Support Policies and FAQs

We are committed to providing high quality, supportable products to our customers. Rapidly changing technologies drive the need to introduce new products and integrations, and to retire older products. To this end, we provide an End of Life (EOL) Policy so that our customers and partners understand our product release and support cycles and how these relate to hardware compatibility for hardware platforms on our Hardware Compatibility List. This EOL Policy only pertains to customers with an active Software Support contract (“Support”). All capitalized terms shall have the meaning ascribed to them in Exhibit A, “Policy Definitions”.

1. Software Version Number. Software versions are designated, in Nutanix’s sole discretion, using the following format: “X.Y.Z.n (LTS)”

• “X” defines the Major Release version number
• “Y” defines the Minor Release version number
• “Z” defines the Maintenance Release version number
• “n” defines the Patch Release version number
• The (optional) abbreviation “LTS” designates whether the version release is a Long Term Support (LTS) Release. If there is no LTS designation, then the release is a Short Term Support (STS) Release.
  

2. Software EOL Policy

2.1 AOS

• Overview. Nutanix develops AOS using two separate tracks, Long Term Support Releases (LTS) and Short Term Support Releases (STS). AOS Releases and the associated EOL Policy are generally inclusive of software such as AHV, Foundation and Nutanix Cluster Check (NCC).
• LTS Release EOL and release cycle.
  • Each LTS Release is Maintained for three (3) months after the Release Date for the next LTS Release that is an Upgrade.
  • At the end of the Maintenance period, each LTS Release will then receive Troubleshooting for the subsequent nine (9) months.
  • For example, if Nutanix releases AOS 5.10 (LTS) on Nov 1, 2018 and AOS 5.15 (LTS) on February 1, 2020 then AOS 5.10 will be Maintained until May 31, 2020 and Troubleshooting for AOS 5.10 will be available until Feb 28, 2021.
• STS Release EOL and release cycle. Each STS Release shall receive Troubleshooting for three (3) months from the Release Date of the next Release that is an Upgrade.
• When an Update is made available, the previous Update within the same Upgrade family shall cease to be Maintained.

2.2 Prism Central

• Overview. Prism Central is a management/control plane software and does not follow the Long Term Support Release (LTS) and Short Term Support Release (STS) tracks used for AOS. When an Update is made available to Prism Central, the previous Update within the same Upgrade family shall cease to be Maintained.
  • Prism Central will target to have an Upgrades Release available every four to six weeks.
  • Each Upgrade Release is Maintained for two (2) months from the Release Date of the next Release that is an Upgrade and shall receive Troubleshooting for the three (3) months subsequent to such Upgrade.
  • For example, if Nutanix releases PC.2020.8 on Aug 1, 2020 and releases PC.2020.9 on Sep 1, 2020 then PC.2020.8 will be Maintained until Nov 30, 2020 and Troubleshooting for PC.2020.8 will be available until Feb 28, 2021.

2.3 Nutanix Files

• Overview. Nutanix Files currently does not follow the Long Term Support Release (LTS) and Short Term Support Release (STS) tracks. When an Update is made available, the previous Update within the same Upgrade family shall cease to be Maintained.
  • Each Release is Maintained for three (3) months after the Release Date for the next Release that is an Upgrade.
  • Each Release will receive Troubleshooting for 12 months after the Release Date for the next Release that is an Upgrade.
  • For example, if Nutanix releases Files 3.1.0 on September 1, 2018 and Files 3.2.0 on November 1, 2018 then Files 3.1.0 will be Maintained until February 28, 2019 and Troubleshooting for Files 3.1.0 will be available until November 30, 2019.

2.4 Nutanix Objects

• Overview. Nutanix Objects currently will not follow the Long Term Support Release (LTS) and Short Term Support Release (STS) tracks. When an Update is made available, the previous Update within the same Upgrade family shall cease to be Maintained.
  • Each Release is Maintained for three (3) months after the Release Date for the next Release that is an Upgrade.
  • Each Release will receive Troubleshooting for 12 months after the Release Date for the next Release that is an Upgrade.
  • For example, if Nutanix releases Objects 1.1.0 on August 1, 2019 and Objects 1.2.0 on November 1, 2019 then Objects 1.1.0 will be Maintained until February 1, 2020 and Troubleshooting for Objects 1.1.0 will be available until November 1, 2020.

2.5 Nutanix Kubernetes Engine (formerly Karbon)

• Overview. Nutanix Kubernetes Engine (formerly Karbon) follows a lifecycle support policy designed to keep up with and provide enterprise level support for the fast-moving Kubernetes project open source releases.  Nutanix Kubernetes Engine (formerly Karbon) currently does not follow the Long Term Support Release (LTS) and Short Term Support Release (STS) tracks.
  • Each release shall receive Troubleshooting for twelve (12) months from the release date of the next release that is an Upgrade.
  • When an Update is made available, the previous Update within the same Upgrade family shall cease to be Maintained.

