In light of the recent announcement  to end new feature development for Oracle Virtual Desktop Infrastructure Software (VDI), Oracle Sun Ray Software (SRS), Oracle Virtual Desktop Client (OVDC) Software, and Oracle Sun Ray Client hardware (3, 3i, and 3 Plus), there have been questions and concerns regarding what this means in terms of customers with new or existing deployments.  The following updates clarify some of these commonly asked questions.

Extension of Premier Support for Software

Though there will be no new feature additions to these products, customers will have access to maintenance update releases for Oracle Virtual Desktop Infrastructure and Sun Ray Software, including Oracle Virtual Desktop Client and Sun Ray Operating Software (SROS) until Premier Support Ends.  To ensure that customer investments for these products are protected, Oracle  Premier Support for these products has been extended by 3 years to following dates:

• Sun Ray Software - November 2017
• Oracle Virtual Desktop Infrastructure - March 2017

Note that OVDC support is also extended to the above dates since OVDC is licensed by default as part the SRS and VDI products. 

As a reminder, this only affects the products listed above.  Oracle Secure Global Desktop and Oracle VM VirtualBox will continue to be enhanced with new features from time-to-time and, as a result, they are not affected by the changes detailed in this message.

The extension of support means that customers under a support contract will still be able to file service requests through Oracle Support, and Oracle will continue to provide the utmost level of support to our customers as expected,  until the published Premier Support end date.  Following the end of Premier Support, Sustaining Support remains an 'indefinite' period of time.  

Sun Ray 3 Series Clients - Last Order Dates

For Sun Ray Client hardware, customers can continue to purchase Sun Ray Client devices until the following last order dates:

Product	Marketing Part Number	Last Order Date	Last Ship Date
Sun Ray 3 Plus	TC3-P0Z-00, TC3-PTZ-00 (TAA)	September 13, 2013	February 28, 2014
Sun Ray 3 Client	TC3-00Z-00	February 28, 2014	August 31, 2014
Sun Ray 3i Client	TC3-I0Z-00	February 28, 2014	August 31, 2014
Payflex Smart Cards	X1403A-N, X1404A-N	February 28, 2014	August 31, 2014

Note the difference in the Last Order Date for the Sun Ray 3 Plus (September 13, 2013) compared to the other products that have a Last Order Date of February 28, 2014. The rapidly approaching date for Sun Ray 3 Plus is due to a supplier phasing-out production of a key component of the 3 Plus.   Given September 13 is unfortunately quite soon, we strongly encourage you to place your last time buy as soon as possible to maximize Oracle's ability fulfill your order. Keep in mind you can schedule shipments to be delivered as late as the end of February 2014, but the last day to order is September 13, 2013.

Customers wishing to purchase other models - Sun Ray 3 Clients and/or Sun Ray 3i Clients - have additional time (until February 28, 2014) to assess their needs and to allow fulfillment of last time orders.  Please note that availability of supply cannot be absolutely guaranteed up to the last order dates and we strongly recommend placing last time buys as early as possible. 

Warranty replacements for Sun Ray Client hardware for customers covered by Oracle Hardware Systems Support contracts will be available beyond last order dates, per Oracle's policy found on Oracle.com here.  Per that policy, Oracle intends to provide replacement hardware for up to 5 years beyond the last ship date, but hardware may not be available beyond the 5 year period after the last ship date for reasons beyond Oracle's control.

In any case, by design, Sun Ray Clients have an extremely long lifespan  and mean time between failures (MTBF) - much longer than PCs, and over the years we have continued to see first- and second generations of Sun Rays still in daily use.  This is no different for the Sun Ray 3, 3i, and 3 Plus.   Because of this, and in addition to Oracle's continued support for SRS, VDI, and SROS, Sun Ray and Oracle VDI deployments can continue to expand and exist as a viable solution for some time in the future.

Continued Availability of Product Licenses and Support

Oracle will continue to offer all existing software licenses, and software and hardware support including:

• Product licenses and Premier Support for Sun Ray Software and Oracle Virtual Desktop Infrastructure
• Premier Support for Operating Systems (for Sun Ray Operating Software maintenance upgrades/support) 
• Premier Support for Systems (for Sun Ray Operating Software maintenance upgrades/support and hardware warranty)
• Support renewals

For More Information

For more information, please refer to the following documents for specific dates and policies associated with the support of these products:

• Document 1478170.1 - Oracle Desktop Virtualization Software and Hardware Lifetime Support Schedule
• Document 1450710.1 - Sun Ray Client Hardware Lifetime schedule
• Document 1568808.1 - Document Support Policies for Discontinued Oracle Virtual Desktop Infrastructure, Sun Ray Software and Hardware and Oracle Virtual Desktop Client Development

For Sales Orders and Questions

Please contact your Oracle Sales Representative or Saurabh Vijay ([email protected])