Every operating system version is supported only for a limited period of time... Once support has ended, the product has become "End of Life" and needs to be upgraded |
When an operating system reaches end of life:
- All security support for your system stops
- No more security updates are provided
- You need to upgrade or replace the system
Table of Contents
- What version is my operating system?
- What are the recommended operating system versions
- Tips for picking an operating system
- Is my operating system end of life?
- How do I upgrade my EOL operating system?
What version is my operating system?
On a Linux system, the following command works on most modern systems:
cat /etc/os-release
On a Windows system, the following command works on most modern systems:
winver
What are the recommended operating system versions
The UoA Centre for eResearch (CER) currently recommends the following operating system versions:
- Debian: 12 (Bookworm)
- Ubuntu: 22.04 or 24.04 LTS (Jammy or Noble)
- CentOS: Stream 9
- Rocky: 9
- Windows Desktop: 10
- Windows Server: 2022
Tips for picking an operating system
The following list documents a few tips for getting to most life out of your operating system.
- Pick an operating system with long term support (e.g., Ubuntu Long Term Support (LTS))
- Pick an operating system that is stable (these generally are maintained for much longer than bleeding edge or rolling release distributions)
- Pick the latest operating system version when creating a new instance to get the most life out of your system without version upgrade requirements
Is my operating system end of life?
Find the date when security support stops for your OS in the table below. If you operating system is not on the list below, check this website: https://endoflife.date/.
The table below outlines the End Of Life status for a selection of popular operating systems. The table highlights each row depending on the EOL status, where:
- Red == EOL
- Yellow < 1 year until EOL
- Green > 1 year until EOL
Table last updated: 2024-05
20
2025-
| Operating system | Release | End of life date |
|---|---|---|
| Fedora 33 | 2020-10 | 2021-11 |
| Fedora 34 | 2021-04 | 2022-06 |
| Fedora 35 | 2022-03 | 2022-11 |
| Fedora 36 | 2022-05 | 2023-05 |
| Fedora 37 | 2022-11 | 2023-12 |
| Fedora 38 | 2023-04 | 2024-05 |
| Fedora 39 | 2023-10 | 2024-11 |
| Fedora 40 | 2024-05 | 2025-05 |
| CentOS 7 | 2014-07 | 2024-06 |
| CentOS 8 | 2019-09 | 2021-12 |
| Centos Stream 8 | 2019-09 | 2024-05 |
| Centos Stream 9 | 2021-09 | 2027-05 |
| Debian 9 | 2017-06 | 2022-06 |
| Debian 10 | 2019-07 | 2024-06 |
| Debian 11 | 2021-08 | 2026-08 |
| Debian 12 | 2023-06 | 2028-06 |
| Ubuntu 16.04 (LTS) | 2016-04 | 2021-04 |
| Ubuntu 18.04 (LTS) | 2018-04 | 2023-04 |
| Ubuntu 20.04 (LTS) | 2020-04 | 2025-04 |
| Ubuntu 20.10 | 2020-10 | 2021-07 |
| Ubuntu 21.04 | 2021-04 | 2022-01 |
| Ubuntu 21.10 | 2021-10 | 2022-07 |
| Ubuntu 22.04 (LTS) | 2022-04 | 2027-04 |
| Ubuntu 22.10 | 2022-10 | 2023-07 |
| Ubuntu 23.04 | 2023-04 | 2024-01 |
| Ubuntu 23.10 | 2023-10 | 2024-07 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 (LTS) | 2024-04 | 2029-04 |
| Rocky Linux 8 | 2021-06 | 2029-05* |
| Rocky Linux 9 | 2022-04 | 2032-05 |
| Windows 8.1 | 2012-10-26 | 2023-01-10 |
| Windows 10 | 2015-07-29 | 2025-10-14** |
| Windows 11 | 2021-10-04 | 2025-11-10** |
| Windows Server 2012 R2 | 2013-10-25 | 2023-10-10 |
| Windows Server 2016 LTS | 2016-10-15 | 2027-01-12* |
| Windows Server 2019 LTS | 2018-11-13 | 2029-01-09* |
| Windows Server 2022 LTS | 2021-08-18 | 2026-10-13 |
*Security support only (not software feature updates)
**End of life depends on system version installed, table displays latest version
How do I upgrade my EOL operating system?
| WARNING! Before updating any operating system, please take a snapshot of the current state so you have a backup |
If your operating system version has reached end-of-life, upgrade to a supported version immediately, or set up a new instance with an up-to-date operating system.
| Operating system | Upgrade guidance | Resources |
|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu | Run the following commands in a terminal: | https://ubuntu.com/server/docs/how-to-upgrade-your-release https://www.cyberciti.biz/faq/how-do-i-update-ubuntu-linux-softwares/ |
| Debian | Run the following commands in a terminal: | https://wiki.debian.org/DebianUpgrade https://www.cyberciti.biz/faq/how-does-debian-linux-apply-security-patches/ |
| Fedora | Run the following commands in a terminal: | https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/quick-docs/upgrading-fedora-new-release/ https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/quick-docs/dnf-system-upgrade/ |
| CentOS 7/8 | Note: Upgrading from CentOS 7/8 to CentOS can be difficult and is not vendor supported. Run the following commands in a terminal:
Then reboot the system. | https://linuxhandbook.com/update-to-centos-stream/ https://support.kaspersky.com/kics-for-networks/3.1/225629 |
| Windows Server 2012 R2 | You can perform an in-place upgrade directly to Windows Server 2016 or 2019. The general process is:
Note: Please contact the Nectar@Auckland team to obtain configuration scripts for product activation or for any additional questions. | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/get-started/perform-in-place-upgrade https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/get-started/hardware-requirements |
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