2.6 Nutanix Database Service (formerly Era)

• Overview. Nutanix Database Service currently will not follow the Long Term Support Release (LTS) and Short Term Support Release (STS) tracks.
  • Each release shall receive Troubleshooting for twelve (12) months from the release date of the next release which is an Upgrade.
    
  • When an Upgrade is made available, the previous Upgrade family shall cease to be Maintained.
    
  • When an Update is made available, the previous Update within the same Upgrade family shall cease to be Maintained.
  • For example, if Nutanix releases NDB 2.4.1 on April 11, 2022, and NDB 2.5.0 on September 15, 2022, then Maintenance will cease for NDB 2.4.1 and Troubleshooting for NDB 2.4.1 will be available until September 30, 2023.

2.7 Life Cycle Manager (LCM)

• Overview. LCM does not follow the Long Term Support Release (LTS) and Short Term Support Release (STS) tracks.
  • When an Upgrade is made available, the previous Upgrade family shall cease to be Maintained.
  • When an Update is made available, the previous Update within the same Upgrade family shall cease to be Maintained.

3. Anticipated Software Release Cadence

3.1 AOS

• Upgrades are typically made available every three (3) to six (6) months for STS Releases and every twelve (12) to fifteen (15) months for LTS Releases.
• Updates are typically made available every four to six weeks.
• In addition, Updates that only consist of Patch Releases are made available on an as-needed basis.

3.2 Prism Central

• Upgrades are typically made available every every four to six weeks.
• Updates that only consist of Patch Releases are made available on an as-needed basis.

3.3 Nutanix Files

• Upgrades are typically made available every three (3) to six (6) months.
• Updates are typically made available every four to six weeks.
• In addition, Updates that only consist of Patch Releases are made available on an as-needed basis.

3.4 Nutanix Objects

• Upgrades are typically made available every three (3) to six (6) months.
• Updates are typically made available every four to six weeks.
• In addition, Updates that only consist of Patch Releases are made available on an as-needed basis.

3.5 Nutanix Kubernetes Engine (formerly Karbon)

• Upgrades will typically be made available every six (6) to twelve (12) months.
• Updates will typically be made available every three (3) to six (6) months.
• In addition, Updates that only consist of Patch Releases will be made available on an as-needed basis.

3.5 Nutanix Database Service (formerly Era)

• Upgrades are typically made available every three (3) to nine (9) months.
  
• Updates are made available on an as-needed basis.

4. AOS Compatibility

4.1 Prism Central

• Each Prism Central release will be compatible with the following AOS releases
  • Current and previous two (2) active STS Upgrade releases
  • Current and previous active LTS Upgrade releases
• For example, PC.2020.8 which was released in Aug 2020 will be compatible with the AOS releases, 5.10 (LTS), 5.15 (LTS), 5.16 (STS), 5.17 (STS) and 5.18 (STS) Upgrade releases.

4.2 Nutanix Database Service (formerly Era)

• Each NDB release will be compatible with the following AOS releases
  
  • Current and previous two (2) active STS Upgrade releases
    
  • Current and previous active LTS Upgrade releases
• For example, NDB 2.5 which was released in September 2022 will be compatible with the AOS releases, 6.5.x (LTS), 5.20.x (LTS), 6.1.x (STS) Upgrade releases.
  

5. Upgrade Policy

• To view upgrade paths, see the Upgrade Paths page in the Nutanix Support Portal.

6. Hardware Compatibility Guidelines. Compatible hardware platforms (“Approved Platforms”) are listed on Nutanix’s Hardware Compatibility List (“HCL”) which can be found here. Approved Platforms listed on the HCL are specific with regard to the version of such platform as well as for the components included therein. For Approved Platforms the following guidance applies:

• Nutanix will periodically place platforms on the HCL to be “Approved Platforms”
• As of the date that a platform becomes an Approved Platform, Nutanix agrees that it shall provide LTS Releases that are compatible with that Approved Platform (including backward compatibility) prior to EOL, unless otherwise stated. The preceding sentence assumes that the customer has installed all LTS Releases that are Upgrades during the term of Support.
• Notwithstanding the commitment above, Nutanix has no obligation to provide LTS Releases for Approved Platforms if such Approved Platforms subsequently are ‘end of life’ or are no longer supported by the manufacturer.
• Nutanix strongly recommends that customers deploy Nutanix software on a hardware platform that is under a maintenance contract.

