OS image lifecycle

This document describes the lifecycle of an operating system (OS) image, starting from its creation through to its end of lifecycle (EOL) stage.

An OS image transitions through two main stages as part of its lifecycle:

  1. Mainstream support or general availability (GA)

  2. Deprecated or end of support (EOS): which is further divided into the following two sub-stages:

    1. Extended support
    2. End of lifecycle (EOL)

For some OS images, after they are marked deprecated, they might also have an extended support phase before they reach full EOL.

The following sections outline the lifecycle stages of an OS image on Compute Engine.

Mainstream support or general availability (GA)

In this stage the following processes take place:

  1. The OS image provider creates a new OS image and assigns a name by using the naming convention for that OS distribution. For example, debian-11-bullseye-v20230801.

  2. With the creation of a new OS image, Compute Engine generates a new image family. For example, debian-11.

    Image families help you manage OS images in your project by grouping related images together, so that you can roll forward and roll back between specific OS image versions. For more information, see Image families best practices.

    All calls to the image family references this recently created OS image. For example, if you specify an image family during VM creation by using the --image-family flag from the Google Cloud CLI, then the latest version of the image is used.

  3. At scheduled intervals, Compute Engine applies critical security or bug fixes, that are sent by the OS provider, to the OS image. In these updates, new features might be introduced. New features are typically not backported to the OS image after this stage. When an update is sent, the following takes place:

    • The current OS image is updated and a new name is generated. For example, the debian-11-bullseye-v20230801 with the updates becomes debian-11-bullseye-v20230901.
    • The debian-11 image family now points to the new debian-11-bullseye-v20230901 OS image.
    • The previous OS image (debian-11-bullseye-v20230801) is marked deprecated.

Deprecated or End of Support (EOS)

At some point, each OS image reaches the deprecation phase. For image deprecation dates, see Operating system details.

Deprecated OS images can either be in an extended supported or end of lifecycle phase.

In this stage, OS providers stop providing image updates and the OS images are marked deprecated. You might still be able to use these OS images, but you are responsible for acquiring updates, which are subject to availability from the OS distribution, vendor, or open source community.

When an OS image reaches EOS, the following takes place:

  • The latest image in the image family is either deleted or marked deprecated.

  • You can no longer use the image family. However, you can still use some or all of the OS images by referencing them directly with the exception of Windows where all OS images are deleted at EOS.

    To create a VM from a deprecated image, you must use the gcloud CLI or REST. When specifying the image, you must use the --image flag because image families don't point to deprecated images. For more information about creating VMs, see Create a VM instance from a public image.

  • When an OS image reaches or goes past the extended lifecycle stage, Google can't guarantee feature compatibility with new machine families or CPU platforms, to these deprecated versions.

    All VMs that use EOS OS images continue to work on Compute Engine and are still eligible for Google Cloud support beyond their EOS date. However, if any issues with the VM is identified to be associated with the deprecated OS image, Google might not be able to resolve the issue as OS provider support is no longer available.

Deprecated OS images can either be in an extended supported phase or end of lifecycle.

Extended support

For some operating systems, when they reach the deprecation phase, OS distributors provide a maintenance, extended or long-term paid package that can be applied to your OS:

  • For Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) OS: Maintenance support, Extended life phase, Extended Lifecycle support ELS (Add-On), or Extended Update Support (EUS)
  • For Rocky Linux: Long Term Support can be purchased from CIQ
  • For SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) OS: Long Term Service Pack Support, Extended Service Pack Overlap Support (ESPOS)
  • For Ubuntu Pro OS: Extended Security Maintenance (ESM)
  • For Windows OS: Extended Security Updates

For more details on these extended lifecycle packages, see the documentation for the OS provider.

End of lifecycle (EOL)

For operating systems that have reached the end of the extended support period, or operating systems that don't support an extended support period, the following takes place:

  • The OS image is marked deprecated, or is deleted from Google Cloud.

  • The guest environment software provided by Google won't be updated for EOL OS images, and repositories are no longer updated or maintained.

  • For existing VMs that use EOL OS images, the following takes place:

    • The VM can't download or install software packages or updates from the OS vendor and security updates are no longer available. This occurs because content from the OS vendor might no longer be available from the existing channels as the configured software repository infrastructure from the OS vendor might be turned down or archived.
    • The VM continues to run but continued compatibility is not guaranteed. Active support might not be available from the OS vendor or Google. Google can provide options for migration or upgrades to newer OS versions.

OS image naming convention, update schedule, and deprecation policy

The following table outlines the naming convention for OS images and image families, the update schedule, and the applicable EOS policy.

