1.DEFINITIONS

1.1-Software

1.1.1 End of Sale – A version of a product is “end of sale” when it is not allowed to sell a new instance of this particular version of this particular product.

1.1.2 End of software maintenance – A version of a product is “end of maintenance” when no software patch are issued to solve eventual defects in this particular version of this particular product.

1.1.3 End of support – A version of a product is “End of support” when ZD support department cannot diagnose and troubleshoot problems in this particular version of this particular product, to ensure its can be kept functioning properly.

1.2-Hardware

1.2.1 End of Sale – A hardware product is “end of sale” when production of this product has been halted, and it is not possible to produce and sell any more units.

1.2.2 End of support – A hardware product is “End of support” when ZD support department cannot diagnose, troubleshoot problems or provide spare parts for this particular version of this particular product, so it cannot ensure that it can be kept operational if a problem occurs.

2.POLICY

The following rules define the end of life policy applied in Zero Density.

2.1-Software

• A major version of a given product is declared “End of Sale” as soon as a major version of the same product is released.

Example. All Reality Engine 4.xx versions are considered “End of Sale” since the moment when Reality Engine 5.0 was released.

• A minor version of a given product is considered “End of Sale” as soon as a new minor version of the same product is released.
• A major software version will be maintained for 1 year after it is declared “End of Sale”, and therefore it will enter “End of software maintenance” state 1 year after it is declared “End of Sale”.
• A minor software version will be maintained for 3 months after it is declared “End of Sale”, and therefore it will enter “End of software maintenance” 3 months after it is declared “End of Sale”. It is assumed that upgrade between minor versions is non disruptive, so changing minor versions is not causing instability or forcing complex contents refactoring. If upgrade to the next available minor version would not be non-disruptive, that minor version could be supported for a longer period of time, up to 1 year.
• A major software version, including all is minor versions, is considered “End of support” 2 years after it has entered “End of software maintenance” state.
• All software upgrades to newer versions (major and minor) of a given product are covered by the SLA agreement. A user with an active SLA will always have access to the latest versions.
• In the eventual case of a complete software product being declared “End of Sale”, this will be announced by Zero Density on its website, and will be notified to exiting users via the usual means of communication (email notification, social media announcement) 1 year prior to the announced “end of sale date”.
• If a complete product is declared “End of sale” the same policy for “End of software maintenance” and “End of support” applied to Major versions will be applied to the complete product.

2.2-Hardware

• When a hardware product will be declared “End of Sale”, this will be announced by Zero Density on its website, and will be notified to exiting users via the usual means communication (email notification, social media announcement) 1 year prior to the announced “end of sale date”.
• A hardware product will be supported for a minimum of 4 years after its purchase date.
• Support for a hardware product will be ensured for at least 4 years after its “End of sale date” has been announced.
• A hardware product will be considered in “End of support” state 4 years after its “End of sale” date.
• Support for hardware products in “End of support” state will be made with a best effort approach, and availability of spare parts cannot be ensured.
• Solutions based on a hardware which is “End of support” will be troubleshooted with a best effort approach. If the issue cannot be reproduced in a supported hardware, ZD will not be responsible for fixing this issue.