Active Retirement Mode Announcement for SonicWall NSA E6500
First Published:02/20/2015
Last Updated:03/26/2020
Active Retirement Mode Announcement
SonicWall is initiating the Active Retirement Mode (ARM) notification for the SonicWall NSA E6500. Active Retirement Mode is the second phase of the SonicWall End of Life process outlined at the end of this document. During this phase SonicWall will no longer actively manufacture or sell the products listed below. In addition, SonicWall may release a limited number of new features and will issue bug fixes only to the latest version of firmware available for the device After the ARM phase has ended, the NSA E6500 will transition to Limited Retirement Mode (LRM). Limited Retirement Mode is the fourth phase of the SonicWall End of Life process outlined at the end of this document.
All official End of Life notifications and phase information is posted on the Product Lifecycle page of our Support web site.
Products Affected
Products affected by this ARM announcement are listed below:
Table 1 End of Life Information
| Regions | Worldwide |
| Products | SonicWall NSA E6500 |
| Product SKUs | See Tables 2 and 3 |
| Last Day Order Begins | January 1, 2015 |
| Last Day Order Ends | January 31, 2015 |
| Active Retirement Mode Begins | February 1, 2015 |
| Active Retirement Mode Ends | January 31, 2017 |
| Last Day to Purchase 1-year Support | February 1, 2019 |
| Limited Retirement Mode Begins | February 1, 2017 |
| Limited Retirement Mode Ends | January 31, 2020 |
| End of Support Begins | February 1, 2020 |
Table 2 Affected Hardware SKUs
| Description | SKU | Replacement SKU Description | Replacement SKU |
| NSA E6500 | 01-SSC-7004 | SonicWall NSA 6600 | 01-SSC-3820 |
| NSA E6500 TotalSecure (1 Yr) | 01-SSC-7028 | SonicWall NSA 6600 TotalSecure 1 Yr | 01-SSC-3823 |
| NSA E6500 High Availability (HA) Unit | 01-SSC-7047 | SonicWall NSA 6600 High Availability | 01-SSC-3821 |
| NSA E6500 Demo Unit – NFR | 01-SSC-7054 | SonicWall NSA 6600 Demo NFR | 01-SSC-3822 |
| NSA E6500 Japan | 01-SSC-7005 | NSA 6600 Japan | 01-SSC-3825 |
| NSA E6500 GAV/IPS/ Application Firewall (1 Yr) Bundle | 01-SSC-7034 | SonicWall NSA 6600 TotalSecure (1 Yr) | 01-SSC-3823 |
| NSA E6500 E-Class Support Bundle (1 Yr) | 01-SSC-8748 | SonicWall NSA 6600 TotalSecure (1 Yr) | 01-SSC-3823 |
| NSA E6500 Secure Upgrade Plus (2 Yr) CGSS | 01-SSC-8711 | SonicWall NSA 6600 Secure Upgrade Plus (2 Yr) | 01-SSC-4258 |
| NSA E6500 Secure Upgrade Plus (3 Yr) CGSS | 01-SSC-8712 | SonicWall NSA 6600 Secure Upgrade Plus (3 Yr) | 01-SSC-4259 |
Table 3 Affected Support Service SKUs
| Description | SKU | Last Day to Order |
| 3-year Support Services | ||
| Comprehensive Gateway Security Suite for NSA E6500 (3 Yr) | 01-SSC-9236 | February 1, 2017 |
| E-Class Support 24x7 For NSA E6500 (3 Yr) | 01-SSC-7262 | February 1, 2017 |
| 2-year Support Services | ||
| Comprehensive Gateway Security Suite for NSA E6500 (2 Yr) | 01-SSC-9229 | February 1, 2018 |
| E-Class Support 24x7 For NSA E6500 (2 Yr) | 01-SSC-7261 | February 1, 2018 |
| 1-year Support Services | ||
| Comprehensive Gateway Security Suite for NSA E6500 (1 Yr) | 01-SSC-9222 | February 1, 2019 |
| E-Class Support 24x7 For E6500 Series (1 Yr) | 01-SSC-7260 | February 1, 2019 |
Last Day Order
Last Day Order is the last day to order the product from SonicWall and signifies SonicWall's intent to start the end of life process. The duration of this phase is variable and depends on numerous factors including material availability, SonicWall and channel inventory and end-user demand. Last Day Order is informational only; products in this phase are active. SonicWall continues to sell support contracts.
Active Retirement Mode
Active Retirement Mode is an announcement by SonicWall to indicate that it is no longer actively manufacturing or selling the product. Products in ARM are removed from all price lists and marketing collateral at this time. Support contracts for products in this phase will remain on price lists and will continue to be available for purchase until the phase has ended. During this time SonicWall may release a limited number of new features and will issue bug fixes only to the latest version of firmware available for the device. Software/firmware support and hardware warranty are available throughout ARM for products with an active support contract. The duration of this phase is two years beginning one day after the end of Last Day Order.
1-Year Support Last Day Order
1-Year Support Last Day Order represents the final day to purchase a 1-year support contract or subscription service that bundles support from SonicWall. Partners and customers may purchase and activate the 1-year support contract so that the product will be eligible to receive support until the product has reached End of Support.
Limited Retirement Mode
Limited Retirement Mode (LRM) is an announcement by SonicWall to indicate that it will no longer develop or release firmware updates or new features for these products. Software and firmware support for products in LRM is limited to critical bugs and security vulnerabilities. Support contracts are not available for purchase on products. Software/firmware support and hardware warranty are available throughout LRM for products with an active support contract. The duration of this phase is three years beginning one day after the end of Active Retirement Mode.
End of Support
End of Support (EOS) is an announcement by SonicWall to indicate that it will no longer provide technical support, firmware updates/upgrades or hardware replacement for the product, and that all remaining unique inventory or materials will become unavailable. SonicWall may continue to offer security service subscriptions such as Content Filtering and Intrusion Prevention during the End of Support phase, but it will no longer provide technical support for the product or any security service running on it. Should a technical issue arise on one of the subscription services that is offered during the End of Support phase, customers may be required to transition to an upgrade product at their own cost. Certain remaining entitlements on the End of Support appliance may be transitioned to the upgrade appliance upon request.