Definitions

The following notations are used in the table:

  • V is the numeric version for the OS. For example RHEL-7 where 7 is the numeric version
  • R is the release string sometimes referred to as the development codename for the OS. For example, debian-12-bookworm-v20240213 where bookworm is the release string. Release strings only apply to Debian and Ubuntu OS images.
  • N is the numeric build number. Build numbers only apply to Container-Optimized OS and Fedora CoreOS.
  • YYYYMMDD is the Year/Month/Day that identifies the date that the OS image was built or published. For some OS, the date is preceded by a lowercase v. For example, vYYYYMMDD.
OS Image family OS image Update schedule Deprecation policy
  • CentOS Stream
  • centos-stream-V
  • centos-stream-V-vYYYYMMDD
 Monthly OS images are marked deprecated but are still available for use.
Container-Optimized OS
  • cos-V-lts
  • cos-arm64-V
  • cos-V-N
  • cos-arm64-V-N
 Monthly OS images are marked deprecated but are still available for use.
Debian
  • debian-V
  • debian-V-arm64
  • debian-V-R-vYYYYMMDD
  • debian-V-R-arm64-vYYYYMMDD
 Monthly OS images are marked deprecated but are still available for use.
Fedora CoreOS
  • fedora-coreos-R
  • fedora-coreos-R-arm64
  • fedora-coreos-V-YYYYMMDD-N-gcp-x86-64
  • fedora-coreos-V-YYYYMMDD-N-gcp-aarch64
 Critical bug or security issues OS images are deleted on the EOS date.
RHEL
  • rhel-V
  • rhel-V-arm64
  • rhel-V-vYYYYMMDD
  • rhel-V-arm64-vYYYYMMDD
 Monthly OS images are marked deprecated but are still available for use.
RHEL BYOS
  • rhel-V-byos
  • rhel-V-byos-arm64
  • rhel-V-sap-byos
  • rhel-V-byos-vYYYYMMDD
  • rhel-V-byos-arm64-vYYYYMMDD
  • rhel-V-sap-byos-vYYYYMMDD
 Monthly OS images are marked deprecated but are still available for use.
RHEL for SAP
  • rhel-V-sap-ha
  • rhel-V-sap-vYYYYMMDD
 Monthly OS images are marked deprecated but are still available for use.
Rocky Linux
  • rocky-linux-V
  • rocky-linux-V-arm64
  • rocky-linux-V-optimized-gcp
  • rocky-linux-V-optimized-gcp-arm64
  • rocky-linux-V-vYYYMMDD
  • rocky-linux-arm64-V-vYYYMMDD
  • rocky-linux-V-optimized-gcp-vYYYYMMDD
  • rocky-linux-V-optimized-gcp-arm64-vYYYYMMDD
 Monthly OS images are marked deprecated but are still available for use.
SQL Server on Windows Server
  • sql-R-V-win-V
  • sql-V-R-windows-V-dc-vYYYYMMDD
 Monthly OS images are deleted on the EOS date.
SLES
  • sles-V
  • sles-V-arm64
  • sles-V-vYYYYMMDD-x86-64
  • sles-V-vYYYYMMDD-arm64
 Quarterly Only the latest OS image is marked deprecated.

Deprecated OS images are deleted six months after the deprecation date.
SLES for SAP
  • sles-V-sap
  • sles-V-sap-hardened
  • sles-V-sap-vYYYYMMDD-x86-64
  • sles-V-sap-hardened-vYYYYMMDD-x86-64
 Quarterly Only the latest OS image is marked deprecated.

Deprecated OS images are deleted six months after the deprecation date.
SLES for SAP BYOS
  • sles-V-byos
  • sles-V-byos-arm64
  • sles-V-sap-byos
  • sles-V-byos-vYYYYMMDD-x86-64
  • sles-V-byos-vYYYYMMDD-arm64
  • sles-V-sap-byos-vYYYYMMDD-x86-64
 Quarterly Only the latest OS image is marked deprecated.

Deprecated OS images are deleted six months after the deprecation date.
Ubuntu LTS
  • ubuntu-V-lts
  • ubuntu-V-lts-arm64
  • ubuntu-minimal-V-lts
  • ubuntu-minimal-V-lts-arm64
  • ubuntu-V-R-vYYYYMMDD
  • ubuntu-V-R-arm64-vYYYYMMDD
  • ubuntu-minimal-V-R-vYYYYMMDD
  • ubuntu-minimal-V-R-arm64-vYYYYMMDD
 Critical bug or security issues OS images are marked deprecated but are still available for use.
Ubuntu Pro
  • ubuntu-pro-V-lts
  • ubuntu-pro-V-lts-arm64
  • ubuntu-pro-fips-V-lts
  • ubuntu-pro-V-R-vYYYYMMDD
  • ubuntu-pro-V-R-arm64-vYYYYMMDD
  • ubuntu-pro-fips-V-R-vYYYYMMDD
 Critical bug or security issues OS images are marked deprecated but are still available for use.
Windows Server
  • windows-V
  • windows-V-core
  • windows-server-V-dc-vYYYYMMDD
  • windows-server-V-dc-core-vYYYYMMDD
 Monthly OS images are deleted on the EOS date.

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