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Zarafa Support Lifecycle Policy

Edition 7.0

The Zarafa Team

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Abstract
The Zarafa Collaboration Platform (ZCP) combines the usability of Outlook with the stability and flexibility of a Linux server. It features a rich web-interface, the Zarafa WebAccess, and provides brilliant integration options with all sorts of clients including all most popular mobile platforms.
Most components of ZCP are open source, licensed under the AGPLv3, can therefore be downloaded freely as ZCP's Community Edition.
Several closed source components exist, most notably:
  • the Zarafa Windows Client providing Outlook integration,
  • the Zarafa BES Integration providing Blackberry Enterprise Server connectivity,
  • the Zarafa ADS Plugin providing Active Directory integration, and
  • the Zarafa Backup Tools.
These components, together with several advanced features for large setups and hosters, are only available in combination with a support contract as part of ZCP's Commercial Editions.
Alternatively there is a wide selection of hosted ZCP offerings available.
This document, the Support Lifecycle Policy, describes our release cycles, versioning system and the benefits one may expect when purchasing a subscription.
1. Zarafa ZCP Support Lifecycle Policy
1.1. Overview of Release Versioning
1.2. Stages of our ZCP Support Lifecycle
1.2.1. General Release Cycle
1.2.2. Major Release Cycle
2. Zarafa Linux distributions Support Lifecycle Policy
2.1. Linux distributions Support in general
2.2. Support definitions of distributions
2.3. Distribution vs ZCP support Matrix
3. Zarafa 3rd party client software Support Lifecycle Policy
3.1. Overview of related 3rd party software
3.2. Support definitions of internet browsers
3.3. Support definitions of Microsoft Outlook
3.4. Support definitions of Thunderbird with Lightning + Mac Mail and ICal
3.5. BES server integration
3.6. Z-Push

Chapter 1. Zarafa ZCP Support Lifecycle Policy

1.1. Overview of Release Versioning
1.2. Stages of our ZCP Support Lifecycle
1.2.1. General Release Cycle
1.2.2. Major Release Cycle
With our clear support policy, customers know up-front and with certainty how Zarafa products and integration products of 3rd parties are being supported and will be supported during its lifetime. Under this policy we provide access to technical experts while you subscribe to Zarafa products. Besides technical expertise, you are also entitled to direct access to new major releases so you can take full advantage of technology and product enhancements.

1.1. Overview of Release Versioning

The main product, Zarafa Collaboration Platform (ZCP), consists of several components that all carry the same version number. ZCP version numbers consist of three parts:
  1. the general release version,
  2. the major release version, and
  3. the minor version
Products that are shipped separately from ZCP (like Zarafa Archiver) will follow the same format.
Overview of General and Major Lifecycles
Figure 1.1. Overview of General and Major Lifecycles

The general version is incremented for releases that may:
  • break backward compatibility with the infrastructure
  • contain architectural changes
  • contain system-wide major features
The lifecycle of a general release is built up from the major releases that constitute it, and has a guaranteed support period of at least 3 years. This means that under a general release, the Premier and Extended support periods of all the major releases have a combined time span of at least 3 years. Please refer to Figure 1.1, “Overview of General and Major Lifecycles” for a schematic overview, for more information on the support stages see the Section 1.2, “Stages of our ZCP Support Lifecycle” section.
The major version is incremented for releases that may:
  • contain new features and functionality
  • contain new database schemes
  • make a simple downgrade impossible
The lifecycle of a major release is consists of the three stages: (1) the Premier support period, (2) the Extended support period and (3) the Complementary Support period. The dates of the support periods of each major release are listed in Table 1.2, “Major Releases of the Zarafa Collaboration Platform”.
The minor version is incremented for releases that may:
  • contain fixes that do not break backward compatibility in any way.
  • contain minor enhancements that do not break backward compatibility in any way.
  • contain added technical compatibility with newly supported distributions, browsers or 3rd party applications
These minor releases are usually part of the Premier and Extended support stages of the major release cycle.

