1 00:00:00,020 --> 00:00:01,859 In this lesson, we're going to talk about 2 00:00:01,859 --> 00:00:03,600 the product lifecycle. 3 00:00:03,600 --> 00:00:05,430 Now, whenever you have a brand new product 4 00:00:05,430 --> 00:00:09,210 or operating system, this follows a product lifecycle. 5 00:00:09,210 --> 00:00:11,070 Now, some manufacturers will dictate 6 00:00:11,070 --> 00:00:12,840 what that lifecycle is ahead of time, 7 00:00:12,840 --> 00:00:14,370 so you can understand exactly 8 00:00:14,370 --> 00:00:17,220 what kind of support you can expect from the manufacturer. 9 00:00:17,220 --> 00:00:18,450 But some other applications 10 00:00:18,450 --> 00:00:21,480 and programs don't provide that level of fidelity. 11 00:00:21,480 --> 00:00:24,060 For example, Microsoft does a really good job 12 00:00:24,060 --> 00:00:25,830 of being very clear and transparent 13 00:00:25,830 --> 00:00:27,900 with their lifecycle policy. 14 00:00:27,900 --> 00:00:29,730 When it comes to a version of Windows, 15 00:00:29,730 --> 00:00:30,870 there are two different types 16 00:00:30,870 --> 00:00:32,580 of support that are going to be there: 17 00:00:32,580 --> 00:00:36,270 we call this mainstream support and extended support. 18 00:00:36,270 --> 00:00:38,100 When it comes to Microsoft Windows, 19 00:00:38,100 --> 00:00:40,320 mainstream support is supported for every version 20 00:00:40,320 --> 00:00:43,650 of the operating system for a minimum of five years. 21 00:00:43,650 --> 00:00:46,740 After that, there's an additional period of extended support 22 00:00:46,740 --> 00:00:49,470 for some of their products that can extend another three 23 00:00:49,470 --> 00:00:52,110 to five years and sometimes longer. 24 00:00:52,110 --> 00:00:53,910 When it comes to a product's lifecycle, 25 00:00:53,910 --> 00:00:56,190 it's important to keep this in mind because once 26 00:00:56,190 --> 00:00:58,560 that product reaches what's known as end of life, 27 00:00:58,560 --> 00:01:00,750 which means it's no longer supported by mainstream 28 00:01:00,750 --> 00:01:03,390 or extended support, that operating system 29 00:01:03,390 --> 00:01:05,489 is considered abandoned or orphaned, 30 00:01:05,489 --> 00:01:08,430 and is now considered a legacy operating system. 31 00:01:08,430 --> 00:01:10,440 Legacy operating systems like this 32 00:01:10,440 --> 00:01:13,410 are ones that are no longer supported by their manufacturer. 33 00:01:13,410 --> 00:01:16,050 And the real danger with using a legacy operating system, 34 00:01:16,050 --> 00:01:17,760 or one that is now end of life 35 00:01:17,760 --> 00:01:20,130 is that there are no more software patches or bugs 36 00:01:20,130 --> 00:01:21,930 for that operating system. 37 00:01:21,930 --> 00:01:25,770 For example, Windows XP is a very old version of Windows, 38 00:01:25,770 --> 00:01:28,950 but I've still seen it used out some places in the field 39 00:01:28,950 --> 00:01:30,630 because there are specific use cases 40 00:01:30,630 --> 00:01:33,060 where they still need to use Windows XP. 41 00:01:33,060 --> 00:01:35,700 Now, unfortunately, Windows XP reached end of life 42 00:01:35,700 --> 00:01:39,150 and end of mainstream support back in 2015. 43 00:01:39,150 --> 00:01:41,070 That means, as of the time of this recording, 44 00:01:41,070 --> 00:01:44,100 it's been about seven to eight years since Windows XP 45 00:01:44,100 --> 00:01:45,993 is no longer supported by Microsoft. 46 00:01:45,993 --> 00:01:48,900 Now, does that mean you can no longer use Windows XP? 47 00:01:48,900 --> 00:01:51,000 Well, no, you could still use it, 48 00:01:51,000 --> 00:01:53,730 your license is still valid, but there's no more support 49 00:01:53,730 --> 00:01:55,650 for that version of the operating system. 50 00:01:55,650 --> 00:01:57,720 So if a hacker or attacker discovers 51 00:01:57,720 --> 00:02:00,030 some kind of vulnerability in Windows XP 52 00:02:00,030 --> 00:02:01,800 and numerous ones have been discovered 53 00:02:01,800 --> 00:02:04,980 since the end of life, those now are open vulnerabilities 54 00:02:04,980 --> 00:02:06,720 that will never get solved. 