NetScaler 12.1 EoL 30th May 2023 what to do now
NetScaler (formerly Citrix ADC) 12.1 software will no longer be supported from May 30th 2023, as the previously announced End of Life (EoL) notification is actioned by the vendor. While our 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 12.1 upgraded.
If this sounds like you, we’ve pulled a few things you need to know in to this 2 min read. Want help now? Skip to the bottom and get in touch.
NetScaler 12.1 EoL – what to do now
NetScaler EoL notification for the 12.1 software means this appliance will not be supported for break fix incidents by the vendor and more importantly, have no patches or upgrades available. Neither of these things is typically acceptable for compliance management as not being able to patch usually means not secure, and you don’t want that on internet facing machines.
NetScaler 13.1 is the latest major release, with new features that may be appealing. 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 12.1 configuration won’t work in 13.1
If you are not doing much with your NetScaler, you may be happy to jump to 13.1 from 12.1 but there are some risks to service disruption as things that used to be possible in 12.1 have been replaced by more modern methods. These depreciated commands are often related to user identity management so more caution required here as it’s quite feasible to lock all your users out of your systems.
13.0 is a more mature firmware, and generally considered more stable. The classic policies and expressions depreciated in 13.1 are still supported in 13.0 so it’s both the more stable and less disruptive option. Be mindful that 13.0 has an EoL of July 2024 so you’ll need to go through the process again next year, and you may find some of those new features in 13.1 are really useful. It’s all in the context of the use case, but quite likely moving up to 13.1 can improve your NetScaler RoI.
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 configuration to identify the correct target firmware and mitigate the risk of service disruption due to depreciated functionality or the quirks of specific builds, all delivered by our elite team of NetScaler specialists.
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.
We’re able to deliver all of the above as part of our value add service – there’s no cost to you unless you ‘d like us to perform the upgrade or configuration amendment to move up to 13.1.
NetScaler Product Lifecycle Matrix
Information on the latest NetScaler product lifecycles can be found here
Sound good?
Get in touch and book a session with our inhouse NetScaler specialist team. Call 0330 010 3443 or mail [email protected].
