ESC Lifecycle Notifications During Login
When logging in to ESC through SSH, the message of the day may include an End-of-Life (EoL) or End-of-Support (EoS) notice. Note that each version of ESC is EoL on the release date of the next version, however this does not mean that the software is now defunct but rather that Cisco are providing a newer version. In fact, as the message advises, support and releases of software maintenance patches continue as normal. For example:
$ ssh admin@ESC_IP
*** ESC NOTICE: ESC 5.7 EOL on 29 July 2022 ***
*** Please note that this version continues to be supported until 29 January 2026 ***
admin@ESC_IP$
A further notice appears when the EoS date is 30 days away:
*** ESC NOTICE: Support for ESC 5.7 ends on 29 January 2026 ***
*** Please contact your Cisco Account Manager for details on how to upgrade ***
These notices ensure that you upgrade in a timely manner and have the latest feature set and security patches installed.