1.2. Stages of our ZCP Support Lifecycle

1.2.1. General Release Cycle

General releases of our products are guaranteed to be supported for at least 3 years to subscribers. Each general release consist of major releases, together the major releases account for the 3 years that a general release is supported.
In this section we list the dates on which our general releases went public and the dates they are planned to reach the End-of-Lifecycle. As the combined lifecycles of the major releases that constitute a general release can add up to more than 3 years, the actual End-of-Lifecycle might be after the planned date. This results in additional life span of a general release of which the final date is presented as the Actual End-of-Lifecycle in the table below.
Table 1.1. General Releases of the Zarafa Collaboration Platform
General Release General Availability Planned End-of-Lifecycle Actual End-of-Lifecycle
ZCP 5
17 Dec 2006
17 Dec 2009
as planned
ZCP 6
29 Feb 2008
29 Feb 2011
9 Jun 2012 (ZCP 6.40), 22 Jul 2011 (ZCP 6.30)
ZCP 7
16 Jun 2011
31 Dec 2015
as planned 

*as currently planned

1.2.2. Major Release Cycle

In major version releases we have four lifecycle stages, namely the:
  • General Availability period of 1 year with Premier support starting at the release moment of the final version.
  • Extended support period of 6 months starting after the General Availability period has ended.
  • Complementary support period of 6 months starting after the Extended support has ended.
  • End-of-Lifecycle milestone following the Complementary support period.
From the End-of-Lifecycle milestone our subscribers are eligible for Upgrade support. Each of these stages are supported differently as explained in the following sub-sections.
Below you find a schematic overview of the different stages and milestones in a major release cycle. 
                   Premier                Extended      Complementary      Upgrade
                   Support                Support          Support         Support
      X------------------------------|----------------|---------------X---------------->
 General Availability                                            End-of-Lifecycle
The following table contains the actual dates for the different stages and milestones of our major releases.
Table 1.2. Major Releases of the Zarafa Collaboration Platform
Major Release General Availability Extended Support Complementary Support Upgrade Support > End-of-Lifecycle
ZCP 6.20
15 Jan 2009
15 Jan 2010
15 Jul 2010
15 Jan 2011
ZCP 6.30
22 Jul 2009
22 Jul 2010
22 Jan 2011
22 Jul 2011
ZCP 6.40
9 Jun 2010
9 Jun 2011
9 Dec 2011
9 Jun 2012
ZCP 7.0
16 Jun 2011
16 Jun 2012
1 Sep 2014
1 Dec 2014
ZCP 7.1
2 Aug 2012
1 Nov 2014*
2 Feb 2015*
2 Aug 2015*
ZCP 7.2
Q3 2014*
Q3 2015*
-
- 

*as currently planned

1.2.2.1. Premier Support

As a Zarafa customer you can expect the best with Premier support. It provides you with maintenance and support on all major releases for one year following the general availability date. During this period you are entitled to benefit from the following:
  • Pro-active updates containing bug fixes and enhancements
  • Technical compatibility with newly supported distributions, browsers or 3rd party applications
  • Intense testing by Zarafa Quality Assurance
  • Updates delivered regularly
  • Technical support
  • Security alerts and fixes
  • Upgrade scripts to upgrade from prior major versions not covered anymore by normal support

1.2.2.2. Extended Support

Following the Premier support stage the major release enters the Extended support period of 6 months. Extended support provides you, as a Zarafa customer, with the freedom to upgrade at your own leisure. During this 6 month period you can benefit from:
  • Reactive fixes
  • Technical compatibility with newly supported distributions, browsers or 3rd party applications
  • Testing by Zarafa Quality Assurance
  • Technical support
  • Security alerts and fixes
  • Upgrade scripts to upgrade from prior major versions not covered anymore by normal support

1.2.2.3. Complementary Support

After the Extended support stage, the major release enters the Complementary support period for 6 months. During this period you benefit from:
  • Technical support
  • Security alerts and fixes
  • Issue testing by Zarafa QA
  • Upgrade scripts to upgrade from prior major versions not covered anymore by normal support At the end of this period, the major release will reach its End-of-Lifecycle milestone. We recommend that you upgrade before the End-of-Lifecycle milestone is reached.

1.2.2.4. Upgrade Support

Finally, after the major release has reached the End-of-Lifecycle, it will enter the stage of Upgrade support. During this period you are ensured of technical support with the purpose to support and advise you on the upgrade of your current installation. This allows every Zarafa customer to safely upgrade in their own time frame — we leave no-one behind!

Chapter 2. Zarafa Linux distributions Support Lifecycle Policy

2.1. Linux distributions Support in general
2.2. Support definitions of distributions
2.3. Distribution vs ZCP support Matrix

2.1. Linux distributions Support in general

Linux distributions as released by their respective packagers are intensively tested for compatibility with Zarafa’s Collaboration Platform and its usage in various configurations. This is primarily done by Zarafa QA and Support and combined with input from clients and community. The distribution group technically compatible with ZCP is even larger than the selected supported distributions group, but issues are managed in a reactive mode versus a pro-active mode used with the intensively-tested distributions. The distributions intensively tested for compatibility are commonly the Enterprise Linux Distributions which Zarafa supports.

