SharePoint Supportability flash May 2012

This is just a summary of some supportability news and flashes related to SharePoint, as recent as per May 2012.

 

Updated Browser Support Matrix

Until this month, the Plan Browser Support matrix document on TechNet was a common edit point for TechNet writers because of the constantly changing browser versions. With many browsers moving to a monthly version release cycle, it became clear that a more comprehensive browser support document was necessary to inform customers about which browsers were supported by SharePoint.

This document has been updated to reflect the “latest” release of a variety of browsers, recognizing that due to the auto-update features of browser clients, most customers will likely have the latest version of a browser when viewing a SharePoint site.

However, the product team is aware that some customers do try to restrict browser versions for compatibility and testing. If you have not the latest browser version due to specific organizational restrictions, continued troubleshooting and supporting will be given according to the browser support matrix though not being on the very latest version.

NOTICE!  There  is now added the Mobile browser support  

 

SQL 2012 is not supported for SharePoint 2007

Although it is not fully updated on several other content, please be aware that  SQL 2012 is not a supported database server for SharePoint 2007. Typically supported is the minimum pre-requisites + 2 versions.

This means for SharePoint 2007, we support SQL Server 2005 SP1 and SQL Server 2008/R2.

 

SQL 2012 support for SharePoint 2010

For SharePoint 2010, SP1 includes support for SQL 2012. You must have installed SP1 for SharePoint 2010 as a pre-requisite (and relevant cumulative updates) according to this KB article:  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2460045 
“AlwaysOn” feature in SQL 2012:  Find more very interesting stuff on the SQL support team wiki pages covering this technology  and the material on MSDN

 

Support for “Extended Support” Products

With SharePoint 2007 and WSS 3.0 entering extended support in October 2012, please be reminded about the different support options available to customers when a product enters extended support.

There are 3 main phases of a product support lifecycle:

• Mainstream Support,
• Extended Support
• Self-Help Online Support.

Each of the three phases offer different support interactions with customers.Mainstream support has a variety of support options available.

 

Once a product moves into extended support, several changes take place:

Request to change product design and features (CDCR’s)

Customers will not be able to create Critical Design Change Requests (CDCRs) on the product. CDCRs are requests to change the “current release” product and once a product has entered extended support, it is no longer a current release.

non-security hotfixes

Customers will continue to get security updates for products in Extended support. However, non-security hotfixes will not be offered unless the customer purchase an Extended Hotfix Support Agreement. There are many additional requirements for a customer to enter an Extended Hotfix Support Agreement, so this capability is quite limited to a number of key customers that require this level of service.

Complimentary support

This type of support offering typically is seen through Software Assurance. When in Extended Support, complementary support option ends for those customers.

Paid support

While in extended support, Microsoft still offers paid support (either through Premier contracts or pay-per-incident support).

 

Microsoft will not accept requests for code level fixes (RFH), design changes, or new features (DCR) during the Extended Support phase for a product unless there is an active Extended Hotfix Support Agreement for the product that the customer has contracted Microsoft for.

See also: Microsoft Support Lifecycle

 

 

 

Mainstream support for SharePoint Server 2007 (MOSS) is ending soon!

 

Products Released	General Availability Date	Mainstream Support End Date	Extended Support End Date	Service Pack Support End Date	Notes
SharePoint Server 2007	1/27/2007	10/9/2012	10/10/2017	1/13/2009
SharePoint Server 2007 Service Pack 1	12/11/2007	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	7/13/2010
SharePoint Server 2007 Service Pack 2	4/28/2009	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	1/8/2013
SharePoint Server 2007 Service Pack 3	10/25/2011	Review Note	Review Note		Support ends 12 months after the next service pack releases or at the end of the product’s support lifecycle, whichever comes first. For more information, please see the service pack policy at http://support.microsoft.com/lifecycle/#ServicePackSupport.

http://support.microsoft.com/lifecycle/search/default.aspx?sort=PN&alpha=SharePoint+Server+2007&Filter=FilterNO

 

End of Mainstream support for SQL Server 2005 SP1 and SQL Server 2000 SP4

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/sqlreleaseservices/archive/2008/02/15/end-of-mainstream-support-for-sql-server-2005-sp1-and-sql-server-2000-sp4.aspx

 

 

It is highly recommended, to get as early as possible into the planning for upgrading/migrating to the next higher version before the support phase ends!
Note, that you have to plan extensive testing and eventually redevelop your customizations before upgrading which takes an additional amount of time.