Time flies, doesn’t it? It may seem like just yesterday that Long-Term Support (LTS) expired for Ignition 7.9 but it’s actually been almost two years — it expired in June 2022, to be precise. Since that time, 7.9 has only had limited phone and web portal support, and no development support or patches. Although we originally planned to end the Limited support period for 7.9 this June, we’ve decided to extend Limited support for 7.9 for an additional year so that we’ll have more time to help our customers with the upgrading process. This means that in June 2025, Ignition 7.9 will reach its End-of-Life (EOL) stage, at which point all Ignition 7.9 support will cease.
Many of you reading this are still using Ignition 7.9. Perhaps you’ve had the intention of upgrading but have not gotten around to it yet. Whatever the reason might be, we don’t want any of our customers to be caught off-guard and find themselves using unsupported software that is vulnerable to cyber attacks. So now is the time to remind everyone that we highly recommend upgrading from Ignition 7.9 to 8.1. Here are a few compelling reasons to upgrade as soon as you can.
You Can Count On 8.1 For Years To Come
LTS versions of Ignition remain in Active support for at least five years from the date of their original release, which means that the software is actively developed and patched, and the IA support team provides full customer support for any issues. Ignition 8.1 is an LTS version which was released in November 2020 and will be actively supported until March 2027, followed by two years of Limited support. With several years of support still ahead of it, you can rely on 8.1 for the long haul.
(The software lifecycle chart above shows the support periods for Ignition 7.9, 8.0, and 8.1.)
8.1 Is Filled With Powerful Features
Since the release of Ignition 8.1.0 in 2020, we’ve added hundreds of powerful features that have evolved its functionality. These include many new Ignition Perspective features — including Perspective Pipes, Split Container, Google Map Component for Perspective, and CSS resources — that further solidify its status as the application-building platform of the future.
Ignition’s driver selection has also expanded in 8.1. In the past year, the Allen-Bradley Micro800 Driver, the updated DNP3 Driver, the IEC 61850 Driver, and the Mitsubishi MELSEC Driver were released, which significantly increased the range of PLCs and devices that Ignition can connect to.
Plus, there are many other features throughout the platform including the Gateway Network Map, Vision Custom Keyboard, EAM Remote Upgrade, and Tag Reference Tracker. And that’s just scratching the surface!
If you’re not using 8.1, you and your customers just aren’t getting the full benefits of what Ignition can do. With so many features that make Ignition more stable, more scalable, more connective, and faster and easier to use, we hope you’ll start exploring 8.1 soon.
Support Makes The Upgrade Much Easier
Since we extended 7.9’s Limited support period, you’ll have the help you need to make the transition as seamless as possible if you upgrade now. You’ll get the assistance of Inductive Automation’s support team via phone or web portal to navigate any issues that may arise during the upgrade. This will save you from a lot of frustration and cut down on the time the upgrade will ultimately take.
It’s also a good idea to upgrade now rather than waiting until 7.9’s EOL is right around the corner. This way you can avoid potentially long wait times when contacting support (in case a lot of 7.9 users are scrambling to upgrade before time runs out on Limited support).
Upgrading To 8.1 Positions You For What’s Next
So if you’re currently a 7.9 user and you're wondering if it's worth it to upgrade Ignition to 8.1, the answer is a resounding “yes!” This is not only because of the Ignition 7.9 EOL coming up, but because when you have 8.1 you’ll be in a much better position to upgrade to Ignition 8.3 when it is released next year.
As our CEO Colby Clegg and CTO Carl Gould revealed at the Ignition Community Conference last September, 8.3 will include Enterprise Deployment Management, a new Time-Series Historian, Event Streams, major security improvements, and plenty more. By upgrading to 8.1 now, you’ll be more prepared to start using all of these amazing features as soon as they are available.
To learn more about upgrading from 7.9 to 8.1, please head over to our upgrade guide. For more information about Ignition support, visit our Support Policy page. And get a free trial of the latest version of 8.1 at our Downloads page — we think you’ll like what you see.
