Support for business and development software is retired in a series of phases. The phases described below apply to all of the products discussed in this report. Note that the Custom Support phase only applies to Windows NT 4.0, Exchange Server 5.5, and some embedded products, such as Windows CE 3.0 and Windows NT Embedded. Microsoft says it has no plans to offer similar support for additional products.

The chapter “Resources” also provides references to material that explains Microsoft’s product life-cycle support policies in more detail.

Life-Cycle Phases and Options	Normal Duration	Product Support Options	Software Updates
Mainstream Support Phase	Five years from the date of general availability, or two years after the release of a successor version, whichever is greater	• Free incident support (per warranty) • Online support information • Fee-based support options (Professional Support, Essential Support, Premier Support, Microsoft Services Partner Advantage,

Support for business and development software is retired in a series of phases. The phases described below apply to all of the products discussed in this report.

For references to material that explains Microsoft’s product life-cycle support policies in more detail, see the chapter “Resources“.

Microsoft offers customers of business and developer products, which include Windows client and server, the option of entering into a Custom support program that provides support for legacy products during a product migration. Custom support can be granted to customers who require support for longer than the 10-year minimum provided by Mainstream and Extended support, but it is only in effect while migrating to newer versions and requires a Premier support agreement to be in place.

Life-Cycle Phases and Options	Normal Duration	Product Support Options	Software Updates
Mainstream Support Phase	Five years from the date of general availability or two years after the release

Support for business and development software is retired in a series of phases. The phases described below apply to all of the products discussed in this report. Note that the Custom Support phase only applies to Windows NT 4.0, Exchange Server 5.5, and some embedded products, such as Windows CE 3.0 and Windows NT Embedded. Microsoft says it has no plans to offer similar support for additional products.

The section “Resources” of this report also provides references to material that explains Microsoft’s product life-cycle support policies in more detail.

Life-Cycle Phases and Options	Normal Duration	Product Support Options	Software Updates
Mainstream Support Phase	Five years from the date of general availability, or two years after the release of a successor version, whichever is greater	• Free incident support (per warranty) • Online support information • Fee-based support options (Professional Support, Essential Support, Premier Support, Microsoft Services

The adjacent chart summarizes Microsoft’s four life-cycle phases and options-Mainstream, Extended, Custom Support, and Online Self Help-as they apply to enterprise software.

Life-Cycle Phases and Options	Normal Duration	Product Support Options	Software Updates
Mainstream Support Phase	Five years from the date of general availability, or two years after the release of a successor version, whichever is greater	Free incident support (per warranty) Online support information Fee-based support options (Professional Support, Essential Support, Premier Support, Microsoft Services Partner Advantage, Software Assurance)	Security updates and hotfixes (free) Nonsecurity updates and hotfixes (free) Service packs or update rollups (free)
Extended Support Phase	Five years from the end of the Mainstream phase or until two years after the second successor version (e.g., Windows 2000 Extended support ends two years after Longhorn’s release)	Fee-based

Support for business and development software is retired in a series of phases. The phases described below apply to all of the products discussed in this report.

The chapter “Resources” also provides references to material that explains Microsoft’s product life-cycle support policies in more detail.

Life-Cycle Phases and Options	Normal Duration	Product Support Options	Software Updates
Mainstream Support Phase	Five years from the date of general availability or two years after the release of a successor version, whichever is greater	• Free incident support (per warranty) • Online support information • Fee-based support options (Professional Support, Essential Support, Premier Support, Microsoft Services Partner Advantage, Software Assurance)	• Security updates and hotfixes (free) • Nonsecurity updates and hotfixes (free) • Service packs or update rollups (free)
Extended Support Phase	Five years from the end of the Mainstream phase or until two

Support for business and development software is retired in a series of phases. The phases described below apply to all of the products discussed in this report.

For references to material that explains Microsoft’s product life-cycle support policies in more detail, see the chapter “Resources“.

Microsoft offers customers of business and developer products, which include Windows client and server OSs, the option of entering into a Custom support contract that provides support for legacy products during a product migration.

Life Cycle Phases and Options	Normal Duration	Product Support Options	Software Updates
Mainstream Support Phase	Five years from the date of general availability or two years after the release of a successor version, whichever is greater	– Free incident support (per warranty) – Online support information – Fee-based support options (Professional, Essential, and Premier support; Microsoft Services Partner Advantage; Software Assurance)