2.2. Support definitions of distributions

The support definition below overrules any tabular overviews which are derived from it. 
Supported distributions are statically linked to ZCP major versions meaning that support for a distribution is sustained for a major production version through all ZCP support periods. If a distribution ZCP package was initially build for the distribution it will stay on the build and support list. We will add support for new releases of Enterprise distributions (RHEL,Ubuntu,SLES) on the latest production ZCP major-version within 3 months after general publication as production version of the distribution.

2.3. Distribution vs ZCP support Matrix

The following table contains the actual Linux distribution support for the different ZCP versions in their supported lifecycle.
Table 2.1. Supported Zarafa Collaboration Platform versions against Linux distributions as of Q1 2014
Distribution 32b/64b Primary Support on Extended Support on Complementary Support on
Debian 5
ZCP-7.1
ZCP-7.0
-
Debian 6
ZCP-7.1
ZCP-7.0
-
Debian 7
ZCP-7.1
ZCP-7.0
-
RHEL 5
ZCP-7.1
ZCP-7.0
-
RHEL 6
ZCP-7.1
ZCP-7.0
-
RHEL 7
ZCP-7.2
-
-
SLES 10 > SP2
ZCP-7.1
ZCP-7.0
-
SLES 11 > SP2
ZCP-7.1
ZCP-7.0
-
SLES 12
ZCP-7.2
-
-
Ubuntu 10.04
ZCP-7.1
ZCP-7.0
-
Ubuntu 12.04
ZCP-7.1
ZCP-7.0
-
Ubuntu 14.04
ZCP-7.1
ZCP-7.0
-
Univention Corporate Server 3.x
ZCP-7.1
-
-

We encourage customers to use 64bit (x86_64) server components wherever possible, as 32bit (i586) is getting more and more phased out (also by distributions in testing).

Chapter 3. Zarafa 3rd party client software Support Lifecycle Policy

3.1. Overview of related 3rd party software
3.2. Support definitions of internet browsers
3.3. Support definitions of Microsoft Outlook
3.4. Support definitions of Thunderbird with Lightning + Mac Mail and ICal
3.5. BES server integration
3.6. Z-Push

3.1. Overview of related 3rd party software

Zarafa integrates with common desktop applications in various ways. As Zarafa Collaboration Platform is built on open standards it is compatible with many programs using these same standards. The active 3rd party integration support on the currently supported ZCP versions includes a broad selection that enables end-users a choice in client software. Software to integrate with ZCP that is based on the same (open) standards has a very high chance of working correctly, support for these is provided by the community and forums.
ZCP integrates, and is supported fully, with these 3rd party software programs:
  • Browsers: Firefox, Internet Explorer and Safari
  • Microsoft Outlook
  • Thunderbird with the Lightning plugin + Mac iCal and Mail
  • Blackberry Enterprise Server (BES)
To manage the supported versions of these programs against the ZCP versions the related following support definitions are applicable.

3.2. Support definitions of internet browsers

Zarafa has a focus to remain compatible with new innovations on browser platforms, for this Zarafa pursue a pro-active support policy and use intensive testing on latest production versions of browsers.
The support definition below overrules any tabular overviews which are derived from it. 
ZCP is supported for all production versions of Firefox, Chrome, Internet Explorer and Safari back to the production versions up to one year back. The most recent production versions of the browsers are intensively tested with each version of ZCP that is under primary or extended support. New production versions of Firefox, Chrome, Internet Explorer and Safari browser versions are supported with ZCP as of the next released ZCP minor version.
When applying this definition on the different browsers, the following versions are supported:
Table 3.1. Browser support for supported Zarafa Collaboration Platform versions as of Q1 2014
Browsers Primary Support on Extended Support on Complementary Support on
Internet Explorer > 9 (released 14-3-2011)
ZCP-7.1
ZCP-7.0
-
Firefox > 8.0 (released 21-6-2011) and up
ZCP-7.1
ZCP-7.0
-
Chrome > 28 (released 9-7-2013) and up
ZCP-7.1
ZCP-7.0
-
Safari > 5.1 (released 20-7-2011) and up
ZCP-7.1
ZCP-7.0
-