SOFTWARE SUPPORT SUMMARY

EXHIBIT A
POLICY DEFINITIONS

Documentation means any on-line read me, help files, manuals or other explanatory materials describing the features, functionalities and the specifications of the Software as provided by Nutanix.

End of Life (EOL) or End of Support Life (EOSL) is the last date that the product is entitled to receive applicable Support. After this date, all Support for the product will cease unless entitled by an active Extended Support contract. 

End of Maintenance is the date after which Nutanix will only provide critical security patches and workarounds if necessary. Any Software released after a hardware end of maintenance date will not be qualified on that hardware, with the exception of AOS. For AOS, Nutanix will qualify all Short Term Support (STS) releases of AOS leading up to and including the first Long Term Support (LTS) release that is made after the hardware end of maintenance date.

Error means any reproducible failure of the Software to perform any material function as set forth in the Documentation.

Long Term Support (LTS) Release means a Software release that Nutanix commits to maintain and support for longer than other releases, to provide greater stability to customers who have longer new feature adoption cycles. In general, an LTS Release is a Maintenance Release and will contain very few (if any) new features and builds upon a mature and proven AOS codebase which customers have been successfully running in their production environments. An LTS release will be designated “LTS” as part of the Software version number. Any release that is not designated as LTS will be deemed to be an STS Release.

Maintenance means the provision of LTS Releases and STS Releases by Nutanix.

Maintenance Release. The number in the “Z” position in the Software version number indicates a Nutanix Software release as a Maintenance Release. A new Maintenance Release has a number of bug fixes and generally does not include new features.

Maintained means that Nutanix will provide Updates that have workarounds and bug fixes for Errors but will not provide Upgrades.

Major Release. The number in the “X” position in the Software version number identifies a Nutanix Software release as a Major Release. A new Major Release has a large feature payload and a number of bug fixes.

Minor Release. The number in the “Y” position in the Software version number identifies a Nutanix Software release as a Minor Release. A new Minor Release has a nominal feature payload and a number of bug fixes.

Mixed Support Level means that the product is covered by different levels of Support contracts in the same cluster.

Short Term Support (STS) Release means a Software release that shall receive Troubleshooting for three (3) months from the Release Date of the next Release that is an Upgrade. The intent of an STS is to allow rapid feature adoption.

Patch Release. The “n” position in the Software version number identifies a Software release as Patch Release. A Patch Release typically has a smaller number of bug fixes than a Maintenance Release. Nutanix may limit the distribution of some Patch Releases.

Release means either an LTS Release or an STS Release.

Release Date means the date a new Upgrade or Update is generally made available.

Software means any Nutanix software licensed to customers as for commercial purposes.

Support means Nutanix support as described at www.nutanix.com/support-services/product-support. 

Troubleshooting refers to Nutanix Support consisting of phone support and if necessary, the provision of Patch Releases primarily for security purposes.

Update means either a Maintenance Release or a Patch Release.

Upgrade means either a Minor Release or a Major Release.

Log in to the Nutanix Support Portal to view the Hardware and Software Versioning Compatibility Matrix.

Log in to the Nutanix Support Portal to view End of Life Information

Extended Software Support and Extended Hardware Support are two non-standard options  which act to extend a standard Support term after the End of Life (EOL) of a hardware platform. When either Extended Software Support or Extended Hardware Support options are purchased, Nutanix will provide the services outlined in the Support Program Guide and Support Policies with the following exceptions and caveats: 

• Any Software released after an End of Maintenance date will not be qualified for interoperability for use with an End of Maintenance hardware platform (please see the End of Maintenance definition in the EOL Policy for further details). Nutanix recommends upgrading to the latest valid LTS (Long-Term Support) offering for the End of Maintenance hardware throughout the Extended Support term. The Nutanix Compatibility Matrix should be checked for supportability prior to any Software Upgrades;
• The Nutanix Compatibility Matrix should be checked for supportability prior to any hypervisor Upgrades. New versions of a hypervisor may not work with older versions of Nutanix Software; and
• Where possible, critical security patches and workarounds will be provided after End of Maintenance of a hardware platform.

Extended Hardware Support offering is available on Nutanix hardware platforms only, while Extended Software Support is available on all hardware platforms. Please note that OEM platform’s EOL dates are determined by the respective manufacturer; you can refer to Portal’s Hardware Platform End of Life Information for specific dates on Nutanix Approved Platforms. For 3rd Party and other OEM platforms not listed, check with their respective manufacturer.

Nutanix has the following policy regarding the use of third party components within its devices:

• If a customer uses a third-party component in a Nutanix device, and a fault is traced to the use of this third-party component, then at the discretion of Nutanix, support and warranty service may be withheld.
• If a product fault is determined to not be related to the use of third-party components, then Nutanix will continue to support the customer per our standard support policies.
• At no time will hardware RMA support be provided on third-party components. If hardware is replaced, and the fault is determined to have been caused by the installation of a third-party component, Nutanix reserves the right to charge reasonable time and material rates for the service provided.

