NetScaler 13.0 EoL 15th July 2024 – what to do now
NetScaler (formerly Citrix ADC) 13.0 software will no longer be supported from July 15th 2024, as the previously announced End of Life (EoL) notification is actioned by the vendor. While our NetScaler managed service and SME on Demand programmes have this covered for our supported customers, we’ve had a few inbound enquires from IT teams who are a battling a busy schedule and still need to get 13.0 upgraded.
NetScaler 13.0 EoL – what does this mean?
NetScaler EoL notification for the 13.0 software means this appliance will not be supported for break fix incidents by the vendor and more importantly, have no patches or upgrades available. While there may not be a desire to upgrade to a newer version for additional features, you don’t want to be in a position where you can’t patch for CVE remediation as not being able to patch usually means not secure, and you don’t want that on internet facing machines.
NetScaler 14.1 is the latest major release, with stacks of new features that are worthy of investigation to enhance UX and RoI. As an Application Delivery Controller, NetScaler touches lots of places in the service delivery model. Users connect directly to it from all kinds of devices, it provides gateway and other security functions, along with traffic management and observability into resource utilisation and user experience. It’s a clever box, but even little changes can break things elsewhere so tread carefully with latest builds. Very carefully.
Warning – some 13.0 configuration isn’t supported in 13.1+
NetScaler 13.1 has been around since September 2021 and generally considered stable by more risk adverse IT teams. Those using the Gateway feature take note, moving from 13.0 to 13.1 removes the support for classic policy expressions and these depreciated commands are often related to user access management so apply caution here as it’s quite feasible to lock all your users out of your systems.
13.1 will continue to be supported by the vendor until September 2027 so there’s plenty of production life in the release if there’s a preference to stay one behind the latest.
For reasons we’ll go in to on another day, there is no 14.0 NetScaler. NetScaler 14.1 has been available since August 23 and in addition to a stack of new features, those migrating from 13.0 to 14.1 will notice a significant improvement in performance. From the way the appliance handles ‘SSL’ traffic to it’s WAF protection processing, 14.1 is super fast, proven in production and seriously worth consideration while the upgrade change window is in place.
The cloudDNA NetScaler EoL Advisory Service
Many organisations contact us because they know they could get more out of their NetScaler. Systems that have been specified and configured 3, 4 or in some cases 5+ years ago are usually based on legacy principles and feature sets making them arguably less fit for purpose than when they were first deployed.
As the business demands on the services develop, and NetScaler’s feature list continues to evolve, our NetScaler EoL Advisory Service has been designed to help give you the right information to make an informed decision around firmware upgrade, to improve service levels and deliver the maximum return on your investment.
Every NetScaler deployment is unique, so it’s important we understand what success looks like for your service delivery model. Our EoL Advisory starts with a review of the digital services delivered, compliance and wider security objectives, the SLAs expected by your organisation and of course a review of running configuration. We identify the ideal target firmware and provide assistance to mitigate the risk of service disruption due to depreciated functionality, upgraded processes or wider environmental factors.
We’ll also help identify how new features could be used in your environment, to improve user experience, security posture and enhance the value of your NetScaler deployment.
Sound good?
Get in touch and book a session with our inhouse NetScaler specialist team. Call 0330 010 3443 or mail [email protected].
NetScaler Product Lifecycle Matrix
Information on the latest NetScaler product lifecycles can be found here
