Support for SAS® 9.4 & Earlier Releases
Note: This section covers only SAS 9.4 and earlier releases. See The SAS® Viya® Platform and Support for SAS® Viya® 3.x sections for information about those releases or go to the main page to access all Technical Support policy links.
With the accelerated pace of software development in the marketplace, SAS is releasing products much faster. As a result, SAS recommends that customers install the most current release of their SAS software products, including maintenance releases and security hot fixes. Current software means that customers have the latest and best technology, and they are better protected from potential vulnerabilities.
The current release of a SAS software product is the latest release in General Availability status. SAS Technical Support provides problem alert notices and source-level maintenance (executable modules or "hot fixes") for selected critical issues that occur in this release.
SAS Technical Support for SAS® 9.4 and earlier releases contains two levels that are based on the General Availability date for a product:
Standard Support
This support level is based on a product's General Availability release date, and it has a time limit of five years from that date.
Limited Support
This support level is provided for (a) products that are not updated in the five-year Standard Support time frame, and (b) all products running SAS on an alternative operating system that the customer has selected. Limited Support lasts until the product is retired, and it includes fixes where they are already available as well as access to the product documentation and self-help resources. SAS software in Limited Support does not qualify for Severity Level 1 or Severity Level 2 critical support requests.
Note: Customers whose releases are in Limited Support can use and renew their existing SAS software but cannot add new products or download existing SAS software.
Customers whose releases are in Limited Support might qualify to purchase Extended Technical Support, which could grant access to Severity Level 1 and Severity Level 2 critical support requests.
In addition to ensuring the latest technology and security for customers, this support structure provides customers with a predictable date for when a product release moves to Limited Support. This information enables customers to plan their software upgrades accordingly.
Note: SAS moved products that rely on Adobe Flash components to Limited Support on December 31, 2020.
SAS provides technical support running on these supported operating systems in accordance with information in the tables in the sections that follow below.
Support Levels for SAS® 9.4 & Earlier Releases
Support Level | Methods for Contacting Support | Activity by the Technical Support Team | Support for Executable Modules and Hot Fixes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard Support | Telephone Web Interface Technical Chat (where it is available) | Provides full support, including select security and defect fixes, for a software product release for five years from the product's General Availability (GA) date. This support includes investigating all submitted support requests and providing circumventions, whenever it is possible. | Provided for selected critical support requests. |
| Limited Support | Telephone Web Interface Technical Chat (where it is available) | Provides fixes where they are already available as well as access to the product documentation and self-help resources*. SAS software in Limited Support does not qualify for Severity Level 1 or Severity Level 2 critical support requests. Limited Support lasts until the SAS software product is retired. | Provided where they are already available. |
*Notes:
| |||
Support Levels for SAS 9.4® & Earlier Releases by Release Number
The Support Levels by Product web page contains current support levels for specific SAS products and solutions. Customers can visit this page to determine the current support level, the release date, and the date on which the support level changes for their SAS software. If customers still have questions about the support level for their SAS software, they can contact SAS Technical Support.
SAS® Software Release | Standard Support | Limited Support | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
SAS® 9.4 | X | SAS 9.4M8 (TS1M8) generally available January 2023 SAS 9.4 is under a five-year grace period for Standard Support, starting on January 1, 2020. This five-year grace period applies to SAS 9.4M6 and earlier SAS 9.4 releases, which were released before 2020. Note that SAS 9.4M7 and later SAS 9.4 releases follow the Standard Support policy, which states that support is based on a product's General Availability release date, and it has a time limit of five years from that date. Note: SAS moved products that rely on Adobe Flash components to Limited Support on December 31, 2020. | |
| SAS® 9.3 | X | ||
| SAS® 9.2 | X | ||
| SAS® 9.1.3 | X | ||
| SAS® 8.2 | X | ||
| Earlier than 8.2 | X | ||
| Solutions and products that no longer have General Availability status and that were developed on obsolete platforms. | X |
Software Maintenance and Bug Fixes for SAS® 9.4 & Earlier Releases
SAS provides maintenance for the SAS software through replacement executable modules, or hot fixes, that might be supplied individually or in containers. To stay informed about new hot fixes and to learn how to receive notifications when they are available, visit the Communities: SAS Hot Fix Announcements page.
Be aware that while SAS strives to provide fixes for all serious issues, there might be cases where it is impractical or impossible to generate a fix because of compatibility issues or the potential for the introduction of unwanted side effects.