Astaro Security Gateway V8 is End-of-Life December 31st, 2014

This is your official reminder that Version 8 of Astaro Security Gateway will be end-of-life on December 31st 2014. If you are not running any Astaro Security Gateway Version 8 installations, you are unaffected by this announcement and can disregard it. If you still maintain an active ASG V8, it is important that you read on for what this end-of-life means for you. You have the opportunity to migrate to UTM 9 – our most powerful version ever. Some older appliances may not be able to fully take advantage of all our new features introduced in UTM 9, like our unmatched HTML5 clientless VPN portal, Endpoint Protection with Web Control (9.1), Wireless Security, and hundreds of other features that have been introduced and upgraded since ASG V8. You can obtain a brand new appliance model at a discount via our Hardware Refresh Program! Read on for more details.

On December 31st 2014, we will conclude all maintenance, security patching, pattern updates, firmware updates and technical support for Astaro Security Gateway (ASG) Version 8. Before this date occurs, you should migrate to the latest stable version of Sophos UTM 9 for which we issue security fixes and provide ongoing protection for your company. To be clear: For a secure, supported version of our product, you need to take steps to move from ASG V8 to UTM 9+ before December 31st, 2014.

Customers with an existing valid license and maintenance for ASG V8 have various options for upgrading to a newer version. For a complete list of current options, pricing, and any other questions you have, contact your partner or sales representative who will be happy to assist you in moving to a newer version. Remember, there is a special opportunity to obtain a new appliance model at a discounted price via our Hardware Refresh Program which gives you access to our latest appliance models at a reduced cost for being a loyal customer.

Regardless of if you run ASG V8 on hardware or software, you may need to upgrade your license via MyAstaro to our new “on-demand” licensing system which changed during the lifetime of ASG V8. This is easily done with a button press – just login and upgrade your key so it will work with UTM 9. From there, you can restore your backup file from ASG V8 into UTM 9. You may have to adjust some areas which have changed between versions, but things will look instantly familiar (just with many more cool abilities).

Hardware
Supported hardware appliances running V8.309+, can use the option on the Up2Date menu in WebAdmin to one-touch-upgrade to UTM 9. This brings you to UTM 9 automatically, but requires further Up2Dates after the migration is complete to be at the most current version. You can also install UTM 9 via ISO image and then restore a backup file.

Software
Installations running an ASG V8 software appliance on their own hardware need to install an updated version and then restore a backup file of their configuration, which will apply all your settings except for log files and on-box reports. Logs can be exported in bulk from within the WebAdmin beforehand, while reports will begin anew on your updated platform as existing ones will be purged.

Finally, we plan to send out this notice (or something similiar) to registered V8 administrators. We also will mention it again via our Partner newsletter and other communications. Our newest versions offer complete security, better performance, and hundreds of new features to make your business safer and more productive. If you still run ASG V8, we must have been doing something right, so please allow us to impress you with UTM 9 – we look forward to keeping you as customer and having you experience our latest technology.

-Angelo Comazzetto
Sr. Product Manager