When an Intel or AMD processor reaches its vendor-defined end-of-servicing milestone (for Intel, "End of Servicing Updates," or ESU), it is considered End-of-Life (EoL) by XenServer Support. By default, under XenServer's EoL policy, components that are already EoL at the launch of a new XenServer release will not be certified for use with that release. This policy applies equally to AMD and Intel processors.

In the case of Intel Cascade Lake SP processors, the ESU milestone was reached on June 30, 2025, before XenServer 9 became Generally Available (GA). Due to the continued widespread use of these CPUs and current industry hardware supply conditions, Citrix is providing an exception to its standard EoL policy specifically for Intel Cascade Lake SP processors. As a result, these processors can be considered certified for use with XenServer 9, subject to the conditions below.

This exception applies to both new XenServer 9 installations and upgrades from XenServer 8.4 on existing Cascade Lake SP systems, until July 2031. No further support is provided for Cascade Lake SP processors beyond this date.

Scope of Certification

This exception applies strictly to systems using the following Intel Cascade Lake SP processor series, when validated on the XenServer Hardware Compatibility List (HCL):

• Intel Xeon Platinum 82xx Series
• Intel Xeon Gold 62xx & 52xx Series
• Intel Xeon Silver 42xx Series
• Intel Xeon Bronze 32xx Series

This exception certifies the system for use with XenServer 9. It does not imply that issues pertaining to the CPU will be addressed by either Citrix or other companies. Citrix supports the virtualization hypervisor and management stack of XenServer running on these systems; it does not support the CPU as a component. Issues root-caused specifically to CPU hardware faults, processor microcode defects, or unmitigated CPU security vulnerabilities remain outside XenServer's support scope for these components, consistent with our standard EoL policy for any EoL component.

Support Limitations and Security Caveats

EoL Hardware Root-Cause Exclusion:

As with any EoL component, if a reported issue is determined to relate to the EoL CPU itself, Citrix will not investigate that issue further.

Engineering Scope Boundaries:

Engineering will not provide comparative analysis, guidance, or statements regarding whether reported issues (including security issues) affect EoL CPUs. There is no guarantee that reported issues can or will be fixed on the EoL CPUs.

Customer Security Assessment Responsibility:

Operating hypervisors on hardware beyond the CPU vendor's official end-of-life support lifecycle may introduce operational, regulatory, and security risks. Customers are solely responsible for conducting their own risk assessments and evaluating compliance requirements within their own environments related to the use of end-of-life hardware, including consideration of security risks. This certification exception does not mitigate or replace the customer's responsibility for hardware lifecycle risk management.

Additional Resources

• XenServer End-of-Life Hardware Policy (see "Do you support XenServer on end-of-life hardware?" in the XenServer HCL FAQ)
• XenServer Worldwide Support Services Delivery Guide
• Intel — Changes in Customer Support and Servicing Updates for Select Intel Processors