Lifecycle milestones and servicing options for Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops

Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops offers different release types to best fit your needs. For on-premises deployments, we offer Current Releases and a Long Term Service Releases (LTSR) to deliver the latest features and updates in a cadence that works best for your business.

Specific lifecycle milestone dates for each on-premises release of the products are posted within the Product Matrix Table or Legacy Product Matrix Table. The products follow the typical lifecycle policies described in more detail on the Lifecycle Milestones pages. These products adopted a new Servicing Options release strategy starting with Citrix XenApp & XenDesktop 7.6 LTSR. General guidance regarding lifecycle milestones for each release strategy is defined below.

Citrix DaaS receives fixes and updates on an ongoing basis. Please refer to the Product Matrix Table.

Flexible service options enable predictable support

We know you need to balance the rapid pace of innovation with long term planning to control the risk and expense of introducing change to your enterprise app and desktop delivery solution. Citrix provides servicing options to give you greater flexibility and choice in how you adopt new Citrix Virtual Apps and Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops functionality while giving you greater predictability for maintaining and managing the support of your environment.

Long Term Service Release

Long Term Service Releases (LTSR) are ideal for large enterprise production environments where you would prefer to retain the same base version for an extended period. With LTSR, you will have regular access to fixes typically void of new functionality for predictable ongoing maintenance. With each LTSR comes new extended support timelines that let you plan ahead for upgrades at a pace that’s right for you and your organization.

Expand all
Long Term Service Release benefits
  • Extended Lifecycle with mainstream support for 5 years.  For each LTSR, you may purchase 5 years of Customer Success Services (CSS) mainstream support.  You must remain on CSS supported LTSR products, editions and license models for LTSR mainstream support.  LTSR products (both on-premises and Cloud) will move through lifecycle phases under the Product Lifecycle Support Policy.  If support for an LTSR product, edition and/or license model ends before mainstream support for the LTSR ends, you must transition to a supported LTSR product, edition and license model to maintain mainstream support, and to be able to purchase extended support, if available. With respect to extended support, you must be approved to purchase extended support in Citrix's sole discretion, even if available.
  • Predictable maintenance thanks to scheduled cumulative updates. Citrix will regularly release LTSR cumulative updates – typically containing only fixes devoid of new features – making it easier to schedule ongoing site maintenance and lowering risk to your deployments.
  • Reduced IT costs with simplified management. Opting to implement a Long Term Service Release will give you access to product releases with the most predictable maintenance schedule to streamline your management efforts, reduce uncertainties and mitigate risks, thereby lowering your total cost of ownership.
Long Term Service Release details
  • Eligibility: Customer Success Services (CSS) support is required for all your LTSR product licenses to be eligible for the LTSR benefits. CSS can identify currently supported LTSR products, editions and license models.
  • Accessing and deploying updates: Cumulative Updates (CUs) are software releases that provide maintenance corrections and/or fixes. CUs will be available for download from Citrix.com for Customer Success Services (Software Maintenance) customers.  Generally, CUs will include fixes and no new functionality. CUs are cumulative in nature, so any new CU will include all fixes released in previous CUs for that component.  This means that all updates will include all previous updates. You will not be able to install a subset of the fixes included in a CU release. Code level maintenance will be provided on the latest released CU.
    • Example:  If you have adopted LTSR and report a new issue, but have not kept up with the different CU releases (CU1, CU2, CU3, CU4), Citrix will support your LTSR environment and work on a fix. However, you may be required to move to the latest available CU (CU4) to ensure that the issue is reproducible with the latest update. In addition, the official fix will be included as part of CU5, which will also include other fixes along with fixes previously released in CU1, CU2, CU3, and CU4.
  • Extended lifecycle: Once a LTSR is made publicly available, new lifecycle milestones for that release will be established that target 5 years of mainstream support.
  • Maintaining compliance: To determine if environment components or versions meet LTSR compliance, reference LTSR product documentation for specific component or version criteria or download LTSR Assistant. You will be asked to install the most recent Cumulative Update to ensure that your LTSR site remains compliant. 

