HPE Hardware Reaching EOSL in 2023: What Now?

Ever since Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) was founded by splitting the former Hewlett Packard Company, it has emerged as one of the top brands for servers, storage, and networking equipment. By solely focusing on enterprise equipment needs, HPE has been consistently improving its products. 

Unfortunately, as they say, all good things must come to an end. So HPE equipment, despite being reliable, has a limited lifespan. And that lifespan is officially determined by product end of life (EOL). 

Each year HPE announces the retirement of equipment through the end of sale (EOS), which by extension also includes EOL. In most cases, once the equipment reaches EOL, which is basically the end of service life (EOSL), HPE stops providing support for the product. 

So if you’re wondering which products are reaching the end of support in 2023, you’ll find the definitive list in this article. 

HPE Hardware Maintenance Milestones Explained 

HPE regularly updates models, especially popular ones. Naturally, when newer models are released, they stop selling the predecessor. However, support for the predecessor continues for a few years. 

To better understand HPE’s EOL policy for its networking products, here are the different milestones the company uses to mark the different stages of the product lifecycle:

• End of Sale: The date the company stops selling the product. It’s announced three to six months before the EOS goes into effect. 
  
  
• End of Engineering Support: This is the same as the end of support or service life. This date is announced with the EOS date and is typically five years from that date. Once the end of engineering support date arrives, HPE stops providing hardware or software engineering support for the specific product or series. 
  
  
• End of Contract Availability: HPE is one of the few manufacturers that may provide support even beyond the end of the engineering support date. However, that varies case by case. The end of contract availability date denotes the date after the end of engineering support date when HPE will no longer offer clients to purchase service for their products. In simpler words, this is the absolute end of their support. 

HPE Hardware Reaching EOSL in 2023

Several servers and storage equipment from HPE will reach the end of support this year. Some of the equipment dates back to when HPE was split out from the Hewlett Packard Company. However, HPE took the maintenance service as the products fell under its domain. 

Here’s a complete list of HPE hardware officially reaching EOSL in 2023:

Is It Time to Buy New?

If you own one of the above hardware pieces or any HPE equipment the company no longer maintains, you’re likely wondering what to do next. Replacing them with new equipment entirely depends on the condition of existing hardware and your business requirements.

If the equipment still works perfectly after all these years, your decision will come down to your performance needs. Does it meet the expectations? If yes, you can consider continuing to use it. 

Technically, this equipment that has reached the end of engineering support would be considered legacy or obsolete. However, that doesn’t automatically make it non-functional. 

That said, buying new ones is the way to go if you’re looking to adopt better features with more efficiency. Newer model servers and arrays would be much faster with advanced features, thanks to the processors, GPUs, and power supply advancements. 

Consider Selling or Donating Your Old Server

If you decide to replace the legacy HPE server or storage, plan what to do with the equipment to be replaced. If it’s functioning fine and can be refurbished, consider selling it to a third party like PivIT. 

Selling pre-owned servers or other network equipment is a great way to offset the exorbitant cost of acquiring new IT assets. 

If your enterprise isn’t actively looking to sell legacy servers, donating is the next best thing. You could donate to a registered non-profit. It’s a safe and reliable way to dispose of the used asset, not to mention socially and environmentally responsible.

If the equipment is beyond repair and not functioning, hire a professional IT asset disposition service to dispose of the hardware safely. This way, you can ensure the product doesn’t end up in a landfill, polluting the environment.

How Can Third-Party Maintenance Help?

If the HPE equipment reaching EOSL is functioning well and you want to keep using it (for instance, to delay the refresh cycle or because of infrastructure dependencies), opt for third-party maintenance (TPM). 

HPE would immediately stop providing engineering support when the EOSL date arrives. If the manufacturer offers the opportunity to continue the support service contract, you can expect to pay a very high premium. 

TPM is the best choice in such a scenario, where you can continue to use the equipment even after HPE has ceased support. TPM costs are comparatively lower than manufacturer-provided maintenance, especially post-EOSL. 

Continue Using HPE Equipment With Short-Term Maintenance from OneCall

Even if your HPE server or arrays have reached the end of engineering support, you can continue using them with the help of OneCall. 

Unlike many other TPM providers, OneCall offers reliable, economic short-term maintenance contracts for such situations. With a duration as short as six months, you can sign up for a short-term contract to guarantee maintenance and technical support for the equipment while determining which model to replace it. 

The short-term maintenance can be further expanded should you continue using the legacy HPE equipment. 

Contact us today and learn more about short-term maintenance with OneCall!