Nutanix Worldwide Support will assist customers in problem analysis to determine whether or not a technical issue is related to third-party hardware or software. In order to isolate the issue, Nutanix may ask that the third-party hardware or software be removed.

Nutanix is a Premium member of an umbrella organization of a multi-vendor support community called TSANet. In case of an issue lying in the gray area between Nutanix and another vendor, Nutanix can leverage TSANet to bring the vendors together for complex troubleshooting. For customers that may be running on an unsupported configuration, or if the other vendor is not part of TSANet, Nutanix may ask the customer to open a case with the other vendor directly.

To receive replacement parts for defective material it is necessary to contact Nutanix support. Replacement products and components are shipped to end users and valued added resellers (VARs) based on dispatch instructions generated by Nutanix support personnel. All replacement parts are supplied from field distribution centers. Nutanix products and components that are covered under the terms and conditions of Nutanix’s Limited Warranties (“Covered Products”) and returned to Nutanix must be pre‐authorized by Nutanix with an RMA number marked on the outside of the package, and sent prepaid, insured and packaged appropriately for safe shipment. Only packages with RMA numbers written on the outside of the shipping carton and/or the packing slips and shipping paperwork will be accepted by Nutanix’s receiving department, or its designated repair partner. All other packages will be rejected.

End User Support: Once Nutanix support personnel have determined a replacement part is needed, a replacement will be shipped. The end user will receive a dispatch number which also acts as the RMA number. Nutanix will be responsible for all freight charges for returned Covered Products or components provided Customer uses Nutanix designated carrier.

VAR Support: Once a VAR has determined there is a defective part at one of its customer sites a replacement is provided from its spare part inventory, if available. The VAR then contacts Nutanix support and request a replacement. A replacement product or component will be shipped to the VAR in advance of receiving the defective product. The VAR will receive a dispatch number which also acts as the RMA number. The VAR will be responsible to return the defective product within ten (10) business days and for all freight charges for returned Covered Products.

Non‐compliance: Parts not received by Nutanix, or its designated repair partner within fifteen (15) business days of dispatch will be invoiced to the appropriate party (either the end user or VAR) at Nutanix‘s then current list price.

Entitlement is based on the Support offering purchased by the customer in accordance with the Support Guide and the Support Policies:

• For NX hardware platforms, Nutanix will provide Support for customers with active Software Support and hardware Support contracts
• For non-NX hardware platforms, Nutanix will provide Software Support for customers who have an active Software Support contract on Approved Platforms
• Nutanix strongly recommends an active hardware Support contract for all Approved Platforms to avoid any delays in providing Support

Mixed Support Level Guidelines. When a Nutanix cluster has a Mixed Support Level, the Software Support provided by Nutanix will be at the lowest Support contract within that cluster.  Hardware Support will not change based on the Software Support level applied to a cluster with a Mixed Support level and will continue to be the actual hardware Support contract entitlement for the specific asset with the issue.

A case is closed when you confirm that a resolution has been reached, or if we do not hear from you within two weeks of a request for information, and at least two attempts have been made to contact you during this period. A case may also be closed without final resolution, with acknowledgement and agreement from you.

A case is escalated if your expectations of an issue resolution are not in line with the outlined action plan and timeframes that follow the normal resolution process. You may escalate a support case at any time by contacting your SRE, or asking to speak with the Head of Support for your region. The manager who takes on the escalation then creates a task force consisting of the necessary resources from Technical Services, Engineering, QA, and Product Management and formulates an action plan to address the issue. This action plan is then shared with you, the checkpoint schedule and the milestones determined, and agreement sought on the closure criteria of the escalation. Updates are provided on the progress as agreed upon.

For the purposes of this FAQ, “support” or “supported” means that Nutanix will attempt to resolve any issues with the third party technology not working correctly with Nutanix technology.

See the Compatibility and Interoperability Matrix for AOS versions, models, and hypervisor versions supported.

For NX platforms - The Compatibility and Interoperability Matrix lists the first qualified release in the family. Any subsequent patches released on the qualified versions are not listed on the compatibility page but are immediately supported.

For Non-NX platforms - Once qualification is completed, all qualified releases including patch releases are listed on the Compatibility and Interoperability Matrix. If a release is not listed, contact your hardware vendor for compatibility information.

Nutanix does not support Free vSphere Hypervisor. Nutanix requires that customers deploy a supported hypervisor version on Nutanix systems.

Nutanix Qualifies hypervisor and update releases based on the schedule outlined below.