55 00:02:06,720 --> 00:02:08,520 So if you're running Windows XP, 56 00:02:08,520 --> 00:02:10,199 you are extremely vulnerable, 57 00:02:10,199 --> 00:02:12,390 and that should never be connected to the internet 58 00:02:12,390 --> 00:02:14,940 because people can hack you immediately. 59 00:02:14,940 --> 00:02:17,550 Now, that being said, Windows XP was used to be able 60 00:02:17,550 --> 00:02:20,280 to control a lot of ICS and SCADA systems, 61 00:02:20,280 --> 00:02:22,170 which are industrial control systems 62 00:02:22,170 --> 00:02:24,270 and those are really expensive to upgrade 63 00:02:24,270 --> 00:02:26,280 and change to newer versions of the operating system 64 00:02:26,280 --> 00:02:28,740 'cause you have to retool the entire factory. 65 00:02:28,740 --> 00:02:31,740 Well, because of that, a lot of systems are still being used 66 00:02:31,740 --> 00:02:34,680 with Windows XP, even here in the 2020s 67 00:02:34,680 --> 00:02:37,740 because it's still operating and still serving its purpose. 68 00:02:37,740 --> 00:02:39,420 And because it's not connected to the internet, 69 00:02:39,420 --> 00:02:40,860 it's still relatively safe 70 00:02:40,860 --> 00:02:43,440 because an attacker can't physically get to it. 71 00:02:43,440 --> 00:02:45,000 So these are the kind of things you have to think about 72 00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:47,250 when it comes to a product's lifecycle. 73 00:02:47,250 --> 00:02:49,140 Now, when it comes to dealing with operating systems 74 00:02:49,140 --> 00:02:52,020 like Windows 10 or Windows 11, they're going to be supported 75 00:02:52,020 --> 00:02:54,150 with mainstream support for at least five years 76 00:02:54,150 --> 00:02:56,880 by Microsoft, and then a period of extended support 77 00:02:56,880 --> 00:02:59,280 for certain versions of the operating system. 78 00:02:59,280 --> 00:03:02,010 For example, windows 10 Home and Pro editions 79 00:03:02,010 --> 00:03:04,050 were released back in 2015, 80 00:03:04,050 --> 00:03:07,170 and they have a retirement date of 2025, 81 00:03:07,170 --> 00:03:08,970 meaning they're going to have 10 full years 82 00:03:08,970 --> 00:03:10,890 of support by Microsoft. 83 00:03:10,890 --> 00:03:13,260 Alternatively, if you look at Windows 11, 84 00:03:13,260 --> 00:03:17,340 version 21 H2 had a start date of 2021, 85 00:03:17,340 --> 00:03:20,820 a retirement date of October 2023. 86 00:03:20,820 --> 00:03:22,110 Now, that doesn't mean Windows 11 87 00:03:22,110 --> 00:03:23,580 will no longer be supported, 88 00:03:23,580 --> 00:03:25,440 but it means the current version of Windows 11 89 00:03:25,440 --> 00:03:26,850 will reach its end of life 90 00:03:26,850 --> 00:03:28,890 and there'll be a new version of Windows 11. 91 00:03:28,890 --> 00:03:31,770 There'll be 22H2 or something like that 92 00:03:31,770 --> 00:03:33,150 that will then get an additional two 93 00:03:33,150 --> 00:03:34,980 to three years of support. 94 00:03:34,980 --> 00:03:38,550 Now, why do some versions like Windows 10 get longer support 95 00:03:38,550 --> 00:03:40,200 than Windows 11 did? 96 00:03:40,200 --> 00:03:42,420 Well, this comes down to the product lifecycle 97 00:03:42,420 --> 00:03:45,060 and what is being used by large corporations. 98 00:03:45,060 --> 00:03:47,520 When a large corporation embraces an operating system 99 00:03:47,520 --> 00:03:51,300 like Windows 10 or Windows 7 and Windows XP previously, 100 00:03:51,300 --> 00:03:53,640 then Microsoft tends to give additional support 101 00:03:53,640 --> 00:03:56,010 for all its larger mainstream customers. 102 00:03:56,010 --> 00:03:58,860 And this support also extends into the home user market 103 00:03:58,860 --> 00:04:00,810 because they're already building out the security patches 104 00:04:00,810 --> 00:04:02,940 and fixes for their corporate customers, 105 00:04:02,940 --> 00:04:04,920 so they can then support the home users 106 00:04:04,920 --> 00:04:07,530 using those same patches and fixes too. 107 00:04:07,530 --> 00:04:09,030 The last thing to keep in mind when it comes 108 00:04:09,030 --> 00:04:11,400 to operating systems like Windows 10 and Windows 11 109 00:04:11,400 --> 00:04:13,770 and their product life cycles is they also have a lot 110 00:04:13,770 --> 00:04:15,270 of feature updates. 