Citrix applies the following product lifecycle strategy to a LTSR of XenApp, XenDesktop or Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops: A LTSR will reach End of Life (EOL) 5 years after the release date. Citrix recommends customers maintain their LTSR sites with the latest Cumulative Update (N). Code-level maintenance will only be available on the latest Cumulative Updates. The product release dates are noted on the product download pages and individual EOL and EOES dates for each LTSR are noted on the Product Matrix Table or Legacy Product Matrix Table.

Current Releases

Current Releases (CR) deliver the latest, most innovative app, desktop, and server virtualization features and functionality allowing you to stay on cutting edge technology and ahead of your competition. Ideal for agile environments where you can rapidly deliver the newest app, desktop, and server virtualization features, including both production and test environments. Instead of managing new releases and patches independently, with Current Releases you can simply upgrade to the latest release which includes fixes and new functionality side-by-side.

Expand all
Current Release benefits
  • New use cases to address changing business challenges. Each employee is different and has different business needs. The flexibility of Citrix Virtual Apps and Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops architecture enables you to address the broadest range of these needs.  The fast pace of Current Releases will bring new features to market enabling, you to address even more use cases to completely mobilize your workforce.
  • Rapid innovation and quick delivery of new features. You are constantly taking measures to protect your company’s intellectual property and keep your workforce productive, but the IT world changes quickly and you need access to the latest app and desktop delivery features to stay competitive.  Current Releases will give you fast access to the latest security, productivity, and collaboration features.
  • Faster delivery of enhancement requests. Your requests for enhancing Citrix Virtual Apps and Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops make the solution more versatile. With Current Releases the turnaround time on getting new features implemented into the overall solution architecture will be much shorter. Faster cycles let Citrix deliver new features that address your enhancement requests and make them generally available for all customers to consume.
Current Release details
  • Eligibility: Customer Success Services is required for all Citrix Virtual Apps or Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops licenses to access the latest current release.
  • Accessing and deploying upgrades: Rapid release cycles make new current releases available at a frequent rate, therefore you will not be asked to patch your current release. Instead you will simply be asked to upgrade to the latest release that includes both fixes and new functionality to streamline maintenance.
  • Product lifecycle: The standard lifecycle milestone dates established at the initial major version release apply.
  • Maintaining compliance: You will remain compliant within the terms of a current release if you continuously install and configure the latest component release of Citrix Virtual Apps and/or Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops.

Citrix applies the following product lifecycle strategy to Current Releases (CR) of Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops:  Current Releases (N) will reach End of Maintenance (EOM) 6 months after the release date.  Citrix recommends customers adopt the latest Current Release. Current Releases will reach End of Life (EOL) 18 months after the release date.  The product release dates are noted on the product download pages.

Compare service offerings

  Long Term Service Release (LTSR) Current Release (CR)
Customer Success Services Required Yes1 Yes2
Product Lifecycle Timelines 5 years of mainstream support3 6 months maintenance, 18 months until end of life
Access to Releases Citrix.com/Downloads Citrix.com/Downloads
Cumulative Updates Yes4 No5
Includes Fixes Yes6 Yes7
Cumulative Update Schedule 4-6 months8 N/A
Release Schedule 2-3 years8 3-9 months8
Enhancement Requests No enhancements until next LTSR Rapid release cycles, more opportunities for enhancements

1 Customer Success Services needed
2 Customers with legacy Subscription Advantage have access to Current Releases for the duration of their contract, but are encouraged to upgrade to Customer Success Services.
3 Separate support contract is required for Extended Support, if available, and customer is approved for it on an exception basis. Citrix reserves the right to replace third party components with other components offering substantially similar or superior functionality where third party licenses to such components do not allow Citrix to fulfill LTSR support requirements.
4 Cumulative Updates will typically contain fixes only for Long Term Service Release sites. You will be asked to install relevant Cumulative Updates on Long Term Service Release sites.
5 Rapid release cycles allow you to add new features and all public bug fixes by upgrading to the next current release. You will be asked to upgrade Current Release sites to a newer release that includes relevant fixes as well as new features and functionality.
6 Customers on Long Term Service Releases will be asked to update to next Cumulative Update that contains the fix.
7 Customers on Current Releases might be asked to upgrade to next release that contains the fix.
8 General guidance, Citrix does not release product roadmaps publicly.

Let’s get started

Renew online through the Manage Maintenance Programs tool.

Learn more about Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops Servicing Options.