For hypervisor releases:

• For Major/Minor hypervisor releases (eg ESXi 6.5, Windows Server 2016 Build 14393) the goal is to qualify within 90 days of the software GA release date.
• Nutanix may qualify the latest hypervisor Major/Minor release in conjunction with the latest (or upcoming) AOS release first.
• Nutanix advises customers to wait until any Major/Minor release is qualified by Nutanix prior to deployment.
• Nutanix qualified hypervisors will have a related JSON metadata upgrade file on the Nutanix Support Portal for one-click upgrade through the Prism web console Software Upgrade feature.
• Nutanix may not qualify a hypervisor with newer software and firmware releases once a hypervisor vendor ceases to provide support (i.e. through that vendor's end of support policy or other similar end of life policy).
  

For hypervisor updates:

• Update releases (eg. ESXi 7.0 U1, U2) are qualified within 45 days of the software GA release date on NX hardware platforms.
• Patch or Express Patch releases are supported immediately on NX hardware platforms. Nutanix does not qualify Patch and Express Patch releases (eg. ESXi 7.0U2a, 7.0U2b).
• Nutanix advises customers to wait until an update is qualified by Nutanix prior to deployment.
  
• In the event of multiple hypervisor releases occurring rapidly in the same train, Nutanix will officially qualify the 'latest' update only (when released) and restart the qualification for the newest update and reset the 45-day clock.
• Nutanix may qualify the latest update in conjunction with the latest (or upcoming) AOS release first.
• One-click hypervisor upgrade JSON files only include the qualified versions.
• Nutanix supports the ability to patch upgrade hosts with versions that are greater than or released after the Nutanix qualified version, but Nutanix may not have qualified those releases at that time.
• For updates that are made available by the hypervisor vendor that do not have a Nutanix-provided JSON metadata upgrade file (ie. not officially qualified), obtain the offline bundle and md5sum checksum available from the hypervisor vendor, then use the Prism web console Software Upgrade feature to upgrade.
• There are two types of hypervisor upgrades supported: qualified and unqualified. Qualified is when Nutanix tests the combination of software/hypervisors and provides a JSON file containing the compatibility information. Unqualified upgrades are not qualified by Nutanix and are meant for cases where hypervisor vendors/OEM vendors test and release an upgrade bundle.
  Note: Customized hypervisor images are not supported through Nutanix 1-click/LCM.
  
• If the hypervisor vendor withdraws a release from their web site prior to the 45 days target for Nutanix qualification, Nutanix will stop the qualification process for that particular build and the clock restarts for the previous version listed by the hypervisor vendor (or until a newer release is provided).
• If the hypervisor vendor releases a newer update within 45 days of the previous update for Nutanix qualification, Nutanix will stop the qualification process for that previous build and the clock restarts for the new version.

Please contact your hypervisor vendor for any questions regarding their support policies. Nutanix strongly recommends that customers deploy an “in-support” hypervisor version on Nutanix systems.

For Non-NX platforms, Refer to the Compatibility Matrix or reach out to Hardware Vendor.

Nutanix hyperconverged solutions integrate with popular offload capabilities, including VMware API for Array Integration (VAAI) and Microsoft Offloaded Data Transfer (ODX) to create clones in a matter of seconds with minimal overhead.

Support for vStorage API for Data Protection (VADP) and application-level consistent snapshots through Volume Shadow Services (VSS) provide full integration with third-party tools such as Symantec NetBackup, Veeam, Commvault and VMware SRM.

Integration with Commvault IntelliSnap delivers Commvault backup capabilities with enterprise grade storage features from Nutanix for a highly efficient backup solution.

For a list of currently certified backup partners supported by, and certified with, Nutanix AHV and Nutanix Files, see Nutanix Technology Alliance Partners program.

Nutanix product support is delivered primarily in English, and the target response times (see Priority Definitions and Response Times policy) are based on support being provided in English language.

Limited local language support for some Asian and European countries is available, during business hours of those countries. Some of the languages available are: Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish and Arabic.

Definitions

Ordered Date/Time = Date/Time that the dispatch is created

Shipped Date = Date that the dispatched part will be shipped per the SLA

Promised Delivery Date = Date that the customer should expect the part to be received per the SLA

Ship/Delivery Table (AMER, EMEA, APAC, LATAM)

The table below represents the timing of when a part and or Field Engineer will ship and arrive at the customer site based on when the dispatch is submitted. In the case of a local holiday the shipment and delivery dates would defer to the next business day. See table below for additional detail.

Ship/Delivery Table (Select countries in the Middle East)

The table varies somewhat to account for the normal business week in some countries in the Middle East (Currently for Nutanix this includes Israel, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, and Kuwait).

