​

All on-prem deployment versions (application and base) adhere to the following lifecycle:

  • End-of-Support (EOS): 15 months after release.
  • End-of-Life (EOL): 24 months after release.

Policy Notes​

  • Bug Reporting: Bugs identified in an EOS version will not be considered for triage or resolution. Customers must upgrade to the latest supported version and confirm that the issue persists before submitting a support ticket.
  • Upgrade Path: Once a version reaches EOL, it cannot be directly upgraded to the latest version. Customers must first upgrade to a version released within 24 months of their current version and then proceed with incremental upgrades.
    • Example: A deployment on version 22.10 must first upgrade to version 24.10, which falls within the 24-month support window, before upgrading to the latest version, such as 24.12.

On-Prem Lifecycle

SaaS Collectors​

SaaS collectors follow this lifecycle:

  • End-of-Support (EOS): 3 months after release.
  • End-of-Life (EOL): 6 months after release.

Policy Notes​

  • Operational Impacts of EOS: Once a collector reaches EOS, all collection operations—including connectivity tests, device discovery, and network data collection—are suspended. The only action allowed for an EOS collector is upgrading to a supported version. A notification banner in the Forward Enterprise UI will indicate outdated, EOS, or unsupported collectors.
  • Safe Upgrade Disclaimer: Successful upgrades cannot be guaranteed after a collector reaches EOL due to potential compatibility issues. Customers are strongly encouraged to perform upgrades before the EOS date to avoid disruptions and minimize risks.

SaaS Lifecycle

API Change Policy (Including NQE)​

Policy Notes​

  • Breaking Changes: Breaking changes are announced at least three major releases in advance through release notes and product documentation. The announcement includes detailed instructions for updating usage.
  • SaaS Customers: SaaS customers are given 3 months to update their API scripts after a breaking change is introduced. Engineering will make every effort to log and notify SaaS customers using deprecated APIs slated for removal.
  • On-Prem Customers: On-prem customers upgrading from version X to version Y must review breaking changes documented in the API release notes for versions (X+1 through Y). API scripts should be updated accordingly before initiating the upgrade.