Microsoft has announced that the official End of Life (EOL) for Windows XP is April 8th, 2014 (more information located here) as well as the official EOL for Windows Server 2003 on July 14th, 2015 (more information located here). The Circon 200 Series hardware was issued an EOL notice in 2008, and the software has not been supported past Windows XP Service Pack 3. In addition, EBAC has decided to link both Windows XP and Server 2003 Operating Systems under the same support umbrella as the underlying code of Server 2003 is directly based on XP.
What this means to our customers running Circon 200 Series software:
- All 200 Series systems should plan on upgrading their API databases to LNS (this is a fee-for-service offered by EBAC – release notes located here), and can upgrade their existing software to LNS – either Visual Integrator 4.1 or Network Integrator 4.1 or greater – to continue to run on a supported OS platform. Ideally, this should be planned for prior to April 8th, 2014.
- Clients should plan/budget on a migration path to replace existing hardware with 300 and/or 400 Series devices, such as when controllers fail, or ideally budgeted for a replacement project (either complete or phased).
- EBAC will continue to support 200 Series software on XP SP3 as long as we are able, but cannot provide guarantees on functionality due to unsupported conditions beyond our control (ie. security threats, performance issues).
This Bulletin affects the following Circon 200 Series software:
- Circon System Integrator 2.4 or earlier
- Circon Building Manager 2.4 or earlier
- Circon Building Operator 2.4 or earlier
- Circon Property Manager 2.4 or earlier
- Circon Visual Integrator 1.2 or earlier
- Circon TouchBASe 1.0
What this means to our customers running Circon 300 and 400 Series software:
- Visual Integrator and Network Integrator 4.1 will continue to be supported on XP SP3/Server 2003 R2 as long as we are able, but cannot provide guarantees on functionality due to unsupported conditions beyond our control (ie. security threats, performance issues).
- Visual Integrator and Network Integrator 4.2 will only be supported on Windows 7/Server 2008 or greater.
- It is EBAC’s recommendation that customers upgrade their customer sites to a fully supported OS (ie. Windows 7 /Server 2008 or greater) prior to April 8th, 2014.
This Bulletin affects the following Circon 300 and 400 Series software:
- Circon Visual Integrator 4.0 or earlier
- Circon Network Integrator 4.0 or earlier
EBAC is committed to working with our customers to protect and leverage the investment already made in their Circon system. To discuss your current Circon systems and potential migration options, please contact EBAC at 604.503.4404 or sales@circon.com.
Some Additional Information for Consideration
According to the Windows Lifecycle Fact Sheet released by Microsoft, impacted organizations have only 10 months to decide whether to migrate their XP SP3/Server 2003 R2 systems or to plan on upgrading them to a supported Windows operating system.
Understanding the Windows Support Life Cycle
Building Automation Control System (BACS) support teams, vendors, and integrators need to understand the Microsoft Support Lifecycle and how it impacts application life-cycle management or system administrative support. By understanding the product support available, customers can better maximize the management of IT investments and make strategic plans for future IT needs.
New operating systems tend to be adopted more slowly by BACS vendors and integrators, because the BACS vendors must update their software for deployment on the new platform, identify any potential area of availability or integrity concerns, and resolve any functional or stability issues that may arise.
What Extended Support Entails
Extended support, the phase in which XP SP3/Server 2003 R2 currently resides, is the second portion of the Windows Product Support Lifecycle. The key differences between mainstream and extended support are that the free support options are no longer available and that Microsoft no longer provides new, non-security hotfixes.
Product End of Life
Because XP SP3 is scheduled to move into end of life in April 2014, anyone using or providing software dependent on the platform should begin planning to move to a supported operating system as soon as possible. After April 8, 2013, Microsoft will not issue new security updates, non-security hotfixes, free or paid assisted support options or online technical content updates.
Software Upgrade and Maintenance Policy
To upgrade your current software and/or 200 Series database, please contact EBAC for information and pricing.
Note: You are encouraged to upgrade to the current software revision as it is EBAC’s policy is to focus our support and maintenance efforts on the latest version of software, providing periodic maintenance upgrades at minimal or no cost.
To download this document as a PDF, please click here
Visit our YouTube channel
