Life-Cycle Management — N10-009 Study Guide

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Included in this chapter:

EOL vs EOS: the two dates and why one is dangerous
Software, firmware, and patch management
Hardware refresh cycles
Decommissioning and media sanitization

Life-cycle milestones and what each one changes

Milestone	What it means	Security updates after it?	Right response
End of sale / end of life (EOL)	Vendor stops selling and manufacturing the model	Yes, still patched until end of support	Note it, plan the eventual refresh
End of support (sometimes also called EOL)	Vendor stops shipping fixes, including security patches	No, unless paid extended support exists	Replace the device, or buy extended support
Extended support / extended security updates	Optional paid window for security fixes only	Security only, no new features or non-security fixes	Bridge while you migrate, not a permanent home
Hardware refresh	Scheduled replacement before end of support or wear-out	N/A (new gear is supported)	Budget and migrate on the 3 to 5 year cycle
Decommissioning	Device removed from service for good	N/A	Sanitize data, strip config, reclaim licenses, update inventory

Decision tree

Cheat sheet

Cheat sheet

End of support, not end of sale, is when security patches stop
Past end of support, the fix is to replace the device, not patch it
The same date is confusingly labeled EOL by some vendors
Extended support delivers security fixes only, as a migration bridge
You cannot patch what you have not inventoried, so track versions
Firmware is software too, and it gets security fixes
Patch management runs assess, test, deploy, verify on a loop
Updates flow through change management, with a rollback plan
Refresh hardware on a 3 to 5 year cycle, before it ages out
The asset inventory drives both patching and refresh planning
Decommissioning is a security task, not just unplugging a box
Remove config and credentials when decommissioning
Reclaim licenses and update inventory before the device leaves
NIST SP 800-88 defines three sanitization levels: Clear, Purge, Destroy
Match the sanitization method to where the media goes next
Degaussing erases magnetic media only, never SSDs
Cryptographic erase destroys the key, not the bits
Sanitization must be verified and documented with a certificate

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References