FE Service Level Agreement

FE availability is aligned to the parts delivery process and the entitled support level. Unless specifically requested, the target FE arrival time will be in parallel with the physical part.

Mission Critical Support (24x7, 4 hours). FEs can arrive onsite within four hours of when the dispatch is confirmed. The FE will be coordinated with part delivery.

Production support – field engineer (FE) will work onsite between 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM Monday through Friday, excluding local holidays. The FE needs to be scheduled no later than 3:00 PM on the day of service in order to complete the work by 5:00 PM. A dispatch must be created before 3:00 PM local time (i.e. where the asset is located) one business day before the maintenance in order to meet this service level. If multi-day FE events are required, they must be approved and scheduled prior to the initial part shipment.

After hours FE support is available for purchase as an add to Production Support. Once purchased, an FE can arrive after regular business hours. To meet this service level Dispatch requests must be made one day prior to onsite break-fix support.

Should a Field Engineer (FE) be leveraged as part of the support offering an FE will be dispatched to the customer site to perform hardware replacement only. The FE does not perform any hardware or software troubleshooting and relies on the remote SRE to perform any software activities.

Nutanix NRDK support option is available to customers who need to keep your defective hard drives (HDDs or SSDs) that require replacement, in order to comply with data security compliance regulations.

The NRDK program is an optional add-on to existing support packages. The program applies to all existing models of the Nutanix product. Customers are responsible for disposing of the replaced hard disk drives in agreement with their own data security compliance requirements and other applicable laws.

Service terms:

• NRDK option is only available for purchase in conjunction with one of Nutanix’s support programs
• NRDK can be purchased as an optional add-on to one of Nutanix Support programs, and is available for all Nutanix product models.
• NRDK must be purchased on all disks (SSD, HDD, NVMe) in the block configuration.
• NRDK must be purchased at the time of the asset purchase.
• NRDK must be purchased for the same term as the asset purchase.
  

Please note that both NRDK and NRNODE options are required for customers who want to maintain possession of their disks and nodes. 

All issues reported to Nutanix are assigned a priority. The priority will establish a targeted initial response level. Customers should expect to receive an initial analysis of the problem from Nutanix within the indicated time. These targeted response levels are not a guarantee of service within the timeframe.

Definitions of Priority Level and Targeted Initial Response

Nutanix will use the following guidelines to assess issues and provide an initial response in a timely manner based on their priority level:

*Cloud Support Services = NBD

Mixed Support Level Guidelines. When a Nutanix cluster has a Mixed Support Level, the Software Support provided by Nutanix will be at the lowest active Support contract within that cluster. Hardware Support will not change based on the Software Support level applied to a cluster with a Mixed Support level and will continue to be the actual hardware Support contract entitlement for the specific asset with the issue

From time to time, we may add features and request feedback on their utility and design. Designating them as “Technical Previews” in product documentation indicates that we may modify or remove them without official deprecation notices. You can use them at your own risk. You may provide feedback through your account team representative if you use them successfully or otherwise.

Support for these features is delivered through Account and Product Management teams with the following caveat:

1. Experimental features of a release should not be deployed in a production environment. Nutanix is not responsible for loss of any data or instability of the system caused by using these features in a production environment.
2. All support requests against experimental features will be treated as normal or low priority, and treated as such.

The Summary dashboards for both Insights and Smart Support is a personalized view within the award-winning Nutanix Support Portal, available to customers with active Mission Critical or Production Support agreements. It provides an at-a-glance summary of your installed Nutanix assets and support requests, bringing improved Insights and convenience to your Nutanix experience.

Insights (requires Nutanix Pulse enabled on one or more clusters)

• Summary view of your entire install base.  
• Single pane-of-glass metrics across your install base
• Actionable Discoveries and Remote Diagnostics

Smart Support

• Open cases and escalations overview.
• Locations of all installed Nutanix assets and status of contracts
• Current status and past history of component parts dispatches
• And more

To access Insights, log in to the Support Portal, click on your profile menu in the top right corner, and select Smart Support or Assets in the list.

• DOA is defined as a hardware product that fails at initial power-up or shows manufacturing errors 
• Physical damage as a result from shipping is not covered under DOA and needs to be raised to the carrier and supplier
• The DOA process is separate from any warranty program
• DOA must be claimed within 90 days of shipment
• Customers must check the physical integrity of the shipment immediately after delivery
• Products must have been purchased from Nutanix, directly or from one of the authorized channel partners and must have a valid support contract
• Standard lead-time to receive the replacement product applies. Replacements are shipped directly from the contract manufacturer via the distributor
• As part of the DOA process only the full block can be replaced, not individual parts

