UTM Up2date 9.716 released

Hi Alan,

I know exactly what you mean...

Unfortunately, the UTM has been sidelined and the feedback on it here in the forum will slowly die off.

We had also hoped to get information about the behaviour of the new version soon, as we had to restore backups in the past if we installed too hastily (due to the critical security updates included in the updates).

At least your 4 instances are running well, and that's already an indication that there shouldn't be too many problems!
Many thanks and best regards,

SmallAdmin

It is about time they mark it EoL then, and put the code back into the open source domain, so it can be properly maintained again.

It is rapidly getting out of date functionally, been waiting for http/2 support for the WAF (simple addition of a apache module and a checkbox in the UI) for years, and now brotli compression is becoming a requirement. And the XG is not an alternative, thanks to the stupid decision to split IPv4 and IPv6, making management complex in a dual-stack environment.

back OT: update runs fine here, but I've never ran into any of the issues too.

Both questions have been answered. UTM is EOL Jul 1st 2026 (i think an earlier date was not possible because of the many licenses sold) and sophos will not make the full code open source - however remember much code already is because of the GPL requirements and some code (e.g the RED network interface) has been donated years ago.

I'd missed the EOL anmouncement last month. Where did you get your information about Sophos' plans? And were is the publiced code? I know it runs open source components (been using it from when it was Astaro), but the GUI, scripting and build information is what is relevant.

I just got notification today. Per my usual habit, I searched for update issues and found this thread. I scheduled our UTM to run the update tonight between 2:00 and 3:00 AM local time. I do not have much else to say, really. 

I am looking for another firewall / router solution for our home network. I am not sure I want to stay with Sophos. Part of it is my anger that they plan to disable the user interface for their previous model access points, some of which were current models only a couple years ago. That makes no sense to me - think of the environmental impact alone.

Last month? No - it's 2026, not 2023.

See the sticky thread:  Sophos UTM/SG Lifecycle Announcement 

There was a huge discussion 6 months ago in this forum, also because some sort of improper communication (it was mailed to partners first, one partner quoted it here and the hell broke loose).

Published code is available on a iso where you got the installer from: gpl-asg-9.714-4.1.iso

But don't expect too much, its all bundled software (like OpenVPN) but not the compiled perl used for the GUI.

The AP series access points are EOL in December if that's what you are referring to. I too was upset about it, since even if they are fully functional, they become paperweights. But, was able to get a used APX model really cheap, and it ended up not being a brick this time.

If you look at the used market you can get an APX for around $100-150, assuming it works, and hopefully they will be supported for a lot longer. 

We have running 9.716 at two sites since a week, no problems at all.

Running 9.716 at several other sites from the weekend on, did not get into any problem with very different setups and configs.

For me, this is a GO.

The announcement was last month.

And like I thought, code isn't published, just the source of GPL packages used, which is of zero relevance.

I knew this about the access points. There is no way I am going to burn another large sum of money to invest in APX access points only to have Sophos do the same thing to me next year or the year after that. The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior.

My friend's company already migrated away from Sophos. I was running UTM here at home to support him. He doesn't need Sophos and neither do I. 

I was unaware of UTM EOL in June 2023 until reading the above, so I guess I am done with Sophos, and all that remains is to find the next non-Sophos solution, from someone who won't leave me high-and-dry. My Sophos SG-135 can run many different non-Sophos solutions too. 

Now I am asking myself why I did not abandon Sophos sooner. The answer is "inertia."