Please notice that Internet Explorer 6 and 7 and 8 are no longer supported. Support for Internet Explorer 11 is introduced with release of WebApp 2.0
Please notice that from Zarafa 7.2 WebAccess will switch to complementary support at the beginning of 2015.
Reference sources:

3.3. Support definitions of Microsoft Outlook

The support definition below overrules any tabular overviews which are derived from it. 
The current supported ZCP versions are supported with all Outlook versions under Microsoft primary and extended support. The Zarafa support on these Outlook versions are additionally extended with one year extra complementary support. The latest Microsoft supported versions are used for intense testing with each version of ZCP that is under primary, extended or extended support. Official support (to accept specific issues) for new versions are realized after 3 months on the next released ZCP minor release.
  • Please notice that Outlook XP/2002 is no longer supported by Microsoft since July 2011 or by Zarafa since July 2012.
  • Outlook is no longer supported by Zarafa at the end of Q1/2016. Outlook can be used as is after Q1/2016, e.g. customers can use the Zarafa OL client with an Outlook version that is supported by Zarafa in Q1/2016.
Table 3.2. Outlook version support for supported Zarafa Collaboration Platform versions as of Q1 2015
OL Primary Support on Extended Support on Complementary Support on
Outlook 2003 until April 2015*
ZCP-7.1
ZCP-7.0
-
Outlook 2007 until April 2016*
ZCP-7.1,ZCP-7.2
ZCP-7.0
-
Outlook 2010 until April 2016*
ZCP-7.1,ZCP-7.2
ZCP-7.0
-
Outlook 2013 until April 2016*
ZCP-7.1,ZCP-7.2
-
-

  • Please note that the dates are related to the end date by other vendors, therefore these might shift in due time
Reference sources:

3.4. Support definitions of Thunderbird with Lightning + Mac Mail and ICal

The support definition below overrules any tabular overviews which are derived from it. 
ZCP is supported in combination with the last 2 major current production versions of Thunderbird with the Lightning plugin; new versions are supported within 3 months of availability on the next released ZCP minor release.
Table 3.3. Thunderbird with the Lightning plugin + Mac Mail and Ical version support against supported Zarafa Collaboration Platform versions as of Q1 2014
Thunderbird/Mac versions Primary Support on Extended Support on Complementary Support on
ThunderBird 10.x + Lightning 1.2.3
-
-
ZCP-7.1
ThunderBird 13.0.x + Lightning 1.5.x
-
-
ZCP-7.1
Mac Mail 4 + Mac Ical 4
-
-
ZCP-7.1
Mac Mail 5 + Mac Ical 5
-
-
ZCP-7.1

Please note that as the ICAL Standard in various ICAL clients is not implemented consistently according to public RFCs, the ICAL is supported complementary. Essentially this means that specific implementations can fail whereas other implementations do work correctly although fixing broken implementations would break already working ones. We welcome any support requests but can not guarantee to fix them as they could break existing functional environments.

3.5. BES server integration

Blackberry Enterprise Server support is statically linked to version and supported ZCP versions.
Table 3.4. Blackberry Enterprise Server version support for supported Zarafa Collaboration Platform versions as of Q1 2014
BES Server Primary Support on Extended Support on Complementary Support on
BES 5.0.2
ZCP-7.1 (until 1st of July 2014)
-
ZCP-7.1 (from 1st of July 2014)
BES 5.0.3
ZCP-7.1 (until 1st of July 2014)
-
ZCP-7.1 (from 1st of July 2014)

Please notice that Blackberry Enterprise Server 4 and Blackberry Professional Server 4 are no longer supported.
We encourage users to use the integrated ActiveSync protocol for Blackberry 10 which is supported with Z-Push.
Please notice that with the Release of ZCP 7.2 Blackberry Enterprise and Professional Server will not be no longer supported.

3.6. Z-Push

Zarafa’s Z-Push for mobile device synchronization is on an other release part then the mail ZCP Product.
Table 3.5. Z-Push is supported as part of the Zarafa colaboration Platform for the below versions as of Q1 2014
BES Server Primary Support on Extended Support on Complementary Support on
Z-Push 1.5.*
-
-
ZCP-7.0
Z-Push 2.0
ZCP-7.1
ZCP-7.0
-
Z-Push 2.1
ZCP-7.1
ZCP-7.0
-
Z-Push 2.2
ZCP-7.2
ZCP-7.1
-