DOA request process

1. The customer must open a case with Nutanix Support and provide the serial number of the asset
2. Nutanix Support will determine if the product is DOA and eligible for replacement
3. Customer will be asked to work with their supplier to arrange the replacement with the distributor
4. The distributor will handle the replacement directly

• Missing or incorrect parts are defined as parts which were ordered, however not, or incorrectly delivered
• This process is separate from the DOA or any warranty program
• Missing or incorrect parts must be claimed within 90 days of shipment
• Customers are expected to check integrity of the shipment immediately after delivery
• Products must have been purchased from Nutanix, directly or from one of the authorized channel partners and must have a valid support contract
• Standard lead-time to receive the replacement product applies. Replacements are shipped directly from the contract manufacturer via the distributor

Missing or incorrect parts request process

1. Customers should work with their partner to arrange the replacement with the distributor. Nutanix Support involvement is not required for missing or incorrect part replacements
2. The distributor will handle the replacement directly

For the purposes of the following FAQ, “support” or “supported” means support for the version(s) of the Nutanix Software that fall within our Upgrade/Update releases and Support obligations.

The Nutanix Kubernetes Engine (NKE) support policy applies to the following product components:

• NKE-deployed Kubernetes clusters
• Node OS
• Add-on components
• Airgap VM

Note:

• Applications or components that are not installed by NKE are not supported by Nutanix
• To view the supported NKE versions, see the NKE End of Life Information

NKE-deployed Kubernetes clusters

NKE deploys Kubernetes clusters according to Nutanix best practices. Nutanix requires that customers run Kubernetes clusters in accordance with the standard configuration deployed by NKE. Nutanix does not support modified versions of the Kubernetes cluster configuration parameters (for example, Kubelet). 

Customers can upgrade NKE-managed Kubernetes clusters using documented methods. For more details, see the product documentation.

Which Kubernetes Versions are Supported with NKE?

Commencing from NKE version 2.3.0, NKE will qualify and support Kubernetes version N up to and including N-3 (N, N-1, N-2, N-3), where N is the latest Kubernetes release supported by Nutanix Kubernetes Engine (formerly Karbon).

See the respective NKE release notes for compatible Kubernetes versions.

For Kubernetes releases:

• Nutanix will maintain a Service Level Objective to qualify Kubernetes releases within 90 days of the respective GA release date
• The latest Kubernetes release may not be qualified in conjunction with the latest (or upcoming) NKE release
• In the event of multiple Kubernetes releases occurring rapidly in the same train, the qualified release will be chosen based on the stability of the latest release
• Commencing with NKE 2.3.0, NKE releases will be available to upgrade using LCM, NKE managed Kubernetes clusters must be running a NKE supported Kubernetes version
• NKE managed Kubernetes clusters must be upgraded via upgrade methods provided by Nutanix

Node OS 

NKE is shipped with a Node OS that is used for the Kubernetes cluster deployment. The Node OS contains all the packages, components, and configuration files required by NKE and that are qualified and supported by Nutanix. Additionally, a customer may use a third-party solution or version that is validated by Nutanix as interoperable (“Nutanix Ready”).  A list of these solutions and versions is available in the Partner Software Compatibility and Interoperability Matrix. 

Node OS upgrades of NKE-managed Kubernetes clusters must be upgraded via upgrade methods provided by NKE. For more information, see the product documentation. 

Add-on components

NKE installs and configures the following add-on components:

• CoreDNS
• Fluentbit
• CNI
• Nutanix CSI
• Prometheus Operator
• Prometheus system instance
• Elasticsearch and Kibana (Optional)

These components are deployed according to tested configuration best practices defined by Nutanix. Nutanix does not support any upgrade, removal, or modification to these configurations.  Disabling NKE add-on components for NKE-managed Kubernetes clusters must be performed using documented methods provided by Nutanix. For example, to disable Elasticsearch and Kibana, follow the procedure described in the product documentation.

Airgap VM

NKE uses an Airgap VM to host the artifacts required for a darksite (no internet access) environment. The Airgap VM is deployed according to tested configuration best practices defined by Nutanix. Nutanix does not support any update, removal, or modification to the configuration of the Airgap VM. 

For the purposes of the following FAQ, "support" or "supported" means support for the version(s) of the Nutanix Software that fall(s) within our Upgrade/Update releases and Support obligation.

Commencing with AHV version 20201105.30142 (bundled with AOS version 6.1), for each new AOS/AHV release, Nutanix will only add support for Long-Term Support (LTS) NVIDIA vGPU driver versions.

For LTS NVIDIA vGPU driver versions:

• In the event that multiple NVIDIA vGPU driver versions are released in succession, Nutanix will select one driver it deems appropriate at the time of the release
• All Updates/Upgrades will be performed via LCM

In the event that NVIDIA publishes an out-of-cycle release containing security fixes, bug fixes or support for a new card, Nutanix will evaluate such release, and if found necessary, release a commensurate Nutanix Update/Upgrade to accommodate the critical NVIDIA out-of-cycle driver release as an exception to the standard process above.

