University of Auckland: End of Life Operating Systems

Modified on Tue, 3 Sep at 1:40 PM

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?

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


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 systemReleaseEnd of life date
Fedora 332020-102021-11
Fedora 342021-042022-06
Fedora 352022-032022-11
Fedora 362022-052023-05
Fedora 372022-112023-12
Fedora 382023-042024-05
Fedora 392023-102024-11
Fedora 402024-052025-05
CentOS 72014-072024-06
CentOS 82019-092021-12
Centos Stream 82019-092024-05
Centos Stream 92021-092027-05
Debian 92017-062022-06
Debian 102019-072024-06
Debian 112021-082026-08
Debian 122023-062028-06
Ubuntu 16.04 (LTS)
2016-042021-04
Ubuntu 18.04 (LTS)
2018-042023-04
Ubuntu 20.04 (LTS)2020-042025-04
Ubuntu 20.102020-102021-07
Ubuntu 21.042021-042022-01
Ubuntu 21.102021-102022-07
Ubuntu 22.04 (LTS)
2022-042027-04
Ubuntu 22.102022-102023-07
Ubuntu 23.042023-042024-01
Ubuntu 23.102023-102024-07
Ubuntu 24.04 (LTS)
2024-042029-04
Rocky Linux 82021-062029-05*
Rocky Linux 92022-042032-05
Windows 8.12012-10-262023-01-10
Windows 102015-07-292025-10-14**
Windows 112021-10-042025-11-10**
Windows Server 2012 R22013-10-252023-10-10
Windows Server 2016 LTS2016-10-152027-01-12*
Windows Server 2019 LTS
2018-11-132029-01-09*
Windows Server 2022 LTS2021-08-182026-10-13

*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 guidanceResources
UbuntuRun the following commands in a terminal:
sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade
sudo do-release-upgrade
Then reboot the system.
https://ubuntu.com/server/docs/how-to-upgrade-your-release

https://www.cyberciti.biz/faq/how-do-i-update-ubuntu-linux-softwares/
DebianRun the following commands in a terminal:
sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade
sudo apt full-upgrade
Then reboot the system.
https://wiki.debian.org/DebianUpgrade

https://www.cyberciti.biz/faq/how-does-debian-linux-apply-security-patches/
FedoraRun the following commands in a terminal:
sudo dnf upgrade --refresh
sudo dnf system-upgrade download --releasever=40
Then reboot the system.
https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/quick-docs/upgrading-fedora-new-release/

https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/quick-docs/dnf-system-upgrade/
CentOS 7/8Note: Upgrading from CentOS 7/8 to CentOS can be difficult and is not vendor supported.

Run the following commands in a terminal:
sudo dnf upgrade
sudo dnf install centos-release-stream
sudo dnf swap centos-{linux,stream}-repos

sudo dnf distro-sync

Then reboot the system.

https://linuxhandbook.com/update-to-centos-stream/

https://support.kaspersky.com/kics-for-networks/3.1/225629
Windows Server 2012 R2You can perform an in-place upgrade directly to Windows Server 2016 or 2019.

The general process is:
  • Take snapshot of instance
  • Download installation media from Microsoft Download Center
  • Review app compatibility and vendor support requirements
  • Check system meets hardware requirements
  • Perform update using installation media

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://www.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/evaluate-windows-server-2016

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/evaluate-windows-server-2019

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/get-started/hardware-requirements

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