111 00:04:15,270 --> 00:04:17,160 Now, these feature updates are going to occur 112 00:04:17,160 --> 00:04:19,769 usually every six to 12 months. 113 00:04:19,769 --> 00:04:21,120 And during these releases, 114 00:04:21,120 --> 00:04:23,100 Microsoft is going to provide different changes 115 00:04:23,100 --> 00:04:25,620 to the desktop environment, it's bundled applications, 116 00:04:25,620 --> 00:04:28,680 and other features embedded in that operating system. 117 00:04:28,680 --> 00:04:30,780 This doesn't make it a brand new operating system, 118 00:04:30,780 --> 00:04:32,580 but it makes additional features available 119 00:04:32,580 --> 00:04:35,100 in that particular operating system version. 120 00:04:35,100 --> 00:04:37,740 This has already happened with Windows 10 numerous times 121 00:04:37,740 --> 00:04:40,230 and will happen also with Windows 11 as we continue 122 00:04:40,230 --> 00:04:42,660 to move forward in its lifecycle. 123 00:04:42,660 --> 00:04:45,060 Now, generally, when you have a feature update, 124 00:04:45,060 --> 00:04:47,220 it's not going to change the baseline requirements 125 00:04:47,220 --> 00:04:48,660 for that operating system. 126 00:04:48,660 --> 00:04:51,270 It's still going to have the same requirements you had before. 127 00:04:51,270 --> 00:04:52,860 But again, it is always a good idea 128 00:04:52,860 --> 00:04:55,440 to run the PC Health Check application to ensure 129 00:04:55,440 --> 00:04:57,870 that your hardware can support the latest version 130 00:04:57,870 --> 00:05:00,510 of that operating system and the latest feature released 131 00:05:00,510 --> 00:05:02,490 for that operating system as well. 132 00:05:02,490 --> 00:05:04,050 For example, earlier versions 133 00:05:04,050 --> 00:05:06,330 of Windows 10 only required 20 gigabytes 134 00:05:06,330 --> 00:05:08,640 of storage space in order to install it. 135 00:05:08,640 --> 00:05:11,520 But over time, as additional features were released, 136 00:05:11,520 --> 00:05:13,140 that storage requirement went up, 137 00:05:13,140 --> 00:05:14,820 and the latest versions of Windows 10 138 00:05:14,820 --> 00:05:17,550 do require 32 gigabytes of storage space 139 00:05:17,550 --> 00:05:19,380 in order to be able to install the operating system 140 00:05:19,380 --> 00:05:20,880 and all the associated feature updates 141 00:05:20,880 --> 00:05:22,890 that have been released over time. 142 00:05:22,890 --> 00:05:25,770 So remember, when it comes to product lifecycle, 143 00:05:25,770 --> 00:05:27,840 it's important to realize that every product, 144 00:05:27,840 --> 00:05:30,990 including operating systems, has a defined lifecycle. 145 00:05:30,990 --> 00:05:33,330 Generally, this is going to be somewhere between two 146 00:05:33,330 --> 00:05:35,610 to five years for most operating systems, 147 00:05:35,610 --> 00:05:37,530 but Windows will provide at least five years 148 00:05:37,530 --> 00:05:38,400 of mainstream support 149 00:05:38,400 --> 00:05:40,410 for every operating system they release. 150 00:05:40,410 --> 00:05:42,720 And some of them, they'll also have extended support 151 00:05:42,720 --> 00:05:44,850 that can go out to 10 or more years, 152 00:05:44,850 --> 00:05:47,040 depending on the version of the operating system. 153 00:05:47,040 --> 00:05:49,080 Once that operating system reaches end of life 154 00:05:49,080 --> 00:05:52,230 or end of support, this means there'll be no more bug fixes 155 00:05:52,230 --> 00:05:54,240 or security patches, and that software 156 00:05:54,240 --> 00:05:56,550 is now considered a legacy operating system 157 00:05:56,550 --> 00:05:58,320 and should be upgraded into a more modern 158 00:05:58,320 --> 00:06:01,323 and supported version for all the systems on your network.