IBM has never changed an announced EOL date on a version of IBM i and it's
predecessors.
What they do offer is a special "Program Support Extension" or "IBM
Service Extension Offering for IBM i" which can often go on for an
additional 3-4 years (lately) or as low as 5 months or not offered at all
for many releases. Many of the items on there are restricted to "Usage &
Known defect only". Which basically states that if you experience
something which is a new defect (to IBM) you're SOL. But if there is an
existing PTF out there for it you can have it. I do not have details but
I believe they charge enough for this limited support to make it hurt.
I do not see one planned for 7.1. Hopefully they've decided that
particular version has been out there long enough and offering an
extension is only a disservice to those who really need to get the heck
off of it. Let's face it, the out of date ciphers have already been
determined to be fixed with enhancements available only on later releases
and will not be changed to be classified as a defect.
https://www-947.ibm.com/systems/support/i/planning/upgrade/suptschedule.html
Rob Berendt
midrange.com
