Vates Product Lifecycle Policy

Effective Date: 2026-10-26

This Vates Product Lifecycle Policy (the "Lifecycle Policy") identifies supported products, versions and release channels for Subscription Services supplied under the Vates VMS Subscription Terms (the "Terms") and is incorporated by reference into them. Capitalised terms not defined in this Lifecycle Policy have the meanings given in the Terms.

In this Lifecycle Policy, "Supported" means eligible to receive the applicable Subscription Services. It does not guarantee that every Incident will be corrected, that a particular fix will be created or that a correction will be delivered within a particular period.

1. Publication of supported versions and lifecycle dates

1.1 XCP-ng

Vates publishes the current supported XCP-ng releases, their lifecycle category, support status and any applicable minimum end-of-support date in the XCP-ng release documentation (the "Lifecycle Matrix"). The Lifecycle Matrix is incorporated into this Lifecycle Policy solely for the identification of supported versions, channels, statuses and published lifecycle dates.

Customer must apply generally available updates reasonably required for Support.

1.2 Xen Orchestra Appliance

The Lifecycle Matrix published in the Xen Orchestra release documentation identifies the supported Xen Orchestra Appliance (XOA) channels and their status. XOA Stable is intended for production environments prioritising stability and is normally based on a release that has benefited from an additional period of community feedback and fixes. XOA Latest normally contains the newest QA-validated monthly release. Customer must remain reasonably current within its selected supported channel.

These descriptions do not create a fixed release cadence or a commitment that the channels will always contain different builds. Xen Orchestra installed from source is not eligible for professional Support unless Vates expressly agrees otherwise in writing.

Vates may require Customer to update XOA within its selected supported channel, or to move to another supported channel with Customer’s agreement where reasonably necessary, to diagnose an Incident, address a security issue or provide an available fix.

1.3 Other covered products and components

The Lifecycle Matrix may identify other products and components covered by an Order, including XOSTOR, XO Proxy and XO Lite. Unless the Lifecycle Matrix identifies a product-specific position or an Order states otherwise, the fallback rule in Section 2 applies.

2. Fallback rule where this Lifecycle Policy is silent

If neither the Lifecycle Matrix nor this Lifecycle Policy identifies the supported versions of a product covered by an Order, Support Services apply to the then-current stable version and its immediately preceding version (N/N-1).

This fallback rule does not:

• turn a pre-release, experimental feature, source build or unofficial build into a supported product;
• create a minimum end-of-support commitment for a release not identified as LTS;
• extend support to a version that cannot reasonably interoperate with other supported components required for the relevant VMS; or
• override a product-specific prerequisite, deprecation or exclusion in the Applicable Documentation.

3. Lifecycle rules

Eligibility remains subject to the Subscription plan, covered VMS, technical prerequisites and exclusions in the Terms and Support Policy. An Order or signed special terms may provide different lifecycle coverage.

3.1 Long Term Support releases

A release identified by Vates as "LTS" in the Lifecycle Matrix is supported until the minimum end-of-support date published for that release in the Lifecycle Matrix. Vates may extend that date but may not shorten it except where continuing support would be unlawful, as provided in the Terms.

An LTS designation does not entitle Customer to use an LTS release indefinitely. After its published end-of-support date, Customer must upgrade to a then-supported release, which may be the next LTS release, to continue receiving Subscription Services.

3.2 Standard and rolling releases

A standard release, or a product delivered through a rolling release channel, is supported while identified as supported in the Lifecycle Matrix. Unless Vates expressly identifies a release as LTS, any anticipated support date is indicative and may be updated in accordance with the Terms.

3.3 Pre-releases and unsupported distributions

Alpha, beta, release-candidate, preview, experimental and other pre-release versions are not supported for production or commercial Support unless an Order expressly states otherwise.

Community or source-built distributions of Xen Orchestra are not eligible for professional Support. Professional Support for Xen Orchestra is supplied through Xen Orchestra Appliance (XOA), unless Vates expressly agrees otherwise in writing.

4. Maintenance during the support period

Supported releases may receive generally available security updates, corrections and other Maintenance Services as determined by Vates. The content, frequency and form of updates may vary by product, release and lifecycle category.

Customer must apply generally available updates, patches and supported upgrade steps that Vates reasonably identifies as necessary for security, continued maintenance or investigation of a ticket. If Customer declines, Vates may suspend the applicable Support targets and is not responsible for delay or inability to address the affected Incident.

Vates may correct an Incident in a later supported release or channel rather than backporting a correction, except to the extent a specific LTS commitment expressly requires otherwise.

5. End of support

After a release reaches end of support:

• Vates is no longer required to investigate new Incidents or provide fixes for that release;
• repositories, downloads or existing documentation may remain available without extending Support;
• Vates may provide reasonable upgrade guidance within the scope of the Subscription; and
• continued use of the release remains Customer’s responsibility and does not extend the lifecycle date.

End of support for a version does not terminate a Subscription where another supported upgrade path remains available.

6. Changes to this Lifecycle Policy

Vates may update this Lifecycle Policy and the Lifecycle Matrix in accordance with Section 15 of the Terms, including to add releases, designate an LTS, extend support, record end-of-support status, add products or update rolling channels. No update may shorten a published minimum end-of-support date for an LTS release except where continuing support until that date would be unlawful.