See the product download page for the AHV-compatible NVIDIA vGPU driver versions.

Nested virtualization is only supported on AHV for 2 tested and qualified Microsoft Windows features:

• Credential Guard
• WSL2 (“Windows Subsystem for Linux 2”).

These scenarios allow for nested virtualization on AHV to run a Hypervisor in a User Virtual Machine (UVM) on top of the AHV Hypervisor. The hosted Hypervisor UVM has the ability to further run and manage UVMs (“nested” UVMs). Hardware and software support is required to allow for nested virtualization.

At this time, no other nested virtualization use-cases are qualified for support on AHV.

The Nutanix Ready program facilitates the testing and qualification of third party software and hardware vendor solutions to certify they are compatible with, and supported on, the Nutanix AHV Hypervisor. If you are interested in a 3rd party software or hardware vendor who is not already Nutanix Ready, please contact your Nutanix Account Executive to inquire about the possibility of a Nutanix Ready partner request.

Guest Operating System (OS) support in AHV virtual machines varies according to the availability of support from the OS vendor and the level of support available from Nutanix. This article describes the level to which Nutanix supports guest OSes running on Nutanix AHV.

Support Scope

Across all the support levels listed below, Nutanix does not provide support for guest OS software-specific bugs, issues, or problems originating from the guest OS itself. Nutanix can assist customers experiencing OS issues according to the support level below by leveraging TSANet, an umbrella organization of multi-vendor support community. See the Third Party Hardware or Software Support Policy on our Support FAQs page. Contact your Operating System vendor regarding their OS support policies.

Online Compatibility Matrix

Support listings for guest OSes on AHV can be found on our support portal under the AHV Guest OS page.

Support Levels

Supported

These OSes are fully supported by Nutanix for use on AOS and AHV which includes technical and Engineering support. Supported OSes have commercially-available support from the OS vendor. Nutanix will endeavor to provide Nutanix Guest Tools ‘NGT’ for Supported OSes.

Community-Supported

Nutanix may not have commercial support agreements with Community-supported OS vendors. As such, this limits the extent to which Nutanix can collaborate with OS vendors. Nutanix may, at its discretion, provide Nutanix Guest Tools ‘NGT’ for community-supported OSes. Storage and networking VirtIO drivers may be provided by the vendor. Nutanix will endeavor to provide technical support, but engineering solutions to resolve reported issues may not be possible or may depend on customer collaboration with the OS vendor.

Legacy Support

These OSes may no longer be supported by the OS vendor in the case of a commercial OS product (end of mainstream support for certain vendors), by the vendor of a community-supported OS, or may not have VirtIO drivers. There may not be any collaboration with the OS vendor, which limits supportability options. Nutanix may not provide Nutanix Guest Tools ‘NGT’ for Legacy support OSes. In the case no VirtIO drivers are available, legacy storage and network devices may be required.

Nutanix will endeavor to provide technical support, but engineering solutions to resolve reported issues may not be possible.

Deprecated

Nutanix may pre-announce OS support discontinuation for OSes by marking an OS as deprecated. This deprecated status will only apply for a single Nutanix AOS STS or LTS release, whichever comes sooner. After that point, this OS will become Unsupported.

Deprecated guest OS releases remain supported according to its primary support level of Supported or Legacy support. Nutanix recommends customers upgrade to a newer, supported OS if you are using a Deprecated OS release.

Unsupported

Guest OSes that were never supported are not listed on the online compatibility matrix. If support for a guest OS has been removed, you may still find it listed for older AOS release compatibility.

Unsupported OSes are not provided technical or engineering support. Support cases opened for unsupported OSes may be triaged or closed at the discretion of Nutanix. 

Technical preview, alpha, or beta OS releases are not listed for support on AHV.

Feature-level Support

Selected, broadly-used feature support is shown on the online compatibility matrix on a per-guest OS basis. Included features are shown as Recommended, Supported, or Not Supported (blank). Specific feature support is not guaranteed for any OS. Additionally, some feature support is controlled by the guest OS itself.

Server validation programs

Nutanix is committed to validating new major versions of AHV with Microsoft's SVVP and Red Hat's Hardware Certification Program. This ensures a complete chain of certification and support with these vendors.

Microsoft SVVP certifications for AHV are published on the Microsoft website Windows Server Catalog under Server Virtualization listed under the vendor 'Nutanix Inc.'.

Red Hat Hardware Certifications for AHV are published on the Red Hat Hardware Certifications website, listed under the publisher 'Nutanix'.